KYIV, UKRAINE (AP) – Foreign analysts say Russia may be temporarily easing its offensive in Ukraine as it attempts to reconstitute its forces for a renewed assault.
A Washington-based think tank said Russian forces made no claimed or assessed territorial gains in Ukraine “for the first time in 133 days of war.” The Institute for the Study of War suggested Moscow might be taking an “operational pause” that does not entail “the complete cessation of active hostilities.”
Ukrainian officials say shelling continues in Ukraine’s east, where at least nine civilians were killed in 24 hours. Most of the civilian deaths occurred in Donetsk province, which Russian troops and separatist fighters are trying to capture.
By Maria Grazia Murru and Oleksandr Stashevskyi, Associated Press
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