Ukraine has repelled numerous Russian assaults in Donbas, UK says

thehill.com: Ukraine has repelled numerous Russian attacks in the Donbas region of eastern Urkaine that borders Russia , according to British military intelligence.

Russian forces are now focused in the two month war on achieving gains in Ukraine’s east.

“Ukraine has repelled numerous Russian assaults along the line of contact in the Donbas region,” the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense wrote on Twitter on Sunday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week said Russia had started the “battle for Donbas, for which they have been preparing for a very long time.” He said Moscow had an entire army focused on the assault.

The Ukrainian president, however, vowed that Kyiv would defend its territory “no matter how many Russian soldiers are driven there.”

The U.K. defense ministry on Sunday said that While Russia has made some territorial gains, Ukraine’s resistance “has been strong” and had “inflicted significant cost on Russian forces.”

The British intelligence update also said Russia’s poor morale and limited time to reorganize are likely hampering Moscow’s offensive.

“Poor Russian morale and limited time to reconstitute, re-equip and reorganise from poor offensives are likely hindering Russian combat effectiveness,” the ministry wrote.

The intelligence update comes in the eighth week of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24. After failing to take control of Kyiv, Moscow’s forces repositioned its offensive to target the south and east of Ukraine.

Zelensky on Sunday said eight people were killed and at least 18 were injured that day when a Russian missile strike hit Odesa, which is in southern Ukraine. A three-month-old baby girl was among those killed in the attack.

“Today Russia launched another missile strike at Ukraine, at Odesa. As of now – 8 dead. At least 18 wounded. Ordinary peaceful people. Among those killed was a 3-month-old baby girl. How did she threaten Russia? It seems that killing children is just a new national idea of the Russian Federation,” Zelensky said in an address.