Ukraine has begun a major push in its south as its counteroffensive against Russia picks up pace, according to a U.S. official who asked not to be identified discussing the details of military operations.
(Bloomberg) — Ukraine has begun a major push in its south as its counteroffensive against Russia picks up pace, according to a U.S. official who asked not to be identified discussing the details of military operations.
The drive comes almost two months after Ukraine began its push against well-fortified Russian defensive lines. Progress so far has been slow in the face of Russian minefields, tank barriers and other defenses.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskiy bolstered indications that his country’s troops were making a major move, saying without elaboration Wednesday evening, “Glory to all who defend Ukraine! By the way, our boys at the front had very good results today. Well done! Details later.” Russian officials also reported a major effort by Ukraine.
Analysts with the Institute for the Study of War said that “Ukrainian forces launched a significant mechanized counteroffensive operation” in western Zaporizhzhia and “appear to have broken through certain pre-prepared Russian defensive positions.” The analysts added that “Russian sources provided a wide range of diverging claims as to the scale of both the attack and resulting Ukrainian losses,” making the results so far unclear.
The New York Times earlier cited two Pentagon officials it didn’t identify as saying Ukraine has launched the main thrust of its counteroffensive. But a Ukraine embassy official, who also asked not to be identified, warned against framing any part of the counteroffensive as a decisive battle, describing the war against Russia’s invasion as a long series of operations in different places along the front line.
“We said throughout that this would be a tough fight, it would be a long fight and it will see challenges, successes and setbacks,” US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin told reporters Thursday at a news conference in Papua New Guinea. “Ukraine is well-prepared and well-trained to to be successful.”
“They’ve been working their way to get through the minefields and other obstacles, but they still have a lot of combat power,” Austin added.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Wellington, New Zealand, that “the question on the table now is whether the Ukrainians are deploying some of the units that they’ve held back and putting all of those into the counteroffensive. And I really refer you to our Defense Department and other experts on exactly what’s happening on the ground.”
Rejecting the impression that Ukraine’s offensive had stalled, John Kirby, spokesman for the US National Security Council, told reporters Wednesday, “They’ve already acknowledged that they’re not going as far or as fast as they would like. That said, they are moving. It’s not a stalemate. They’re not just frozen. The Ukrainians are moving.”
–With assistance from Jennifer Jacobs and Matthew Brockett.
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