KYIV, April 10 (Reuters) – Russian forces stepped up attacks on frontline towns in eastern Ukraine on Monday, as Ukrainian officials played down a report that Kyiv must change some military plan before a counter-offensive due to a leak of classified US documents.
The Russians pounded Ukrainian positions around Bakhmut in the eastern Donetsk region and other towns and cities with air strikes and artillery barrages, Kyiv said.
The commander of Ukraine’s ground forces said the Russians destroyed buildings and positions in Bakhmut with what he called “scorched earth” tactics.
Russia’s attack on Bakhmut, a small town on the edge of a chunk of Russian-controlled territory in Donetsk, has for months been at the center of the war’s biggest battle, now in its second year.
The Ukrainian military said on Sunday that the fighting was heaviest on the western approaches to Bakhmut – a regional transport and logistics hub before the war. Russian forces also targeted the town of Avdiivka, it said.
As the fighting began, US media outlet CNN reported that Ukraine was forced to amend some of its military plans ahead of an expected counter-offensive due to a leak of classified US documents. It cited a source close to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy.
US officials are trying to find the source of the leak of dozens of classified documents detailing a range of topics, including information on the conflict in Ukraine, for which the United States has given Kyiv a many weapons and other support and led international condemnation of The invasion of Moscow.
Asked about the CNN report, Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podolyak said Kyiv’s strategic plans remain unchanged but specific tactical plans are subject to change.
The secretary of the National Security and Defense Council, Oleksiy Danilov, told Reuters: “We are working on our own plans… The opinion of people who have nothing to do with it does not interest us… The circle of people who “His knowledge is extremely restricted.”
Ukrainian officials told Reuters on Friday that the documents contained false information and appeared to be part of a Russian disinformation campaign.
Some national security experts and US officials said they suspected the leaker could be American, given the breadth of topics covered in the documents, but they did not rule out pro-Russian actors.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment when asked about the matter on Monday except to say there was a “tendency to always blame everything on Russia”.
HOT IN THE EASTERN FRONT
A Ukrainian counter-offensive has been long-awaited after months of attritional warfare in the east. A Russian winter offensive failed to make much progress and its troops were torn apart in a series of battles where any progress was incremental and came at a great cost. The Ukrainian defenders also took heavy casualties.
On Monday, the Ukrainian ground forces commander Colonel General Oleksandr Syrskyi said that the defense of Bakhmut continues.
“The situation is difficult but under control,” he said, as quoted by Ukraine’s Media Military Center.
Moscow sent special forces and air assault units to help their attack as members of Russia’s private mercenary Wagner group were exhausted, Syrskyi said.
Wagner’s mercenaries led a Russian attack on Bakhmut that left it largely in ruins.
“The enemy moved to the so-called scorched earth tactics from Syria. It destroyed buildings and positions with air strikes and artillery fire,” Syrskyi said.
Reuters could not verify accounts on the battlefield.
Ukraine’s general staff said Russian forces had made unsuccessful advances in areas west of Bakhmut and at least 10 towns and villages were under Russian attack. The Russians also did not advance the Avdiivka attacks, it said.
Donetsk is one of four provinces in eastern and southern Ukraine that Russia declared annexed last year and is seeking to fully occupy in what is a shift in its war aims after failing to conquer the country after its invasion in February 2022.
Control of Bakhmut could allow Russia to directly target Ukrainian defense lines in Chasiv Yar to the east and open the way for its forces to advance on two major cities in the Donetsk region – Kramatorsk and Sloviansk.
While Ukraine has said it wants to inflict as many casualties as possible on Russian forces as it prepares its own counteroffensive, President Zelenskiy last week acknowledged that if troops risk being surrounded they may backward.
Ukrainian military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said Russian forces are in control of the center of Bakhmut, with most of their attack now targeting the train station.
“There is intense fighting in the center of the town and the enemy is gradually moving towards the western outskirts,” Zhdanov said.
The British Defense Ministry said that over the past seven days, Russia has also shown increased armed attacks around the town of Marinka, also in Donetsk province.
“Russia continues to give high priority to resourcing operations in the wider Donetsk sector, including the Marinka and Avdiivka areas, expending significant resources for little gain,” it said.
In other action, Russia’s defense ministry said its forces destroyed a depot containing 70,000 tons of fuel near Zaporizhzhia.
They destroyed Ukrainian army warehouses storing missiles, ammunition and artillery in Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions, the ministry said.
Ukraine also reported widespread Russian attacks in its northern regions. Officials in the south said Russian planes used guided bombs against towns in the Kherson region.
Additional reporting by Ron Popeski, Nick Starko and Tom Balmforth; Writing by Angus MacSwan, Editing by Gareth Jones
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