Ukrainian forces have stepped up artillery and ground assaults in a series of military operations that US officials said on Monday could signal that a long-planned counterattack of Kiev against Russia has begun.
The fighting, which began on Sunday, is raging along several points on the front line, but in the east where many analysts have predicted the Ukrainian counter-offensive will begin. Experts say that even starting in the eastern region would allow Kiev’s military to try to achieve the same goal: To advance south to the Sea of Azov and cut off the land bridge connecting occupied Crimea. close to the Russian mainland.
The Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday that a major Ukrainian operation had begun at five locations in the eastern Donetsk region and that it had repelled attacks and inflicted casualties on Ukrainian forces. The Moscow report cannot be independently corroborated.
Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, Hanna Malyar, said on the messaging app Telegram that Kiev’s forces were “moving to offensive actions”, continuing the defense that began when Russia invaded its neighbour. 15 months ago. “A defensive operation includes everything,” she said, “including counter-actions.”
The devastated city of Bakhmut, which Moscow captured after months of fierce fighting, was at the heart of the fighting, she said. But Russian military bloggers say that a stronger Ukrainian offensive began elsewhere in Donetsk on Monday morning, near the town of Velyka Novosilka. Mikhail Zvinchuk, a pro-Russian blogger who writes under the pseudonym Rybar, described intense fighting as Ukrainian soldiers in German-made Leopard tanks took control of the nearby village of Novodonetske on Monday night, a sign of could show that Kyiv has pushed NATO-trained troops. forces into battle.
Ukraine has long said it will make no official announcement about the start of a counter-offensive, and this weekend the Ukrainian military announced One video on messaging app Telegram renews a call to silence in action about the proposed counterattack, with the tagline, “Plans love silence.”
Ukrainian officials did not tell their American counterparts exactly when the battles would begin, but provided them with a timeframe for when they planned to begin ramping up Russian forces. Unnamed US officials said Sunday falls within that timeframe.
U.S. officials partly based their assessment that Kyiv’s counterattack may have begun based on information gathered from American military satellites, which had detected increased lateral movement in Ukrainian military positions. The satellites have infrared capabilities to track artillery fire and missile launches.
US military analysts also said they believe Ukrainian units are making an initial effort to determine the location and strength of Russian forces – a traditional tactic by which the Americans have trained Ukrainian forces. use. A US official said testing for potential weaknesses in Russia’s defenses, manpower and morale – what the US military calls “forced reconnaissance” – will most likely continue in the coming weeks. some days. If successful, the official said, the main thrust of Ukraine’s counterattack will become more apparent in the meantime.
At the White House, John Kirby, a spokesman for the National Security Council, said he would go no further than the statement made by Ukrainian officials, saying that starting a counterattack was for Kiev to discuss. .
Mr. Kirby said: “What I can say is how hard we worked to get them ready. “The president believes that we’ve done everything we can over the past seven, eight months or more to make sure they have the ability to succeed.”
