Ukraine faces attacks in east as Russia is forced to merge military units

Artillery units hit 389 targets in Ukraine overnight, Russia says

A car and piled sleepers are burning after a shelling near the Lyman station in Lyman, eastern Ukraine, on April 28, 2022, amid Russian invasion of Ukraine. (Photo by Yasuyoshi CHIBA / AFP)

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Russia has been forced to merge and redeploy depleted and disparate military units from failed advances in north-eastern Ukraine, the British military said on Saturday.

Russian forces attacked the eastern Donbas region on Saturday but have failed to capture three target areas, Ukraine's military said.

Artillery units struck 389 Ukrainian targets overnight, Russia said.

Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said the operation was “proceeding strictly according to plan”, China's official Xinhua news agency reported.

But analysis from the UK's Ministry of Defence has shown that the Russian military is struggling to secure quick wins on the battlefield.

“Russia hopes to rectify issues that have previously constrained its invasion by geographically concentrating combat power, shortening supply lines and simplifying command and control,” the ministry said.

“Russia still faces considerable challenges. It has been forced to merge and redeploy depleted and disparate units from the failed advances in north-east Ukraine.

"Many of these units are likely suffering from weakened morale.

“Shortcomings in Russian tactical co-ordination remain. A lack of unit-level skills and inconsistent air support have left Russia unable to fully leverage its combat mass, despite localised improvements.”

Russia is trying to capture Lyman in Donetsk and Sievierodonetsk and Popasna in Luhansk, the General Staff of Ukraine's Armed Forces said in a daily update.

“Not succeeding — the fighting continues,” it said.

After failing to capture the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv in a nine-week attack that has turned cities to rubble, killed thousands and forced five million Ukrainians to flee abroad, Russia is now focusing on eastern and southern areas.

Moscow hopes to take full control of Donbas, made up of Luhansk and Donetsk, parts of which were already controlled by Russian-backed separatists before the invasion.

Sergiy Gaiday, Governor of Luhansk, told Ukrainian public television that Russian forces had shelled areas across the region “but they cannot get through our defence”.

He said civilians would continue to be taken to safety despite the difficult situation.

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  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi shake hands as they meet in Kyiv. AP

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  Floodwater edges towards homes in the small Ukrainian town of Demydiv. AFP

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  Lila stands inside her apartment after a missile strike damaged a residential building in Dobropillia, in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. Reuters

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  Residents board-up windows of a damaged apartment building with plywood after Russian shelling in Dobropillya, Donetsk region. AP

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  A police officer distributes humanitarian aid to people in Lyman, Donetsk. AP

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  Ukrainian soldiers near Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP

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  A Ukrainian soldier receives medical treatment as he and others rest after fighting on the front line for two months near Kramatorsk. AFP

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  Exhausted Ukrainian soldiers arrive at an abandoned building to rest and for medical treatment after fighting on the front line near Kramatorsk. AFP

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  Ukrainians attend a solemn religious service to commemorate the fallen in the Russian occupation in Zdvyzhivka, on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP

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  Hanna Selivon, 77, surveys what remains of her house, which she says was destroyed by Russian shelling on the outskirts of Chernihiv, Ukraine. Reuters

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  Women cry as they take part in a rally demanding international leaders organise a humanitarian corridor for the evacuation of Mariupol, the besieged Ukrainian city where thousands are trapped. Reuters

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  Angelina Jolie, Hollywood movie star and UNHCR goodwill ambassador, poses for photo with kids in Lviv, Ukraine. AP

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  Firefighters try to put out a blaze after an explosion in Kyiv as Russia mounts attacks across Ukraine. AP

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  A car parked under a tree in the partially abandoned town of Chernobyl. AP

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  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, right, and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres leave a news conference in Kyiv. AP

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  Military aid bound for Ukraine at Dover Air Force Base in Delaware. President Joe Biden has asked Congress to agree to $33 billion to bolster Ukraine's fight against Russia. AP

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  Members of the pro-Russia Donetsk People's Republic militia stand guard as civilians go to receive aid in Mariupol. AP

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  A destroyed building in the south-eastern city of Mariupol. AP

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  A Ukrainian girl with other civilians on a bus as they flee the violence in Slovyansk, in the Donetsk region. Reuters

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  A block of flats reduced to rubble in Mariupol. Reuters

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  Explosions in a village near the eastern city of Izium. Reuters

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  A car and piled sleepers in flames after shelling near Lyman station in Lyman, eastern Ukraine. AFP

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  Residents and members of the Ukrainian emergency services clear debris after a recent Russian rocket attack in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. EPA

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  The Russian Foreign Ministry in Moscow, where spokeswoman Maria Zakharova recently said that Ukraine had either carried out the executions of civilians in Bucha itself or positioned the bodies so as to incriminate Russian forces. AFP

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  An aerial view of in a neighbourhood in Zaporizhzhia on the 65th day of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP

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  Clean-up crews at the site of an explosion in Kyiv, Ukraine. Russia struck the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv shortly after a meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. AP

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  UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres and Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy at a joint news conference in Kyiv as Russia's attack on Ukraine continues. Reuters

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  Russia struck Kyiv shortly after the meeting between President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres. AP Photo

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  Volodymyr Tykhonov, 76, opens the door of his garage, which is riddled with bullet holes, in Zahaltsi, Ukraine. Getty Images

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  President Zelenskyy welcomes UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres before their meeting. Reuters

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  Iulia Shevchuk rests in a reception centre for displaced people in Dnipro, Ukraine. AP Photo

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  American 155 mm howitzers due to be being loaded on to a US Air Force plane to Ukraine. AFP

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  Smoke rises after an explosion at sunset in Kyiv. Getty Images

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  Ukrainian rescuers pull out a part of a rocket that remained after shelling in the eastern city of Kharkiv. EPA

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  Lyubov, 85, stands in front of a 19th century wooden church, damaged by rocket attack, in the Zhytomyr region of Ukraine. Reuters

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  Ukrainian servicemen on patrol in Luhanske village. EPA

Russia's military failures have surprised analysts and officials. There have been reports of unsecured communications equipment being used, poor logistics, weapons problems and heavy equipment losses affecting supplies.

The Pentagon has made reference to overstretched Russian forces struggling to maintain a command and control structure, and using unclassified lines that are vulnerable to interception by Ukrainian forces and radio amateurs.

The loss of the warship Moskva has also damaged Russia’s naval supply options, although both sides say Ukraine has been hit by cruise missiles launched from submarines in the Black Sea.