UK confirms “gradual advances” by Russia in Donetsk and says it seeks to cut a supply route from Ukraine

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June 18 () –

The United Kingdom Intelligence services have stated this Tuesday that the Russian Army has made “gradual progress” in the Ukrainian province of Donetsk, located in the east of the country and partially occupied, and have stressed that with this progress they are approaching a key road for the delivery of supplies to Ukrainian troops in the area.

Thus, they have stated that Russian troops have taken control of Novoleksandrivka, 20 kilometers north of Avdivka, and have added that “the area has been the scene of intense fighting during 2024 and Russia has made gradual advances since taking Avdivka ” in February of this year, according to a statement published by the British Ministry of Defense on its account on the social network X.

“By taking control of Novoleksandrivka, Russia is moving closer to threatening the T-05-04 highway, one of the main supply routes for Ukrainian forces further east,” they said, before stating that “it is very likely that Vozdvizhhenka be the next Russian objective, as it seeks to cut the road and affect Ukrainian logistics.

The provinces of Donetsk, Lugansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia, partially occupied as part of the invasion – and in the case of Donetsk and Lugansk, the scene of a conflict between pro-Russian separatists and the Ukrainian Army since 2014 – were annexed in October. 2022 by Russia, a measure not recognized by the international community that is added to the annexation of the Crimean peninsula in 2014, a fact that has also not been recognized internationally.