Is Russia failing to progress in Ukraine? Operation in rebel-held areas unsuccessful

Ukraine said Thursday that Russian forces faced defeat while trying to get control of a Ukrainian region amid the ongoing invasion of the country.

In a statement, the Ukrainian General Staff of Armed Forces said that Russian troops made several attempts to seize the village of Oleksandrivka in Donetsk Oblast and the village of Voyevodivka in Luhansk Oblast but failed.

The General Staff also listed other failures on the Russian side. It said that the country was unsuccessful in attempting to take control of areas in the settlement of Voyevodivka. Russian forces also failed to improve the tactical position of its troops during the operations in Kharkiv, Bakhmut, and Avdiivka.

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Meanwhile, the Kyiv Independent reported Thursday that Russian forces have been trying to keep Ukrainian troops in the Donbas region away from the Severodonetsk area in Luhansk Oblast.

“The forward deployment of commanders has exposed them to significant risk, leading to disproportionately high losses of Russian officers in this conflict,” the United Kingdom’s Ministry of Defense said in a tweet. “This has resulted in a force that is slow to respond to setbacks and unable to alter its approach on the battlefield. These issues are likely to endure given the relative lack of operational command experience of the officers promoted in place of those killed.”

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The “difficulties in command and control” and “faltering Russian performance on the front line,” forced senior commanders to go onto the battlefield, according to the British defense ministry.

“However, it is not clear that the presence of these commanders on the battlefield has led to a refined or altered operational concept. Flawed planning assumptions and failures in sustainment continue to undermine Russian progress,” the ministry added.

Meanwhile, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby said Russia is not progressing in its war.

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“All I can tell you is that the Russians have not made the kind of progress in the Donbas and the south that we believe they wanted to make. We do believe they’re behind schedule. We do believe it’s been slow, and at every turn, they have met a stiff Ukrainian resistance,” Kirby said.