Russia has reported fierce fighting in southern Ukraine, with some military bloggers seeing the first signs of a long-awaited Ukrainian counteroffensive, Reuters reported.
There are practically no independent reports from the front, and Kiev keeps its plans in complete secrecy, which is why it is impossible to give an objective assessment of Ukraine’s attempts to break through Russian defenses, notes the British news agency.
Thousands of Western-trained and armed Ukrainian military personnel are expected to join the Ukrainian counter-offensive.
Russia, which had been able to prepare its defense lines for months, said it had been able to withstand Ukrainian attacks since the start of the week.
Pro-Russian military bloggers today reported fighting on the Zaporizhia direction near the town of Orekhov. It is considered one of Ukraine’s main potential targets, as it is located not far from the middle of the “land bridge” connecting Russia to the Crimean peninsula.
Ben Barry, a senior fellow at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, commented on reports by Russian bloggers about the presence of German Leopard tanks and American Bradley infantry fighting vehicles near the town of Tokmak, which is south of Orekhov. According to Barry, if the claims are true, it will be the first evidence that the new Ukrainian brigades, armed by the West, have already joined the war.
In all, Kiev has 12 brigades with a total of between 50,000 and 60,000 troops ready to join the counteroffensive. Nine of the brigades are armed and trained by Western allies.
“They can decide how many of them to send to the front and how many to keep in reserve in case the dynamics of the battlefield change,” the military expert said.
Ukraine’s initial priority will be to try to throw the Russians off balance and achieve tactical surprise through deception and disguise.
Ukraine imposes a complete ban on the transmission of media messages from the battlefield during offensive operations, notes Reuters.
Active fighting is taking place this morning in the Zaporozhye region in southern Ukraine, Vladimir Rogov, the representative of the Russian occupation authorities, said in Telegram.
Rogov did not elaborate, but according to Alexander Sladkov, a correspondent for Russian public television, who has a Telegram channel followed by more than 1 million people, both sides are firing artillery and Kiev’s forces are on the offensive. “Prolonged and heavy fighting is taking place,” he wrote early this morning, adding that “the frontline is stable.” “The enemy is making tremendous efforts. In vain. Ours are holding,” he added.
Zelensky welcomed the results achieved in the heavy fighting in the Donetsk region
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky welcomed what he described as “results” in heavy fighting in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk region, Reuters reported.
“There is very heavy fighting in Donetsk region,” Zelensky said in his daily video message, delivered on a train on his way back from the areas affected by the rupture of the Nova Kakhovka dam, which he visited yesterday.
“But there are results and I am grateful to those who achieved these results. Job well done in Bakhmut. Step by step,” he said.
Zelensky also cited other areas where fighting was taking place, but said he would not provide details.
Photos posted on his Telegram account showed him meeting some of the top generals in the field.
The Institute for the Study of War: The Ukrainian counteroffensive is in three sectors of the front
Ukrainian forces have carried out counteroffensive actions in at least three sectors of the front in recent days. This is according to an analysis by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW). Data as of Thursday, June 8. According to the institute, some of the operations of the Ukrainians were successful.
In recent days, official Ukrainian sources say that their forces in Bakhmut have switched from defensive to offensive. They have advanced in various sections of the front, and in some places their positions are about 2 kilometers further.
“Since June 4, the Ukrainian forces have achieved some tactical successes after localized counterattacks in the western part of the Donetsk region. An operation was also carried out in the western part of Zaporozhye in the period of June 7-8, but at the moment there are no reports of any successes,” the institute wrote .
The attacks in Zaporozhye were not carried out with all the capabilities of the Ukrainian forces, the researchers emphasize. In the past, the Ukrainians have shown that they can carry out coordinated operations involving multiple mechanized brigades.
According to the institute, Ukraine currently has 12 brigades that it plans to use in the counteroffensive. They are equipped with western weaponry.
Russian forces in the region are well trained and equipped, the analysis also claims. They are defined as more capable than the units used in other parts of the front.
“The Russian defense in this sector should not be considered indicative of their overall capabilities. In other areas, Russian forces performed much weaker. Recently, Ukraine has regained the initiative on the battlefield and will be able to choose in which direction to continue the counter-offensive.” , ISW writes.
A drone carrying explosives crashed into a residential building in the Russian city of Voronezh
A drone carrying explosives collided with a high-rise residential building on Belinsky Street in the Russian city of Voronezh.
“According to preliminary data, after the incident on Belinsky Street, two people were injured in Voronezh, they are receiving all the necessary help,” said Alexander Gusev, governor of the Voronezh region.
He later specified that three people were hit by glass, but they refused hospitalization. According to the governor, the FSB, the Ministry of Emergency Situations and other special services are working on the ground.
At least ten apartments were damaged, and a load-bearing wall was destroyed on the second floor, reports the Schott Telegram channel.
According to one of the versions, the drone may have flown towards the aircraft factory on Tsiolkovski Street. It was moving at an altitude of 200 meters. However, the air defense began to silence it with the help of radio electronic warfare (ERW). As a result, the drone with a wingspan of 1.5 meters began to lose altitude until it crashed into the residential building.
According to other versions published by Baza, the target of the drone was the military airport in Baltimore, which is located 4.5 km from the crash site, or the FSB building in the region – it is located only 300 meters from the site of the explosion.
Previously, drones attacked the Voronezh region on May 10. Then the governor reported the arrival of two drones: one of them deviated from the course, and the second was destroyed by gunfire. A week earlier, on May 4, another drone was shot down in the region.
On May 30, drones attacked several areas of Moscow and the Moscow region. According to the Ministry of Defense, eight drones were involved in the attack, of which five were shot down and three lost control after being suppressed by electronic warfare. Drones have also hit residential buildings, windows of buildings have been broken.
According to Kommersant, the explosive devices embedded in the drones did not work because the residential buildings they crashed into were not their main targets. The targets of the attack may have been the homes of Foreign Intelligence Service officials, NBC reported, citing a senior U.S. official and congressional representative familiar with the matter.
The Pentagon is preparing a new $2 billion military aid package for Ukraine
The Pentagon is preparing a new package of military aid for Ukraine worth 2 billion dollars, reports Bloomberg News, Reuters reported.
The aid will mainly include air defense munitions and help Ukraine purchase American Hawk anti-aircraft missile systems and two types of advanced Patriot air defense systems.
2023-06-09 15:10:03
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