2023-07-29 20:09:25
As part of its ongoing counter-offensive, Ukraine says it has successfully attacked a bridge to the annexed Black Sea peninsula of Crimea and made advances near Bakhmut in the east. The Chonhar Bridge, which connects Crimea to mainland Kherson Oblast, was attacked and damaged early on Saturday, the Ukrainian Army’s Strategic Communications Department said.
The Russian occupation chief of Kherson, Vladimir Saldo, had previously also reported Ukrainian rocket attacks on the railway line, but claimed that all twelve missiles had been repelled. The information might not be checked independently. The Chonhar Bridge, which is, among other things, an important supply route for the Russian army, had already been attacked and damaged by the Ukrainians in June.
Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar wrote on Telegram that the country’s own army was “gradually but surely” advancing in the south towards the cities of Melitopol and Berdyansk. In addition, with a view to the heavy fighting on the front in the eastern Donetsk region, she said: “Today we advanced further on the southern flank around Bakhmut.” Russian troops had conquered Bakhmut a few months ago following extremely costly battles. On Saturday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited soldiers at the front near Bakhmut who are involved in operations to liberate occupied territories.
According to Selenskyj, he went to “advanced positions” of the Ukrainian army near the embattled city of Bakhmut. He came to congratulate the Ukrainian fighters and “to honor their courage,” Zelenskyj wrote in the Telegram online service on Saturday. Bakhmut once had 70,000 inhabitants, but was destroyed by the longest and bloodiest battles in the Russian war of aggression in Ukraine.
The city was taken by Russian troops in May. In mid-July, Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar indicated that Ukrainian troops were “gradually advancing” near Bakhmut. “There is a daily advance on the southern flank around Bakhmut. On the northern flank we are trying to hold our positions, the enemy is attacking,” Maljar explained.
The Ukrainian head of state continued to write that he might not provide any details on the ongoing operations of the troops. However, he did listen to a commander’s report, spoke to the soldiers and praised their “truly heroic” efforts.
The units he visited recently contributed to the recapture of the Russian-held village of Staromajorskje on the southern front, Zelenskyy said. “The guys are inflicting particularly sensitive blows on the Russian terrorists,” he added.
Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine began in 2022, 17 members of special forces have been awarded the title of “Hero of Ukraine,” 13 of them posthumously, Zelensky said. In the vicinity of Bakhmut he also visited the towns of Chasiv Yar, Kramatorsk and Druzhkivka.
In a separate statement, the presidential office said that Zelenskyy had been informed regarding “intelligence service networks” in the occupied territories of Ukraine and other operations.
Last month, Ukraine launched a long-awaited counter-offensive, regarding which little is known. Kiev, however, acknowledged difficult fighting and urged its allies to supply more weapons and long-range artillery.
According to information on Saturday, Russian forces attacked and hit a command post in Dnipro, Ukraine. As the Russian Defense Ministry announced in Moscow, the attack with “high-precision weapons” took place the night before. The intended target was hit. Kiev, on the other hand, reported that a Russian missile had hit a block of flats in Dnipro.
Ukrainian officials said on Friday that nine people, including two children, were injured in the attack on the apartment block in Dnipro. “None of them were seriously injured,” the governor of the region, Serhiy Lysak, wrote in the online service Telegram. Several other buildings were also hit, according to Ukrainian sources, including an empty building belonging to the country’s security service.
Meanwhile, a Russian rocket attack on the city of Zaporizhia in southern Ukraine killed two people, according to Ukrainian sources. The dead are a man and a woman, said the secretary of the Zaporizhia City Council, Anatoly Kurtev, in the online service Telegram. Another woman was injured.
The blast from the missile on Saturday shattered the windows of high-rise buildings and damaged an educational facility building and a supermarket, Kurtev added. Photos published by Ukrainian media showed the destroyed facade of the supermarket.
According to a newspaper report, Saudi Arabia is planning an international conference on the situation in Ukraine. The Wall Street Journal, citing diplomats, reports that among the expected high-ranking representatives from up to 30 countries are representatives of Ukraine, Western countries and emerging economies such as India and Brazil. The meeting on August 5th and 6th is planned in the city of Jeddah.
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