Ukraine announced some territorial successes within the its counteroffensive against Russian forces and blamed Moscow for blowing up a second dam.
At the same time, the International Criminal Court (ICC) is already investigating the destruction of the Kakhovka dam wall, which caused large-scale flooding.
On Monday, Ukraine renewed its appeal to the West for more arms aid. Kiev
“Ukraine’s army desperately needs many more Western-style battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and other armored vehicles,” said Ukrainian Deputy Foreign Minister Andriy Melnyk.
The Ukrainian counteroffensive
Three villages in the Russian-occupied Donetsk region – Blagodatne, Neskuchne and Makariuka – were liberated, and Russian soldiers were taken prisoner.
The Ukrainian military released a video showing the Ukrainian flag being raised over a dilapidated building in Blagodatne.
According to Russian military bloggers close to the Kremlin, Blagodatne was abandoned because Moscow’s fighters feared they could be surrounded.
The village of Lobkove in the Zaporozhye region has also been captured by the Ukrainians, according to bloggers with contacts on the battlefield.
Fierce fighting continued on Monday in several hot spots on the front line.
Over the past 24 hours, there have been at least 25 battles, concentrated mainly in the area of the eastern city of Bakhmut, as well as further south near Avdeevka and Mariinka, all in the Donetsk region, but also in the Belogorovka region of the Luhansk region, the general staff of the armed forces said forces of Ukraine.
For several days now, the Ukrainian armed forces have been carrying out large-scale attacks in the Donetsk and Zaporozhye regions in order to liberate the territories occupied there.
Russian troops have withdrawn combat units from the Kherson region to reinforce contingents in other parts of the frontfor example in Zaporozhye region and in Bakhmut in Donetsk region, Ukrainian Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Malyar announced in Kyiv.
Later on Monday Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the Russian army had successfully repelled attacks by Ukrainian forces on the southern front.
“Military group “East” repelled three attacks of the enemy in the direction of Velika Novoselka in the Donetsk Republic and in the area of the village of Levadno in the Zaporozhye region through vigorous actions of the defending units, artillery fire and heavy flamethrower systems”, Konashenko’s statement.
He added that they encountered a concentration of Ukrainian troops in Neskuchne, a village considered to be controlled by Russia. Over the weekend, Ukrainian troops posted photos of a Ukrainian flag raised in the settlement.
Russian forces shelled a rescue boat
Malyar again said that Russia deliberately destroyed the Kakhovka dam on Tuesday to flood the Kherson region and make it impassable for the Ukrainian offensive.
Kiev said Russian troops fired on a rescue boat evacuating civilians in the Kherson region.
“Russians are cowardly terrorists,” Andriy Yermak, chief of staff of the Ukrainian president, wrote in “Telegram”.
“They shot civilians in the back.”
In the early hours of last Tuesday, the river dam in the Russian-occupied town of Nova Kakhovka was destroyed. Huge amounts of water poured out of the reservoir, completely flooding dozens of villages.
Kyiv claims a second dam explosion
At the same time, Ukraine claims that Russia blew up another dam in the Zaporozhye region after the main dam was destroyed.
Valery Shershen, a spokesman for the Ukrainian army, said Moscow’s forces chose to blow up a second dam near the village of Novodarovka, which “led to flooding on both banks of the Mokri Yala River.”
According to him, Russia is deliberately blowing up dams in the region to stop the advance of Ukraine to the occupied areas.
The ICC is investigating “Kahovka”
An International Criminal Court (ICC) investigation is now underway about the destruction of the Kakhovka dam wall, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said, Reuters reported.
“Already on the first day after the disaster, the Office of the General Prosecutor sent the corresponding request to the ICC regarding the investigation of this disaster, and the work has already begun.” announced Zelensky.
The president pointed out that it is important for experts from the ICC to see the consequences of the disaster, including cases of shelling of flooded areas.
Zelensky announced that Ukrainian rescue teams had evacuated around 4,000 residents from the affected areas – including areas on the Russian-occupied eastern bank of the Dnieper River.
Kyiv needs more weapons
Against this background, Ukraine asked Germany for more Leopard 2 tanks.
“Ukraine’s army desperately needs many more Western-style battle tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and other armored vehicles,” Melnyk told the En Te Fau TV channel amid the loss of the first Western tanks in the Ukrainian army’s counteroffensive.
In his words, each “Leopard 2” tank “is literally worth its weight in gold for a decisive offensive”.
Melnik is confident that the Bundeswehr is capable of delivering more than the 18 tanks it has already delivered from its stockpile (which totals more than 300). He believes the current number could be “tripled without compromising Germany’s ability to defend itself”.
The Deputy Foreign Minister also demanded that Ukraine receive “another 60 Marder infantry fighting vehicles.”
UNIAN points out that a video recording of a fierce battle on the Zaporizhia sector of the front, where the offensive of the Ukrainian armed forces is currently taking place, has appeared on the Internet. It is noted that during this battle, Ukrainian soldiers lost a Leopard 2 tank and several Bradley APCs. However, the soldiers helped each other escape and escaped without casualties among the personnel.
According to military expert Oleg Zhdanov, Russian propaganda actively circulated this video, exaggerating losses on the Ukrainian side.
Military and political commentator Oleksandr Kovalenko explains why the Ukrainian army did not send T-64 and BMP-1/2/3 tanks to the battle, but instead sent M2 “Bradley” BMP.
Melnyk also renewed his demand that Germany supply Taurus cruise missiles and help build a powerful Ukrainian air force.
Ukraine “waits for Germany’s strategic decision to actively participate in the fighter coalition”, the deputy foreign minister said, and demanded that Berlin provide the opportunity for immediate training of Ukrainian Eurofighter pilots, as well as provide part of the more than 130 aircraft needed by Kiev.
2023-06-12 15:00:48
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