Kiev officials said on Thursday that the country’s armed forces were well underway with offensive operations against Russian forces including in Bakhmut and Zaporizhia, after weeks of speculation whether Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive had begun.
“What is happening now? We are continuing the defense that we started on February 24, 2022,” Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister said Thursday of the Bakhmut offensives. “A defensive operation includes everything, including counter-offensive actions. That’s why we’re moving in some directions to offensive action.”
The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that Ukrainian forces also launched a counter-offensive in Zaporizhia from four directions early Thursday morning. “The enemy tried to breach Russia’s defenses,” the ministry said in a statement. A Ukrainian spokesman later confirmed that Kiev had been conducting operations in the region.
Ukraine’s military hasn’t gone so far as to use the word “counteroffensive,” but a senior officer and a soldier near the front lines told NBC the counteroffensive has begun.
The continued operations from Ukraine coincide with work to deal with the destruction of the Nova Kakhovka Dam earlier this week, as Ukraine works to evacuate tens of thousands from flooded neighborhoods. The first flood-related deaths were reported Thursday by Russia-appointed mayor of Nova Kakhovk Vladimir Leontiev, who claimed five bodies emerged from the waters of the flooded city.
Meanwhile, four Ukrainian Armed Forces officials confirmed to The Washington Post that Ukraine is stepping up attacks on the front lines. Attacks in southern Ukraine have particularly increased over the past 24 hours, according to US officials speaking to the New York Times.
According to the Ukrainian military, in the past 24 hours, the Ukrainian Air Force has also carried out 23 strikes on locations with Russian troops and four strikes on enemy anti-aircraft missile systems.
According to a new Brit, the current fighting in Ukraine presents a “highly complex operational picture”. Assessment of the intelligence community published on Thursday. “Heavy fighting continues along several sections of the front. “Ukraine has the initiative in most areas,” the assessment reads.
Earlier this week, Ukrainian and US officials admitted a series of counter-offensives had begun. On Wednesday, Ukrainian forces attacked four Russian command posts, nine locations with Russian troops and military equipment, as well as two enemy anti-aircraft missile systems, five Russian ammunition depots and one enemy radar station, the General Staff of the Armed Forces Ukraine said in a statement.
According to British intelligence, Russia is probably still working on returning to an offensive “as soon as possible”.
The push from Ukraine comes as Russian fighting has stalled in recent months. Despite alleged plans to capture the entire Donbass by March, Russia has captured only about three territories.
According to Ukraine’s military, Russia has grappled with logistics, supply and power struggles since the war began, many of which lingered on Thursday. The Russians stationed in the Volgograd region received the wrong boots. Instead of providing uniforms, Russian contractors have been forced to buy their own uniforms at their own expense, Ukraine’s military said on Thursday. Russia also had “significant problems” in supplying the troops with food, Ukraine claimed.
As Russia falters, Ukrainian officials on Thursday continued to call for more western countries to step up military aid packages to hasten Ukraine’s victory.
Ukrainian MP Maria Ionova told The Daily Beast on Thursday that work is underway to equip the military with the weapons needed to defeat Russia.
“We must do everything we can with our allies to provide all the necessary weapons for our armed forces,” Ukrainian MP Maria Ionova told The Daily Beast.