Russia Gains in S.Ukraine     11/12 06:38

   

   KYIV, Ukraine (AP) -- The Russian army overran three settlements in the 
southern Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine, Kyiv's top military commander said 
Wednesday, as Moscow's forces expand their efforts to capture more Ukrainian 
territory.

   Dense fog enabled Russian troops to infiltrate Ukrainian positions in 
Zaporizhzhia, Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi wrote on the messaging app Telegram, 
adding that Ukrainian units are locked in "grueling battles" to repel the 
Russian thrust.

   He noted, however, that the fiercest battles are still in the besieged 
Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk, in the eastern Donetsk region, where close to half 
of all front-line clashes took place over the previous 24 hours.

   The cities of Kupiansk and Lyman in Ukraine's northeastern Kharkiv region 
have also recently witnessed an uptick in combat.

   Russia launched its full-scale invasion of its neighbor almost four years 
ago and now occupies roughly one fifth of Ukrainian land. New U.S. sanctions 
that take aim at Russia's oil sector, which is the mainstay of the Russian 
economy, are due to come into force on Nov. 21. Their purpose is to compel 
Russian President Vladimir Putin to accept a ceasefire.

   Kyiv officials, meanwhile, risk being distracted by a growing corruption 
scandal engulfing senior members of the government. Ukraine's Justice Minister 
Herman Halushchenko was suspended from his post Wednesday after being placed 
under investigation, Prime Minister Yuliia Svyrydenko announced.

   Russian gains come at a cost

   The U.S. sanctions on Russia's biggest oil companies, Rosneft and Lukoil, 
raise the stakes for Putin. The Russian leader has so far avoided serious 
top-level peace negotiations, with Ukrainian and Western officials accusing him 
of stalling for time while his army tries to grab more Ukrainian territory. 
International peace efforts have come to nothing.

   Russia's bigger and better-equipped army has scaled up its attacks, placing 
the short-handed Ukrainian military under severe strain. Ukrainian officials 
said in September that the front line has grown in length to nearly 1,250 
kilometers (800 miles). Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said earlier 
this month that Russia had deployed around 170,000 troops in Donetsk.

   Over the past four weeks, the Russian Defense Ministry has reported 
capturing nine settlements and villages in Donetsk: eight in the Zaporizhzhia 
region, seven in the Dnipropetrovsk region and five in the Kharkiv region.

   Russia's corrosive war of attrition has been costly in terms of casualties 
and armor, however, and Ukraine has held it to incremental battlefield gains.

   The Institute for the Study of War said Russia's siege of Pokrovsk, where it 
has deployed elite drone operators and "spetsnaz" special forces soldiers, has 
been slow-moving because its military commanders are spreading their resources 
widely.

   Russia is pursuing several offensive operations across the theater 
simultaneously and is having difficulty extending logistical operations, the 
Washington-based think tank said late Tuesday.

   Ukraine, meanwhile, has launched sustained long-range drone attacks on 
high-value military-related assets inside Russia.

   Its latest assault hit the Stavrolen chemical plant in Budionnovsk, in the 
Stavropol region of Russia, overnight, according to the general staff. The 
plant produces polymers for composite materials used by the Russian military, 
it said.