Embarrassing clue Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is faltering as one-year anniversary looms

As the one-year anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine looms, Vladimir Putin is facing yet another major military blow.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is facing yet another military setback as his brutal invasion of Ukraine staggers on.

With the one-year anniversary of the war looming next month, both US and Ukrainian insiders have revealed to CNN that Russia’s artillery fire has fallen significantly from its peak, down by up to 75 per cent in certain areas.

While it’s not yet clear what’s behind the major drop, which could potentially be caused by the rationing of dwindling weapon supplies or a tactical reassessment of the military operation, it’s yet another clear indication that the war is not exactly going to plan for the rogue nation.

The news also coincides with a boost in support for Ukraine among Western nations, and amid growing discontent within Russia.

US officials also told CNN that when it came to Russia’s weapon stockpiles, “the bucket is getting smaller”, and that the significant fall in fire could suggest supplies of conventional weapons were limited, as well as cruise and ballistic missiles.

Russian President Vladimir Putin is facing another potential setback. Picture: Aleksey Babushkin/Sputnik/AFP

Adding to the theory is the fact that Russia has turned to Iran and also North Korea in recent months, with Iran supplying the Kremlin with drones as well as personnel to instruct troops in their use.

According to CNN, the US predicts the rate of Russian fire has fallen from 20,000 rounds per day to 5000, while Ukraine puts the number far higher, down to 20,000 per day from a high of 60,000, although both sets of numbers show an obvious massive reduction.

Meanwhile, the UK Ministry of Defence reports that Russia seems to currently be focused on strengthening its defence fortifications, especially around Zaporizhzhia, where it appears officials are concerned about a Ukrainian offensive.

“A major Ukrainian breakthrough in Zaporizhzhia would seriously challenge the viability of Russia’s ‘landbridge’ linking Russia’s Rostov region and Crimea,” the ministry said, adding a Ukrainian win in the Luhansk region would “undermine Russia’s professed war aim of ‘liberating’ the Donbas”.

Russia ‘likely’ captured Ukrainian town

However, Russia is still managing to clock up some wins.

Russia is now “likely” to be in control of the key Ukrainian town of Soledar as bloody battles rage in the country’s east, the UK’s Ministry of Defence said earlier this week.

The town is the site of an extensive salt mine which Kyiv fears could be used by Russian forces to infiltrate other areas nearby.

Russian mercenary group Wagner said on Tuesday it was fighting “heavy, bloody battles” for control of Soledar as part of Moscow’s months-long offensive to capture Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region.

“On the western outskirts of Soledar there are heavy bloody battles. The Armed Forces of Ukraine are honourably defending the territory of Soledar,” Wagner founder Yevgeny Prigozhin said on social media.

The Kremlin-linked businessman, who has been hit with Western sanctions, also dismissed allegations that Ukrainian forces were deserting front lines en masse in Soledar.

“Let’s be honest with ourselves. The Ukrainian army is bravely fighting for Bakhmut and Soledar. Reports of their mass desertion are not true,” Mr Prigozhin said, cited by his press office on Telegram.

Soledar is around 15km from the war-battered city of Bakhmut, which has become the focus of fighting in recent months.

Ukrainian armed forces’ soldiers drive a T-72 tank on the outskirts of Bakhmut, eastern Ukraine on December 21. Picture: Sameer Al-Doumy/AFP

The capture of Bakhmut – a city with a pre-war population of 70,000 – is now one of Moscow’s main military objectives almost a year into its Ukraine mission.

A Russian proxy official in Donetsk, Denis Pushilin, said on Tuesday on Russian state television that Soledar was “very close to liberation” by Moscow’s forces.

He admitted that this came “at a very high price” and said Ukrainian forces were “still resisting”.

Mr Prigozhin said earlier this week that Soledar was being stormed “exclusively” by Wagner units, saying they were fighting fiercely for the city’s administration building.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in his late-night address on Monday that his troops were withstanding “new and even tougher assaults” at Soledar.

He said the town had been flattened by the fighting.

“Everything is completely destroyed.”

The UK’s Defence Ministry said on Monday that Moscow’s forces were “likely in control of most” of Soledar.

Mr Prigozhin and Wagner’s public persona has vastly grown since the Kremlin sent troops into Ukraine.

The businessman has recruited prisoners to fight in Ukraine, promising an amnesty upon their return if they survive.

– with AFP