ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine — Thunderstorms swept through southern Ukraine, muddying the terrain and complicating the operations of both armies in the early stages of Kyiv’s counter-offensive to recapture lost territory. Russia occupied.
After announcing the recapture of a series of farming villages over the weekend, Ukraine’s military announced minimal gains on Tuesday as its forces continued to probe Russia’s defenses. The fighting appeared to be slow-moving in line with what military analysts have suggested should be expected at the start of Ukraine’s long-anticipated counter-offensive.
At the same time, unconfirmed Russian accounts on Tuesday indicated that Moscow’s attack helicopters attacked Ukrainian soldiers in an area where Ukraine claims to have recaptured several villages. It is not possible to immediately confirm the Russian account.
As Ukraine searches for a place to wriggle its way through Russian-occupied land in the southeast, it has yet to deploy the bulk of the forces that its Western allies have trained and equipped for the counterattack.
Russia has built many fortification lines on the plain where Ukraine is attacking and heavily ground mines to slow down Ukrainian tanks and armored vehicles. At least eight US-made Bradley fighting vehicles were abandoned or destroyed by the Ukrainian military in the early days of the counter-offensive, based on videos and photos posted by pro-war Russian bloggers and published by The Times. New York Times verified.
On Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry publish a video intended to show that its forces had seized an undisclosed number of German-made Bradleys and Leopard tanks abandoned by Ukrainian forces fighting in Zaporizhzhia, adding: “Now These are our spoils.” The Russian statement could not be independently verified immediately.
The spokesman for the Ukrainian army’s general staff, Andriy Kovalev, told a television news broadcast on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces had advanced about 500 to 1,000 yards in several locations to the south. he did not specify.
A Russian-appointed official in southern Ukraine posted on the Telegram app on Tuesday claiming that Russian attack helicopters targeted Ukrainian soldiers at a location during the night near the town. Velyka Novosilka, in the Donetsk region. where Ukraine started the offensive last week.
“Our night counter-attacks have begun,” wrote official Vladimir Rogov, adding that the Russian military was carrying out sorties with two models of attack helicopters. He said both armies shelled the area.
Pro-war Russian bloggers, who have links to military or paramilitary groups and often provide accounts of hostilities faster than official Russian announcements, also said on Monday that Russia has launched counterattacks in the same area. One blogger, who posts under the pseudonym Archangel Special Forces, wrote that in the fighting near Velyka Novosilka, neither side had a clear advantage.
“In the field reports, we have one piece of information, then another,” the blogger wrote.
The Russian counterattacks, if confirmed, would suggest a defensive strategy of attacking Ukrainian soldiers as they move forward and out of range of their air defenses and electronic jamming systems. their army. Analysts have said that Russia could use such an approach in an attempt to slow Ukraine’s advance.
Ukraine has advanced to at least two locations in southern Ukraine but there is no sign of it breaking through thick Russian defenses, including minefields, infantry trenches and concrete fences. cardboard to stop the tank.
Ivan Kyrychevsky, a military analyst at Defense Express, a Ukrainian analysis group, wrote in a Facebook post: “We must prepare our troops for a long and arduous fight” to break through. defensive line. Ukraine should also be prepared, he said, for Russia “to present itself as a strategic victory over the slightest defeat of our forces”.
President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine, speaking in a speech Monday evening, said the fighting was “fierce” but that Ukrainian troops were advancing despite the rain and storms.
“The rain made our mission more difficult,” he said. “The strength of our warriors still bears fruit.”
Maria Varennikova contribution report.
