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DNIPRO, Ukraine — Russia launched a wave of drone strikes on several regions of Ukraine early Tuesday, and fighting simmered in key areas along the long front line as Ukrainian forces continued their push to rout Russian occupying forces.
Since the launch of a major counteroffensive, Ukraine has had modest gains, including the liberation of seven villages, but progress has been slow, leading some analysts to speculate that Kiev had temporarily paused its counterattack.
However, a Ukrainian officer who fought in the southern Zaporizhia region said there was no end to hostilities. “Our fighters are looking for weak points to advance and advance further,” the official said on condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Andrii Kovalev, a spokesman for the General Staff of Ukraine’s Armed Forces, said there had been “heavy fighting” along some parts of the front and that there had been 45 skirmishes in the past 24 hours.
Pro-war Russian bloggers and propagandists also reported ongoing hostilities, including on a key axis north of the Russian-held town of Melitopol, where Ukraine claimed over the weekend it had captured the village of Pyatikhatka.
“In the direction of Melitopol, after capturing Pyatikchatka, the enemy is trying to get into the next village … fierce fighting continues,” said Igor Strelkov, a former Russian Security Service officer who played a brutal role in Russia’s military operations in the Crimean Donbass in 2014, wrote on Telegram.
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Hanna Maliar, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, said late Monday that Ukraine was advancing “in several directions to the south” but Russia was focusing its efforts on the east and that both areas were “hot”.
News of an eastward shift came after reports that following the collapse of the Kakhovka Dam, Moscow may have withdrawn resources and troops from the southern Kherson region, where the resulting flooding appears to have altered Kiev’s plans for a southern advance.
Russian airstrikes, including drone and missile strikes, continued Tuesday as well, with airstrike sirens wailing overnight in the capital Kiev and in Lviv near the Polish border.
Kovalev said in a statement Tuesday that “another massive air and missile attack” involved 35 drones, including two dozen Iranian-made “Shahed” drones that were sent to Kiev. Ukrainian officials claimed their air defenses intercepted 32 of the drones.
In Lviv, part of the “critical infrastructure” was hit and caught fire, the city’s military administration said, but transport had been restored and there were no injuries.
Parts of Zaporizhia, still controlled by Ukraine, also came under fire early Tuesday, mostly from Russian airstrikes. “Zaporizhia and its suburbs were rocked by another insidious mass attack by the enemy,” said Yuriy Malashko, head of the Zaporizhia regional military administration, adding that there were no casualties.
Meanwhile, one person was killed and seven injured during mud clearing operations in a flooded area of Kherson, Ukraine’s presidential administration chief Andriy Yermak said on Tuesday. The Washington Post could not verify Yermak’s account.
In a post on Telegram, Yermak wrote: “The Russian army fired on rescue workers clearing mud in Kherson. An employee of the state rescue service died as a result of the shelling and seven other employees were injured. Six are in serious condition.”
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As a result of the collapse of the dam, more than 800 houses are still flooded, Ukraine’s Interior Ministry said on Tuesday. According to the ministry, 31 people were still missing. Kiev blames Russian forces for blowing up the dam, while Russia blames Ukraine for the damage.
Ukraine’s Health Ministry also reported “significant” water pollution in the areas affected by the dam collapse, including traces of salmonella, rotavirus and E. coli, among others. In response, the authorities banned swimming and fishing in the Odessa, Kherson and Mykolaiv regions.
Stern reported from Kyiv, Ukraine. Kamila Hrabchuk from Dnipro, Ukraine contributed to this report.
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