Russian forces persisted in their relentless attacks on the devastated city of Bakhmut in eastern Ukraine on Thursday, while also shelling the southern city of Kherson, according to Kyiv officials.
Bakhmut is considered a crucial objective in Russia's sluggish advance through eastern Ukraine, which began over a year ago. Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar, in a Telegram post, reported intense fighting throughout the eastern front, with pro-Kyiv forces repelling attacks in most locations.
Malyar wrote, "Most of the enemy's offensive efforts are occurring in the Bakhmut sector," and added that Russian commanders had redirected troops to the area from other regions. "The enemy is using its most professional units there and resorting to a significant amount of artillery and aviation. Every day, the enemy carries out in Bakhmut from 40 to 50 storming operations and 500 shelling episodes."
The leader of Russia's Wagner mercenary group claimed this week that his forces controlled 80% of Bakhmut, but the Ukrainian military dismissed this figure as inflated.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy and other senior officials are urging allies to provide more weapons, which Kyiv hopes will enable them to mount a major counter-offensive later this year. "We are readying our boys," Zelenskiy said in a video address late Thursday. "We look forward to the delivery of weapons promised by our partners. We are bringing victory closer as much as possible."
Officials reported two casualties in the Russian shelling of the southern city of Kherson.
Apart from the conflict, Ukrainian officials are concentrating on the massive reconstruction effort required, as well as pressure from allies to demonstrate progress in combating corruption.
During talks in Washington, Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal pledged to account for every dollar of U.S. aid and announced that reconstruction efforts should commence this year. He expressed gratitude for the "continuous, ironclad, and unprecedented support" from the United States.
In a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen, Shmyhal said Kyiv had identified a $14 billion funding gap that needed to be addressed this year. He also highlighted that Ukraine had implemented measures to account for all aid received and had undertaken more anti-corruption reforms in the past year than in many previous years combined.
Ukrainian officials are also advocating for NATO membership, a prospect that Moscow has unequivocally rejected. "There is no alternative to Ukraine's accession to NATO," Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov stated at a Black Sea security conference.
