MADRID, 28 May. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Operational Command in southern Ukraine reported Friday that Russian troops are moving around 30 Soviet ‘T-62’ tanks, designed in the late 1950s, and multiple rocket launchers into the Kherson region.

This has also been confirmed by the British Ministry of Defense which, in its latest report, has highlighted that “it is almost certain that the ‘T-62s’ are particularly vulnerable to anti-tank weapons”, so “their presence in the battlefield highlights Russia’s shortage of modern, combat-ready equipment.”

In fact, this very Monday, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces reported that “damaged and recovered equipment” is used to compensate for the losses of weapons and military equipment of Russian troops.

According to various Ukrainian media, serial production of the ‘T-62’ began in 1962. At the end of 2012, the Russian Army had more than 900 tanks of this type and some of them were used in Syria and, previously, in the east of Ukraine.

For his part, Pentagon spokesman John Kirby stated at a press conference that, after 100 days of Russian invasion of the country, Russian President Vladimir Putin “has achieved exactly zero of his strategic objectives.”

“It didn’t take away Ukraine’s sovereignty, quite the opposite. In fact, I think it has reinforced for the people of Ukraine, how important their independence really is. You can see them fighting for it every day, not just as soldiers, but as citizens,” he stressed.

Kirby has pointed out that Moscow has not “taken” the Ukrainian capital, kyiv, nor has it “decapitated” the Ukrainian government. “He didn’t take any major cities other than Mariupol at this point. So he hasn’t really achieved any of the strategic goals and is now focusing on a much smaller part of the country,” she has said.

Likewise, the Pentagon spokesman stressed that the US strategy has two components: helping Ukraine defend itself — a response that changes over time according to Kiev’s needs — and reinforcing NATO’s eastern flank.

“We now have more than 100,000 troops in or around theater in Europe: some at sea, some in the air, some on the ground to reinforce NATO’s eastern flank,” Kirby said.

In this way, he has pointed out that if Sweden and Finland decide to become members of the Atlantic Alliance, “there will be other commitments” pending. Kirby added that Putin needs to understand that they will defend “every inch of NATO territory.”

Regarding military aid to Ukraine, the Pentagon spokesman stressed that “the ‘M777’ howitzers have definitely made a significant difference on the battlefield”, as Ukrainian troops have used them in the Donbas region.

“We are seeing fighting around Severodonetsk. There is no doubt about it, and we certainly assess that the Russians want to take it,” he said, referring to the latest movements of Russian troops in this area, surrounded from different points.

The British Ministry of Defense, in fact, has indicated in its latest report that the Russian Army “continues its attempt to surround Severodonetsk and Lisichansk, recently capturing several villages northwest of Popasna.”

The pro-Russian separatist forces of Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine, confirmed this Friday the capture of the city of Limán after the Ukrainian government declared it “strategically lost” last night.

The city, which had a population of about 20,000 people before the outbreak of the conflict, is strategic because it is close to a road that connects with other cities in the east of the country, in particular Kramatorsk, the main city of the Donetsk part. which is still under Ukrainian control.

Liman is also west of the cities of Severodonetsk and Lisichansk, which are also under the Ukrainian flag for now.