The Russian army continues to advance in the north-east of Ukraine on Wednesday May 15, thanks to an attack which took the Ukrainian forces weakened by the lack of weapons and men by surprise. President Vladimir Putin arrived in China on Thursday to meet his counterpart Xi Jinping, whom he will try to convince to provide greater support for the Russian war effort in Ukraine. For his part, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has canceled all his trips abroad “for the next few days”announced his spokesperson.
Moscow has claimed the conquest of three villages in northeastern and southern Ukraine. Russian forces “liberated the localities of Glibokié and Lukiantsi in the Kharkiv region and advanced deep into enemy defenses,” the Russian army said in a statement. Russia also claims to have recaptured the completely destroyed village of Robotyne, in the Zaporizhia region.
Vladimir Putin welcomed the advances of the Russian army. “Since the beginning of the year, our troops have been constantly improving their positions every day in all directions. They are meeting all the objectives set by the Ministry of Defense” he said, during a meeting broadcast on Russian television with high-ranking officers.
The attack across the border from the north took Ukrainian forces by surprise, weakened by a lack of weapons and men after more than two years of war and months of delays in Western aid. “In some places in the Lukiantsi and Vovchansk areas, due to enemy fire and assault actions, maneuvers were carried out to save the lives of our soldiers, units were moved to more advantageous positions “the spokesperson for the forces in the region said on television.