2023-06-06 14:45:00
As Ukraine launches a massive offensive once morest Russia on a major front, the situation is mixed.
The Ukrainian side is claiming victory every day in Bakhmut, Donetsk Province, a fierce battleground, but Russia is announcing news of the defeat of the Ukrainian army one following another.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in a video address on Monday that soldiers fighting in Bakhmut brought “good news”.
However, it did not specifically mention the contents of the ‘good news’.
Bahmut is an area where the Russian mercenary company ‘Wagner Group’ declared complete occupation following nearly a year of fighting and handed over control to the Russian regular army.
Ukrainian forces are still on the offensive in the area, claiming they are racking up losses.
Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hannah Malyaar said soldiers were advancing on the Bakhmut front and that “our forces are having some success”.
Founder Yevgeny Prigozin, the real owner of the Wagner Group, said it was “a shame” that the Russian military had given up parts of Bakhmut to Ukraine.
On the 3rd, Ukrainian Army Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Shirsky posted on Telegram that “the enemy (Russian) forces continue to suffer significant losses in the Bakhmut direction,” and that “our forces will continue to fight and win.”
See also: Ukrainian commander-in-chief “I will take back Bakhmut…Russian forces have significant losses”…’Hybrid’ warfare begins
■ Claim to defeat ‘Great Counterattack’
Ukraine has recently emphasized an imminent counter-offensive to retake Russian occupied territory, but it has been strategically silent on whether it has actually launched it.
In the midst of this, on the 5th, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that Ukraine had launched a ‘counterattack’ the day before (4th), and that the Russian army had repulsed the offensive.
See also: “Ukrainian forces launch large-scale military operation”…Russian Ministry of Defense “repulses counterattack, kills 250”
Subsequently, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced on the same day (5th) via Telegram that it had stopped another large-scale attack by Ukrainian forces in Donetsk Oblast.
In the process, the Russians explained that they destroyed 28 tanks, including eight German-made Leopards.
The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that Ukrainian troops lost more than 1,500 men in Donetsk region on this day.
Regarding this Russian announcement, the Ukrainian authorities did not confirm the facts and did not take a direct position.
Ukrainian authorities criticized Russia’s propaganda campaign in a separate statement on the same day.
“Russian propaganda agents will spread false information regarding Ukrainian military losses in order to demoralize Ukraine and mislead the community,” the Ukrainian Center for Strategic Communications and Security Information (SPRAVDI) said in a statement.
■ Biden, good luck
US President Joe Biden wished good luck to the Ukrainian army’s ‘counterattack’.
At the scene of a meeting with Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen held at the White House on the 5th, President Biden raised one hand and crossed two fingers when asked by a reporter whether Ukraine would succeed in a counterattack. It’s an expression for ‘good luck’.
US President Joe Biden (right) and Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen hold talks at the White House on the 5th.
President Biden said in all remarks at the meeting that day, “We are working together to protect values, including defending Ukraine in its fight once morest Russia’s brutal attack.”
“We are taking steps to strengthen our common security with our North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) allies, including finalizing bilateral defense cooperation agreements,” he added.
“From a European perspective, it is always important to have a US president committed to a transatlantic alliance,” Frederiksen said.
“Now that the war is raging in Europe, it has become even more important for allies and allies to come together,” he said.
■ Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff “Ukraine is well prepared”
When asked at a briefing on the same day (5th) whether it might be seen as the start of a counteroffensive in Ukraine, White House National Security Council (NSC) Strategic Communications Coordinator John Kirby said, “I will not speak for the Ukrainian military.” matter,” he declined to answer.
Meanwhile, US Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Mark Milley said Ukraine was well prepared for a counterattack.
Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley tells CNN in an exclusive interview that while Ukraine is “very well prepared” for a counteroffensive once morest Russia, it is “too early to tell what outcomes are going to happen.” Watch: https://t.co/pqa73YDP6B
— CNN (@CNN) June 5, 2023
“Ukraine has prepared very well for a counterattack once morest Russia,” Milley said in an interview with CNN on the 5th. “However, it is too early to say what the outcome will be.”
He added that the United States and its partners provided training, ammunition and intelligence to prepare Ukraine for a counterattack.
“They (Ukraine) are in a war that is an existential threat to their survival,” Milley said of the current situation, saying that this war is of great significance not only for Europe and the United States, but also for the world.
■ Demolition of the southern occupied dam
Residents have been evacuated following the explosion of the Kahouka Dam in the city of Nova Kahouka in the Russian-occupied Kherson region of Ukraine, raising the risk of flooding in the nearby area.
Ukrainian media reported that the explosion that caused the explosion occurred between the night of the 5th and the dawn of the 6th.
A video showing violent explosions around the dam and water gushing through the wreckage of the broken dam is circulating on social media.
Russian state media, citing pro-Russian local authorities, said that the upper part of the dam was destroyed by shells, and explained that it was an attack by Ukrainian forces.
Some media outlets are even saying that part of the dam collapsed without shelling.
The Russian-appointed head of Kherson’s administration said the evacuation of residents in the surrounding area had begun and the water level would reach a critical level within five hours.
About 80 nearby villages are at risk of being damaged by the dam collapse, TASS news agency said.
■ Russia-Ukraine, the opposing party claims
Ukrainians claimed that Russian forces occupying the area blew up the dam itself.
The Ukrainian Southern Command announced on social media on the 6th that “the Kahouka dam has been blown up by the Russian occupation forces” and added that “the scale of the destruction, the speed and flow of the water, and the area at risk of flooding are revealed.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky posted a video of the scene on social media and wrote, “The destruction of the Kahouka Dam is a confirmation to the world that Russian terrorists must be expelled from every corner of Ukrainian soil.”
President Zelensky then called an emergency meeting of the National Security and Defense Council.
“Only victory in Ukraine can restore security,” Zelensky said. “Terrorists will not be able to stop Ukraine with water, missiles or anything else.”
President Andriy Ermak, chief of staff, condemned Russia’s destruction of the Kahouka Dam as an “ecocide that aims to annihilate nearby residents using water resources,” emphasizing that it threatens the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant near the dam.
The Kahouka Dam, which has hydroelectric power generation facilities, is a facility with a height of 30m and a length of 3.2km, built in 1956 during the former Soviet Union.
It is a facility that supplies water to southern Ukraine and the Crimean Peninsula through the Northern Crimea (Crimea) Canal and the Dnipro-Krivyrich Canal.
The Zaporizhia nuclear power plant draws cooling water from its water storage facility.
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) announced on Twitter on the 6th that it is closely monitoring the destruction of the Kahouka Dam, although there is no immediate danger to the safety of the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant.
The IAEA is aware of reports of damage at #Ukraine’s Kakhovka dam; IAEA experts at #Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant are closely monitoring the situation; no immediate nuclear safety risk at plant.#ZNPP
— IAEA – International Atomic Energy Agency ⚛️ (@iaeaorg) June 6, 2023
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