Pelosi’s visit to Ukraine Signals of increasing US resolve against Russia

But that honing effort has been slow, with heavy artillery battles and high casualties on both sides.

It’s not just the Ukrainian military that is suffering from a shortage of supplies. The current shortage of gasoline and diesel, at least for civilian use, stems from Russia’s blockade of Ukrainian ports and attacks on oil refineries and fuel depots. Even in cities like Lviv, long lines for gasoline are seen, and there are concerns about the impact of shortages on agriculture, even in fields not ravaged by the war. .

One report The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations said that only a fifth of the nearly 1,300 large agricultural enterprises surveyed by the government in mid-March had enough fuel to operate the farm equipment needed to grow corn and rice. barley and other crops this spring, which is driving up food prices in countries far from Ukraine.

In a possible sign to mark the morale of the Russian people, the Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, General Valery V. Gerasimov, the country’s top uniformed officer, paid a visit to a military officer. dangerous front-line positions in eastern Ukraine this weekend in an attempt to “change the course” of the Russian offensive there, according to a senior Ukrainian official with knowledge of the visit.

Ukrainian forces launched an attack on a Russian headquarters in Izium on Saturday night, but General Gerasimov left to return to Russia, the official said. However, about 200 soldiers, including at least one general, were killed, the Ukrainian official said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive military operation. An unnamed US official confirmed that General Gerasimov was in eastern Ukraine but did not confirm the rest of the Ukrainian account.

Fighting has increased around the large eastern city of Kharkiv in recent days as Ukrainian forces attempt to push back Russian units. Although the gains were small, they were symbolic of the strategy of both Ukrainian and Russian forces as the fighting dragged on into its third month, focusing on one village at a time and using firepower. artillery concentrated to repel each other.