Facing the Ukrainian counteroffensive, Russia is adapting and appears to have found a formidable weapon to slow the enemy’s advance.
At the center of the conflict. The New York Times got as close as possible to the Ukrainian counteroffensive, where the war is raging to retake territory ceded to Russia at the start of the invasion, village by village, in February 2022.
Times journalists had access to rare elements that shed light on the ongoing fighting in southeast and eastern Ukraine. In a long story, the American newspaper particularly points out that it was able to see the extent to which the Russians were constantly adapting to slow the Ukrainian counteroffensive.
An even deadlier tactic
According to the Ukrainian military, Russia is taking advantage of the minefields left behind by its withdrawal, but with a new tactic that is more dangerous and… even more deadly.
Now every minefield is sprayed with a highly flammable agent. And every time the Ukrainians move into a minefield to clear the country, the Russians drop a grenade from a drone, triggering “a sea of fire and explosions.”
Despite everything, Ukraine’s progress on the front lines is real, which is confirmed by its Western partners. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on September 1 that “significant progress has been made in the south, particularly in the Zaporizhzhia region, over the last 72 hours.”