possible counter-offensive
A Ukrainian soldier fires a grenade launcher at Russian frontline positions near Bakhmut.
(Photo: dpa)
Riga According to various reports, the Ukrainian counter-offensive is gaining momentum. Military analysts at the Washington-based Institute for War Research (ISW) reported on Friday morning that Ukraine had conducted counter-offensive operations, with mixed results. These operations are part of a broader counter-offensive that the ISW said has been underway since last Sunday.
According to experts, Ukraine made tactical gains in Donetsk Oblast, for example, and Ukrainian troops also attacked in western Zaporizhia region, but at the time of reporting they had not made any gains. ISW also reports that Ukraine lost some Western-supplied military vehicles on Thursday.
However, such losses are “unavoidable in any military undertaking”. The Ukrainian armed forces would suffer losses in offensive operations, including “Western and Soviet equipment”, the analysts said.
According to military analyst Niklas Masuhr, who researches at ETH Zurich, Ukraine’s offensive efforts have recently “shifted a few gears”. It is assumed that the focal points of the announced counteroffensives are from the north in Zaporizhia and in the eastern regions of Donetsk and Luhansk.
Since yesterday, the American newspapers “Washington Post” and “New York Times” have also reported that the counter-offensive has already begun. The New York Times referred to three senior US government officials, and the Washington Post to four unnamed Ukrainian military sources.
Zelensky praises Ukrainian troops for ‘results’ of their efforts
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy made only a vague report on Friday on the latest fighting against Russian attacking troops, after the Ukrainian side dismissed reports that the counter-offensive had begun. He said he was in contact with Ukrainian units in “all the hottest places” and praised them for the “results” of their efforts, but did not elaborate. The statement can be interpreted as an allusion to the counter-offensive. Zelensky also said in the video that the time has not yet come to reveal combat details.
>> Read here: Start of Ukrainian counter-offensive: Ukrainian military rejects reports
However, Russian and Ukrainian authorities reported heavy fighting in the east of the country, in the Donetsk region. There were also reports from the Russian side of heavy fighting in the Zaporizhia region in the south of the country.
The Moscow government presented the latest development as a full-scale counter-offensive by Ukraine and stressed that it would be repulsed. According to Russian President Vladimir Putin, the counter-offensive has already begun. “This is confirmed by the deployment of the strategic reserve,” Putin told a conference in Sochi on Friday. On the other hand, the Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense, Hanna Maljar, had previously spoken of Russian attacks, which would be repulsed. Ukraine accuses Russia of spreading misinformation about the counteroffensive.
The destruction of the Kakhovka dam in Kherson Oblast and the resulting flooding led to debates about the impact on the announced counter-offensive. ETH researcher Masuhr is of the opinion that the destruction of the dam will have little immediate impact on the military course of the war. “It is quite unlikely that Ukraine plans to cross the Dnieper as an important offensive axis,” he told the German Press Agency.
>> Read here: Latvian Prime Minister Karins: “Russia will remain a threat”
Both sides also hold each other accountable for the destruction of the dam, even though the dam is in territory controlled by Russian occupying forces. On Friday, Ukraine’s domestic intelligence service said it had recorded a telephone conversation proving Russia’s responsibility for the dam’s demolition. The information cannot be independently verified at this time. The number of recorded deaths rose to 16.
The outcome of the counter-offensive could affect future arms shipments
After the Ukrainian armed forces managed to liberate large previously occupied areas, including the city of Kherson, in late summer and autumn last year, the country’s international partners have high expectations for the counter-offensive. In recent weeks, high-ranking members of the government have repeatedly warned against this scenario that hopes are too high. After Ukraine received billions in military aid from the West, the success or failure of the counter-offensive is considered a factor in deciding whether to give more aid.
With agency material.
More: When Russian neo-Nazis suddenly fight Putin with NATO weapons