Russia has once again destroyed Western weapons amid intense fighting in eastern Ukraine, the Defence Ministry said on Saturday, as Moscow redoubles its efforts to gain the remaining parts of the Donbass that are not yet under its control.A hangar containing US-supplied M777 howitzers was destroyed near the village of Chasiv Yar in the Donetsk region, ministry spokesperson Igor Konashenkov said.Numerous Ukrainian soldiers were also killed there, the spokesperson added.
Moscow is trying to seize Donbass, made up of Donetsk and Luhansk. So far, Russian troops have taken Luhansk and are now fighting for Donetsk.
Konashenkov said dozens of Ukrainian soldiers were killed in artillery and rocket attacks, and that ammunition depots and military equipment were destroyed in various regions.
The information could not be independently verified.
Earlier, the Ukrainian General Staff in Kiev reported Russian attacks on a broad front. The occupiers were leading attacks from Lysychansk towards the west, the Ukrainian governor of Luhansk, Serhii Haidai, said."We are doing our best to stop the armed groups of the Russians all along the line." However, according to Haidai, they are attacking from several sides and trying to penetrate deep into the neighbouring territory.
Haidai said they were creating a "real hell" with rocket attacks and artillery fire but that Ukrainian forces were resisting bravely.
Russia is likely to target the larger towns of Slovyansk and Kramatorsk next in the Donetsk region. Moscow's declared goal is to wrest the region completely from Ukrainian control.
According to the Ukrainian General Staff in Kiev, there was also shelling in the Kharkiv and Chernihiv regions, with civilian infrastructure also hit.
As Ukraine fights off Russian attacks, the German government has secured long-term supplies of ammunition for the Gepard anti-aircraft systems it has promised to Kiev, Spiegel magazine reported, citing government sources.
The office of Chancellor Olaf Scholz, together with the Ministry of Defence, has found a manufacturer in Norway that can produce more ammunition for the anti-aircraft system, the report said.
Delivery of the Gepard anti-aircraft systems, which are to help Ukraine protect critical infrastructure, is due to start in July.
Meanwhile Russia is moving reserve forces from across the country and assembling them near Ukraine for future offensive operations, according to a British Defence Ministry assessment.
A large proportion of the new infantry units are probably deploying with armoured vehicles taken from long-term storage as their primary transport, the ministry said.
"Despite President Putin's claim on July 7, 2022 that the Russian military has 'not even started' its efforts in Ukraine, many of its reinforcements are ad hoc groupings, deploying with obsolete or inappropriate equipment," the ministry assessment said.
As destruction continues in Ukraine, Washington promised to provide further humanitarian aid.
"Today, I can announce the United States will provide nearly $368 million in additional support, including food, safe drinking water, cash assistance, emergency health care, shelter, as well as support to coordination among humanitarian organizations that are doing so much of this critical work on the ground," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement after the G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Bali.
So far, the US, as the main donor country, had pledged more than $1.28 billion in humanitarian aid to Ukraine since Moscow began the war, he said.
Blinken also called on Russian President Vladimir Putin to immediately end the acts of war.
"As we move into the fifth month of Russia's brutal assault on Ukraine, we continue to call for Russia to end hostilities immediately, facilitate unhindered humanitarian access in Ukraine, and allow sustained safe passage for those who seek to flee to safety," Blinken said.
