Russia on Sunday claimed its troops had captured a strategically important town in eastern Ukraine as part of a grinding campaign to weaken Kyiv’s grip on the country’s industrial heartland, while uncertainty over the continued flow of US funding has reportedly halted the work of some Ukrainian non-governmental organizations (NGOs), including those helping war veterans.
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced the fall of Velyka Novosilka, which had about 5,000 residents before the war, following a months-long battle. Its statement could not be independently verified, and Ukraine claimed its troops had only strategically withdrawn from certain areas.
However, if confirmed, it would make Velyka Novosilka the first significant town to capitulate this year under Moscow’s onslaught in the eastern Donetsk region against Ukraine’s weary and short-handed army. The war is set to reach its three-year milestone next month.
Photo: Reuters
Ukrainian forces withdrew from certain parts of Velyka Novosilka to avoid encirclement, the 110th Separate Mechanized Brigade said in a statement on its official Telegram channel on Sunday.
The brigade is active in that patch of the front line.
Analysts have long predicted that it is only a matter of time until Russian forces capture the settlement, which lies only 15km from the neighboring Dnipropetrovsk region.
The brigade said although they have approximate parity with Russian forces in terms of artillery and drones, the Russians have a huge advantage in manpower.
“Our units, using the weather conditions, skillfully withdrew from areas where there was a threat of encirclement. This does not mean that we have completely left the city, the fighting in Velyka Novosilka continues. All actions are aimed at minimizing our own losses and maximum damage to the enemy,” the statement said.
The brigade said the withdrawal would make it topographically difficult for Russians to advance by making the river an obstacle for further advance.
“The enemy ... will have no peace, any movement is cut off by shells and drones,” the statement said.
Russia captured the Donetsk cities of Avdiivka and Vuhledar last year after long and grueling battles. Those cities were largely leveled by Russian artillery, glide bombs and drones before they fell.
Russian forces have also been trying for months to capture the key Donetsk strongholds of Pokrovsk and Chasiv Yar.
Elsewhere, Ukrainian NGOs catering to the needs of war veterans and their families have claimed a suspension of US funding is forcing them to halt their work, days after newly sworn in US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced he would pause foreign aid grants for 90 days.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy later claimed that military aid to Ukraine would continue, but did not clarify whether humanitarian aid had been paused. Kyiv relies on the US for 40 percent of its military needs.
According to news reports, Ukrainian NGOs receiving funding from Washington this weekend began receiving “stop work” orders, requiring them to pause all projects and related travel.
Veteran Hub, an NGO that provides legal and psychological support to war veterans and their families, was forced to halt operations of two of its three largest service units as a result, the organization said on its official Facebook page.
It said the suspension has led it to ask for public donations for the first time.
“Since 2018, we have refrained from public fundraising because we believe that donations are primarily needed for the military. Today, we are forced to publicly ask for support for the first time,” the organization said.
With the administration of US President Donald Trump questioning the future of US aid to Ukraine, stressing the need to quickly broker a peace deal, Moscow and Kyiv are seeking battlefield successes to strengthen their negotiating positions ahead of any prospective talks.
For the past year, Russian forces have been waging an intense campaign to punch holes in Ukraine’s defenses in the eastern Donetsk region. The sustained and costly offensive has compelled Kyiv to give up a series of towns, villages and hamlets.
When Shanghai-based designer Guo Qingshan posted a vacation photo on Valentine’s Day and captioned it “Puppy Mountain,” it became a sensation in China and even created a tourist destination. Guo had gone on a hike while visiting his hometown of Yichang in central China’s Hubei Province late last month. When reviewing the photographs, he saw something he had not noticed before: A mountain shaped like a dog’s head rested on the ground next to the Yangtze River, its snout perched at the water’s edge. “It was so magical and cute. I was so excited and happy when I discovered it,” Guo said.
TURNAROUND: The Liberal Party had trailed the Conservatives by a wide margin, but that was before Trump threatened to make Canada the US’ 51st state Canada’s ruling Liberals, who a few weeks ago looked certain to lose an election this year, are mounting a major comeback amid the threat of US tariffs and are tied with their rival Conservatives, according to three new polls. An Ipsos survey released late on Tuesday showed that the left-leaning Liberals have 38 percent public support and the official opposition center-right Conservatives have 36 percent. The Liberals have overturned a 26-point deficit in six weeks, and run advertisements comparing the Conservative leader to Trump. The Conservative strategy had long been to attack unpopular Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, but last month he
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
RSS