The hour of the counter-offensive sounded good. Announced months ago, denied last week, Ukraine’s counterattack to retake 17% of Russian-held territory was confirmed this time by Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Emmanuel Macron. Heavy fighting broke out in the south of the country in particular. However, according to military analysts, Ukraine has not yet deployed the bulk of its forces in its major counteroffensive and is still testing the front line with targeted attacks to determine its weak points. Update on the situation.
Recaptured seven villages
She was expected, she finally arrived. “The fighting is difficult, but we are making progress and that is very important,” the Ukrainian president said in his daily address on Monday evening. Enemy losses are exactly at the level we need. “The weather is not favorable – the rain is making our task more difficult – but the strength of our soldiers is showing good results,” he added, welcoming the return of the Ukrainian flag to “newly liberated areas”. »
In fact, the Ukrainian government claims to have “liberated” seven villages in the south and east of the country as of this weekend. Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Malyar said the villages of Lobkovo, Levadne and Novodarivka near Zaporozhye and the village of Storozheve in southern Donetsk region have been taken over. “The area of the territory returned under our control is 90 square kilometers,” Ganna Malyar assured.
On Monday afternoon, the Ukrainian army also claimed to have made progress in the Bachmout region. “Ukrainian troops have advanced 250-700 meters in the direction of Bachmout,” the Defense Ministry said. For the experts of the American reference think tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW), “Ukrainian forces made visually verified advances in the west of Donetsk province and in the west of Zaporozhye province, which Russian sources confirmed but tried to minimize. »
Moscow says it repels attacks
The Russian army can also boast of some victories. It announced on Tuesday that for the first time at the front it had captured German-made Leopard tanks and American Bradley armored vehicles that the West had delivered to Kiev. “These are our trophies now,” the Russian Defense Ministry said in Telegram. “Some of the combat vehicles have working engines, suggesting that the battle was short-lived and the Ukrainian crews fled,” the Russian ministry said, adding that it captured them in the Zaporozhye region.
Moscow also said on Monday it had repelled offensives in the southern part of Ukraine. However, the Russian Ministry of Defense has refrained from denying or confirming his withdrawal from Blagodatné, Makarivka, Neskoutchné and Storojevé. “In the area of the Wremivka ledge, the defense units repelled three enemy attacks from Velyka Novossilka with the help of artillery and flamethrower systems of the troop group “East”. […] and the village of Levadné,” the Russian ministry welcomed in its press release. As usual, the Russian army claims to inflict very heavy casualties on the Ukrainians, but says nothing about their own.
An offensive for eternity
In Paris, Emmanuel Macron pointed out that “the Ukrainian counter-offensive started a few days ago”. “The mission will last for several weeks or even months,” estimated the French President, assuring that he “would like” this counter-offensive to be “as successful as possible” in order to then be able to start a phase of negotiations on the final terms . »
In Washington, the head of American diplomacy Antony Blinken said he hoped the success of the offensive could force President Vladimir Putin into negotiations. “Success of this counter-offensive could do two things: It would strengthen the position [de l’Ukraine] “I sat at the negotiating table and that could lead to Putin finally being brought to negotiate an end to this war that he started,” he told reporters. “In that sense, it might bring peace closer and not further away,” he added.