Russia consolidates control in the south, strikes hard in the east of Ukraine

According to The New York Times, Russia said it had restored roads, railways and an important clean water channel in the south. Ukraine.

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said earlier this week that the Russian military, in collaboration with the country’s railway agency, repaired more than 1,000km of railways in southeastern Ukraine, facilitating travel from Russia to the region. Donbass in eastern Ukraine to Kherson and Crimea.

Shoigu added that water is once again flowing to Crimea through the northern Crimean canal, a key source of fresh water supplies that Ukraine cut off in 2014 after Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula. This official said, currently traveling by car between Russia and the Crimean peninsula is open.

The Northern Crimean Canal was built during the Soviet era, leading water from Ukraine’s Dnipro River to the Crimean peninsula. However, after Russia annexed this peninsula, Ukraine dropped sandbags and clay into the canal to prevent the Russian side from benefiting from the precious fresh water.

Ukrainian officials say cutting off water is one of several ways to harm Russia without resorting to military force. For the Kremlin, this congestion is an infrastructural challenge that causes Crimeans to suffer from a lack of water.

In eastern Ukraine, where both Russian and Ukrainian troops are fighting, Ukrainian officials are weighing whether to withdraw their forces from Severodonetsk. Ukrainian President Zelensky has declared that this city will determine the fate of the Donbass region.

Over the past several weeks, Severodonetsk has been under constant artillery fire from Russia and President Zelensky said the city and Lysychansk are now dead cities.

Other notable news:

The New York Times quoted US officials as saying that the US government has more information about Russian troops than Ukrainian troops. According to US officials, the Ukrainian government has given them little secret or detailed information about its plans to protect the vast amount of military aid that the United States has transferred to Ukraine. Kiev officials also admitted not to disclose everything to the US.

– Oleksiy Arestovych – an adviser to the President of Ukraine said that the Russian army had changed its strategy in capturing Severodonetsk. Accordingly, Russian soldiers withdrew from the city and switched to artillery and heavy air strikes.

– American businessman and philanthropist Howard Buffett says he wants to help rebuild Ukraine’s infrastructure, remove landmines and improve nutrition in schools.

Hoai Linh