Ukraine’s counteroffensive seemingly picking up after slow start
Mike Brest
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Weeks into a weaker-than-anticipated counteroffensive against Russia, Ukraine‘s military appeared to ramp up its efforts Wednesday, attacking occupied positions in the eastern areas of the war-torn country.
Ukrainian forces launched a renewed push in the western Zaporizhzhia Oblast and in some places were able to break through Russian positions south of Orikhiv, according to the latest update from the Institute for the Study of War. The assault was aimed in the direction of Robotyne, and forces were able to get within about a mile and a half directly east of the village during the attack before they were pushed back slightly, the ISW wrote, citing geolocation footage.
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Ukraine had been holding back portions of its trained troops and some Western-provided weapons during the beginning of its counteroffensive, according to CNN.
Ukraine’s goal is to move south from Zaporizhzhia to the Sea of Azov, which would end Moscow’s land bridge from Russia to Crimea, a major factor in its ability to restock supplies, equipment, and personnel.
Vladimir Rogov, an official appointed by Moscow in southern Ukraine, said on Telegram that fierce battles had begun south of Orikhiv.
Russian defense officials claimed they were able to repel the Ukrainian attack, though the actual results of the renewed push remain fluid.
“I can say without any exaggeration that our soldiers and officers demonstrated the best examples of mass heroism. The enemy used a large number of armored vehicles: 50 units, of which 39 units, including 26 tanks and 13 armored vehicles, were destroyed,” Russian President Vladimir Putin said, according to state media agency Tass.
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Ukraine’s counteroffensive has yielded limited wins while burning through Western munitions. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier this week that the counteroffensive was delayed due to limited munitions and ongoing training on Western-provided weapons systems, explaining that Russia was able to use that time to mine land.
“And because we started it a bit later on, it can be said, and it will be shared truth understood by all the experts that it provided Russia with time to mine all our lands and build several lines of defense. And, definitely, they had even more time than they needed. Because of that, they built more of those lines. And, really, they had a lot of mines in our fields. Because of that, a slower pace of our counteroffensive actions,” Zelensky said.