Putin Claims Russian Forces Advancing Faster in Ukraine

Speaking in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek before representatives of state media, he also said the city of Sviatohirsk is again under Russian control and that street fighting is already underway in Dobropillia. Putin's assertions of success at the front contradict the assessments of Ukrainian and Western observers, who have recently noted a slowdown in the Russian advance. In southern Ukraine, the Russian army reportedly pushed into the center of the city of Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region, according to the Kremlin chief.

In northeastern Ukraine, the front line is now only about twelve kilometers from the regional capital Sumy, Putin added. In the eastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, a larger grouping of Ukrainian forces has been encircled on the eastern bank of the Oskil River. Observers, however, report a largely static front.

In many sections, there has been little change recently, and Ukrainian troops have launched successful counterattacks near Lyman in the eastern Donetsk region and in southern Ukraine. Russian units have also been largely pushed back from the Dnipropetrovsk region. Both warring parties have recently increased their use of air strikes far behind the front lines.

Ukraine has been defending itself against the Russian invasion ordered by Putin for more than four and a half years. Moscow has long been attacking power plants and substations, leading to power and heating outages especially in the winter months. In response, Kyiv has concentrated its drone attacks on the Russian oil industry, which is important for exports. The claims could not be independently verified.