Russia says southeast Ukraine is now the main focus of fighting in the war

By SAMYA KULLAB
Associated Press

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Russia’s defense minister says southeast Ukraine has become the most recent hot spot for battles in the 18-month war as Kyiv’s forces press ahead with their counteroffensive. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told Russian military officers Tuesday that Ukraine has brought up reserve brigades there that were trained by Kyiv’s Western allies. He offered no evidence for his claim, which could not be independently verified. Shoigu’s assertion was corroborated in part by other reports and assessments of Ukraine’s three-month-old effort to drive out the Kremlin’s troops. The Institute for the Study of War, a think tank, says Ukrainian light infantry has advanced beyond some of the anti-tank ditches and dense minefields that make up Russia’s layered defenses in the southeast.