Ukraine warned Friday that Moscow was ramping up attacks on railways in a bid to disrupt military supplies ahead of a fresh Russian offensive while Kyiv waits for new US weapon deliveries.
Kyiv fears Russia is seeking to press its advantage on the battlefield ahead of symbolic May 9 Victory Day celebrations, as both sides continued to launch deadly cross-border strikes.
A Ukrainian security source told AFP that Russia wanted to damage Ukrainian railway infrastructure to "paralyse deliveries and movement of military cargo" as Moscow prepares to advance.
Russian forces have a firepower and manpower advantage at the front lines, and Kyiv has warned that fighting will become increasingly difficult in the coming weeks.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said he believed the Kremlin wants its army to capture the strategic heights of Chasiv Yar, a village in the eastern Donetsk region, before May 9, when Russia celebrates the Soviet Union's victory in World War II.
On Friday, he said the months of delays to a $61 billion package of US aid -- approved by Washington this week -- had cost his forces.