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Ukraine is looking to end the “active phase” in the war against Russia ahead of the winter months amid fears Moscow could target its thermal infrastructure as temperatures drop, one top official said Wednesday.
“The Russian army continues to attack our infrastructure facilities. This is one of their goals, they don’t even hide it,” head of the President’s Office of Ukraine Andriy Yermak told Interfax. “This is one of the reasons why we want to take maximum measures to end the active part of the war before the end of autumn.”
Ukrainian soldiers are seen near the recently collapsed bridge which was the target of a Russian missile, near the town of Irpin, Ukraine on March 3, 2022.
(Photo by Wolfgang Schwan/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The official did not say what would need to happen in order to end the “active phase,” but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has repeatedly said Ukraine will not stop fighting until Russia withdraws its forces.
Since invading in February, Russia has made slow advances across eastern and southern Ukraine and Western defense officials have assessed that its forces largely occupy the Luhansk region.
DONBASS, UKRAINE – JUL 23: Ukrainian soldiers in a truck on the Donbass frontline Donetsk, (Ukraine), 23 July 20222
(Photo by Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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Russia has threatened to annex regions of Ukraine in a move that echoes steps it took in 2014 when it occupied Crimea. But recent advances made by Ukrainian forces could circumvent these ambitions.
Ukrainian forces have begun to make some gradual gains in the southern region of Kherson and the northern region of Kharkiv – both of which have seen varying levels of Russian occupation since the early days of the war.
But intense fighting continues throughout the Donbas with seemingly little Ukrainian advancement as of yet.
TOPSHOT – Ukranian soldiers wave from the back of a pick-up as they drive to the frontline during a rainy day in the city of Sloviansk, eastern Ukraine, on August 2, 2022, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(Photo by BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images)
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Yermak noted the importance of quickly repelling Russian forces from occupied areas and said the longer they are able to remain in an area the easier it is for Moscow to dig in.
“We are doing everything to ensure that the goal of de-occupation is achieved,” he added noting dialogue he has had with Western allies. “They share our position.”
