KYIV – Russia stated on Tuesday it had thwarted one other main Ukrainian offensive in Donetsk, inflicting heavy losses, whereas Ukraine hailed progress in preventing within the east, though it was unclear if it marked the beginning of a long-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive.
On Monday, Russia stated Ukrainian forces over the weekend had begun a serious offensive within the southern a part of the Donetsk area, which it had additionally thwarted.
Ukrainian officers have made no point out of any broad, vital new marketing campaign, though in his nightly tackle on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was enigmatic, hailing “the news we have been waiting for” and ahead strikes in Bakhmut in Donetsk.
Russian President Vladimir Putin despatched troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 final 12 months in what the Kremlin anticipated to be a swift operation, however its forces suffered a sequence of defeats and regrouped within the nation’s east.
Tens of 1000’s of Russian troops dug in over the winter, besieging Bakhmut for months and bracing for an anticipated Ukrainian counter-attack to attempt to reduce Russia’s so-called land bridge to the Crimean Peninsula.
The newest Russian protection ministry assertion stated Russian forces had inflicted big personnel losses on attacking Ukrainian forces and destroyed 28 tanks, together with eight Leopard predominant battle tanks and 109 armored autos. It stated whole Ukrainian losses amounted to 1,500 troops.
“Having suffered heavy losses the day before, the Kiev regime reorganized the remnants of the 23rd and 31st mechanized brigades into separate consolidated units, which continued offensive operations,” the ministry stated on Telegram.
“A complex fire defeat was inflicted by army forces, assault and operational-tactical aviation, missile forces and artillery, as well as heavy flamethrower systems.”
Reuters couldn’t independently confirm the stories. There was no rapid remark from Kyiv about Russia’s assertions.
Russia and Ukraine have usually made claims of inflicting heavy human losses on one another which couldn’t be independently verified.
The Washington Post reported that some US officers thought the counteroffensive was underway, however White House nationwide safety spokesperson John Kirby declined to say whether or not he thought this was the case.
“I’m not going to be talking for the Ukrainian military,” he informed a daily briefing.
“(But) whenever they decide to step up and whatever they decide to do, the president is confident that we did everything we could over the last six, eight months or more to make sure that they had all the equipment, the training, the capabilities to be successful.”
In a promotional video launched on Sunday and urging silence with regard to any navy actions, Ukraine’s protection ministry stated: “Plans like silence — the beginning will not be announced.”
High stakes
The success or failure of a counteroffensive, anticipated to be waged with billions of {dollars} value of superior Western weaponry, is prone to affect the form of future Western diplomatic and navy help for Ukraine.
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba informed Reuters on Monday Ukraine now had sufficient weapons for a counteroffensive however declined to remark when requested whether or not it had begun.
Russia’s protection ministry stated beforehand Ukraine had launched a large-scale offensive on Sunday in 5 sectors of the entrance in southern Donetsk, an space the place Moscow has lengthy suspected Ukraine would search to drive a wedge via Russian-controlled territory.
“The enemy’s goal was to break through our defenses in the most vulnerable, in its opinion, sector of the front,” it stated. “It had no success.”
In its night report on Monday, Ukraine’s General Staff made no point out of any large-scale offensive, nor did it recommend any deviation from the standard tempo or scope of preventing alongside entrance strains that haven’t modified considerably for months.
Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar stated on Telegram Ukraine was “shifting to offensive actions” alongside elements of the entrance however dismissed strategies of a serious operation.
“The main focus now is on the Bakhmut sector,” stated Maliar. “This has resulted in certain successes, including advances. We have taken control of certain heights.”
Russian Wagner group mercenaries captured Bakhmut final month and handed their positions there to common Russian troops.
Writing on Telegram, Wagner militia chief Yevgeny Prigozhin, who has usually clashed with the Russian protection ministry, stated its newest assertion and the massive Ukrainian losses it described was “simply wild and absurd science fiction.”
Russia now controls a minimum of 18% of internationally acknowledged Ukrainian territory and has claimed 4 extra areas of Ukraine as Russian territory after annexing Crimea in 2014. —Reuters
Source: www.gmanetwork.com
