2023-06-09 09:12:25
- Yaroslav Lukev
- BBC News
Military experts believe that the long-awaited Ukrainian counteroffensive will focus on Zaporizhia
The Ukrainian military has launched attacks on Russian forces that control the key southern region of Zaporizhia, according to Russian officials and military bloggers.
Russian officials said Ukrainian forces, backed by tanks, artillery and drones, were trying to advance south into the town of Orekyev for the second night in a row.
A senior Ukrainian Defense Ministry official said the enemy was “desperately on the defensive”.
A number of military experts said that the long-awaited Ukrainian counter-offensive would focus on Zaporizhia.
They justified this by saying that Kiev is trying to regain control of its access to the Sea of Azov, thus dividing the Russian forces that control the region into two separate groups.
This will not only weaken Russia’s combat capability, but will also cut off the land bridge to Crimea, the southern island that Russia annexed in 2014.
Ukraine had been planning a counterattack for months, but wanted as long as possible to train its forces and receive advanced military equipment from Western allies.
The government has deliberately not disclosed much of its plans, but its forces are currently looking for weak points in Russian positions along the front line.
Meanwhile, Russian attacks on Ukraine continue. During the night, new strikes were launched with cruise missiles and drones, and some falling debris killed at least one person in Zhitomir, west of the capital, Kiev.
Heavy fighting in the south
image copyright Archyde.com
Russia seized most of the Zaporizhia region shortly following the start of the large-scale Russian invasion in February 2022. However, the regional capital, the city of Zaporizhya, remains under Ukrainian control.
Heavy fighting continued in the area through the night, and several pro-Kremlin Russian military bloggers reported late Thursday that Ukraine had resumed attacks, noting armored personnel carriers and drones facing Ukrainian artillery fire.
Vladimir Rogov, the local official appointed by Russia, said Russian forces were holding their positions amid “heavy fighting” towards the city of Tokmak, which is seen as a key target for Ukraine as it seeks to advance into the Sea of Azov.
It is difficult at this time to verify claims of attacks from both sides. Earlier Thursday, Ukraine’s deputy defense minister, Hana Malyar, said Russian forces were now “deeply on the defensive” in Zaporizhia, and claimed that Ukraine was making progress around the eastern city of Bakhmut, which has been largely destroyed in months of fighting.
The Zaporizhia region is also home to Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, which is located in an area controlled by Russian forces.
The plant continues to receive cooling water from the Nova Kakhovka Dam reservoir on the Dnipro River, despite the destruction of the dam on Tuesday, which lowered the water level in the reservoir and flooded large areas downstream.
But the resulting emergency threatens the water supply in the region, where the World Health Organization has also warned of an outbreak of cholera.
It is also expected to have severe long-term consequences for agriculture in one of the most fertile regions of the country.
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