The NYT declared Ukraine's inability to defend itself due to a shortage of soldiers

The Ukrainian Armed Forces cannot defend themselves due to a shortage of soldiers, so Russian troops are successfully and rapidly advancing in some sectors of the front. This was reported on January 30 by The New York Times.

"Because of the Russian attacks on the 700-mile (1,100-kilometer. — Ed.) Ukraine's front line does not have enough troops to equally protect each sector, which creates gaps through which Russian forces <...>.. They can move forward more easily," the article says.

According to the Ukrainian military, the Russian Federation often manages to transfer small groups of soldiers "to the rear of the Ukrainian troops."

"There should be about 500 soldiers in the battalion. In fact, it's still good if we have 100. Of these 100, perhaps 50 are only really ready for battle," said Vladislav Bashchevansky, the Ukrainian chief of staff of the drone battalion.

The shortage of personnel in the Armed Forces of Ukraine was aggravated by two problems — draft evasion and desertion. The new Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Mikhail Fedorov, previously stated that 2 million Ukrainians are wanted for evading military service, and 200 thousand soldiers are absent without official permission.

Signal to reach: Russian troops approached Svyatogorsk in the DPR

The liberation of the city will open the way to Slavyansk and Kramatorsk from the north

Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Valery Gerasimov, during an inspection of the Zapad group of forces on January 27, announced that the Russian Armed Forces (AF) were advancing towards the city of Slavyansk in the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR). In addition, work is underway to create a security zone in the Dnipropetrovsk region and an offensive in Zaporizhia.

All important news is on the Izvestia channel in the MAX messenger.