Ukraine has disabled 20 Russian battalions, Western officials said today, as a Kremlin army chief hinted that Moscow may scale back its attack on its neighbour and instead focus on 'liberating' the eastern Donbas region.
Russia's defence ministry also updated its losses in Ukraine to 1,351 soldiers, adding that 3,825 soldiers had been wounded - figures that are far lower than Western intelligence estimates that put Moscow's losses in the tens of thousands.
In a military update today, Moscow attempted to put a positive spin on its disastrous invasion saying that the first phase of its military campaign in Ukraine was over.
But the update - combined with the West's claim that Russia has lost 20 out of the 120 battalions originally massed on Ukraine's border - is the latest sign that Vladimir Putin has rolled back his ambitions, and is on the run.
In another embarrassing blow to Putin, it was revealed today that a Russian brigade commander had died after being run down with a tank by his own troops.
Western officials believe Colonel Yuri Medvedev was brutally taken out by mutinous soldiers after their 37th Motor Rifle Brigade suffered huge losses.
But despite the apparent change in tactics, smaller-scale strikes continued without pause as Russia, suffering heavy losses and meagre progress against key targets, pursues its relentless campaign of bombardment against Ukraine's cities.
In one attack on Friday, Ukraine said a Russian missile attack had hit a military command centre in the city of Vinnytsia in central Ukraine. Kyiv officials reported the attack on Friday, adding it was unknown if there were any casualties.
'Today at around 4.30 p.m, the Russian occupiers launched a missile strike on the territory of the Air Force Command in Vinnytsia,' the Ukrainian Air Force said on Telegram.
It posted an image of the alleged centre in rubble and said missiles had hit 'several buildings, causing significant damage to infrastructure'.
Ukraine has disabled 20 Russian battalions, Western officials said today, as a Kremlin army chief hinted that Moscow may scale back its all-out attack on its neighbour and instead focus on 'liberating' the eastern Donbas region. Pictured: (L-R) Sergei Rudskoi, a senior representative of the General Staff, Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov and Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian National Defence Control Centre, hold a briefing on Russian military action in Ukraine, in Moscow on March 25, 2022
Russia's defence ministry also updated its losses in Ukraine to 1,351 soldiers, adding that 3,825 soldiers had been wounded - figures that are far lower than Western intelligence estimates that put Moscow's losses in the tens of thousands
A Ukrainian soldier passes by a destroyed Russian artillery system 'Grad', in Kharkiv, Ukraine, Thursday, March 24, 2022. But the update - combined with the West's claim that Russia has lost 20 out of the 120 battalions originally massed on Ukraine's border - is the latest sign that Vladimir Putin has rolled back his ambitions, and is on the run
In one attack on Friday, Ukraine said a Russian missile attack had hit a military command centre in the city of Vinnytsia in central Ukraine. Kyiv officials reported the attack on Friday, adding it was unknown if there were any casualties. The Ukrainian air force posted an image (pictured) of the alleged centre in rubble and said missiles had hit 'several buildings, causing significant damage to infrastructure'
When Russia unleashed its multi-pronged invasion on February 24, a swift toppling of Ukraine and its democratically elected government seemed likely.
But as Wednesday marked four full weeks of fighting, Russia has been bogged down in a grinding military campaign with no sign of progress.
The slow Russian advance has seemingly taken the Kremlin by surprise, and Western officials have said that Moscow made a 'catastrophic miscalculation'.
In a potentially significant shift in Moscow's tactics, Sergei Rudskoi, chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of Russia's armed forces, said the first phase of its campaign was over and its troops would now focus on the 'liberation' of the Donbas region in Ukraine's east.
Rudskoi said the shift was possible because 'the combat potential of Ukraine's armed forces has been significantly reduced which allows (us) - I emphasise once again - to focus our main efforts on achieving the main goal - the liberation of Donbas.'
The Donbas is the largely Russian-speaking eastern part of the country where Russian-backed separatists have been fighting Ukrainian forces since 2014 and where many residents have expressed support for Moscow.
In the eight years of fighting, at least 14,000 people have been killed in the region.
Rudskoi claimed Russian forces had 'practically' destroyed Ukraine's air force and anti-aircraft defences as well as the navy.
But Rudskoi's comments were contradicted by Ukraine and Britain's Ministry of Defence, which said Russian forces were being pushed back.
'Ukrainian counter-attacks, and Russian forces falling back on overextended supply lines, has allowed Ukraine to re-occupy towns and defensive positions up to 35 kilometres (22 miles) east of Kyiv,' Britain's defence ministry said in a daily update.
In the south, logistical problems and Ukrainian resistance are slowing the Russians as they look to drive west toward the port of Odesa, the ministry added.
Ukraine's Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba indicated no let-up in his country's refusal to accede to Russian demands after what he termed 'very difficult' talks with Moscow.
'We insist, first of all, on a ceasefire, security guarantees, and territorial integrity of Ukraine,' he said.
And while Mariupol and other places are now charred ruins, Western systems including shoulder-fired anti-tank missiles have helped Ukraine's armed forces hold their line - and increasingly to go on the offensive.
