Russian army expands grip on eastern Ukraine in move to cut supply lines

A boy removes broken glass from a window’s frame after shelling in Donetsk (Alexei Alexandrov/AP)

The Russian military has expanded its control of territory in eastern Ukraine in an offensive that could cut supply lines and encircle frontline Ukrainian forces, British and Ukrainian military chiefs said.

The UK’s Ministry of Defence said that Ukrainian forces had withdrawn from some areas near the city of Lysychansk, the latest major battlefield in Russian President Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine, to avoid the possibility of being encircled as Russians sent in reinforcements and concentrated their firepower in the area.