2023-06-23 21:50:11
For months, Bakhmut has been fiercely contested in Ukraine. The strategically important city on the banks of the Bakhmutka River has now been increasingly recaptured by Ukraine after being long held by the Russians. In the meantime, Bachmut lies in rubble and ashes, and the latest aerial photos show the extent of the destruction.
The recapture of Bakhmut by the Ukrainians dragged on for weeks – and demanded a high price in human lives on both sides. The city itself has been destroyed to a large extent, on the one hand by air raids and artillery fire – on the other hand probably also by detonating Russian troops. Kiev: counter-offensive not yet fully underway From Kiev it was said on Friday evening that the major counter-offensive was actually still not in full swing. We are still in the sampling phase and have not yet used the main forces. “Everyone wants a great victory now and immediately,” commander of Ukraine’s land forces Olexander Syrskyj told the British newspaper The Guardian on Friday. However, the process leading to victory will take some time, since a lot of forces and a lot of material are concentrated on both sides. In addition, the Russians have built many obstacles, Syrskyj said. The opponents are also in the majority. “I have never fought a smaller number of the enemy. They always outnumbered us,” Syrskyj underlined. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy had previously admitted in an interview that his troops were making slower progress than expected. His office accused the Russian side of hesitant deliveries of arms from the West to expand their defense positions. “Don’t expect the offensive to be something quick.” Ukrainian General Staff spokesman Andriy Kovalev confirmed information about minor gains in territory in the south. In the Zaporizhia region, liberated positions on the Berdyansk and Melitopol directions should now be reinforced. In the south of the country, Ukrainian troops are advancing gradually and steadily, even if they are hampered by Russian minefields. “You shouldn’t expect the offensive to be something very quick,” said Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar on Ukrainian television on Friday. The main blow is yet to come. Some reserve units would only be deployed later. Zelenskyy’s adviser Mykhailo Podoliak said that the Russians’ hesitant supply of arms from the West allowed the Russians to dig deeper and set up a system of minefields. Breaking through the Russian front lines now requires a “clever and considered approach”. “The life of the soldier is the highest value for Ukraine,” underlined Podoliak. The real war is not a blockbuster from Hollywood. The military leadership would therefore not base its actions on the “fans in the stands”, but on “military science and common sense”. is in the initial phase and in which Ukraine is also relying on new weapons from the West, such as the German Leopard battle tank. The advance is “slower than desired”. But don’t let yourself be put under pressure. Deputy Defense Minister Maljar has now said that the east remains the focus of Russian attacks. Russia is still trying to completely conquer the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in the Donbass industrial region. According to Ukraine, it has recaptured eight villages in the south in the past two weeks. The advances into the heavily fortified and mined areas under Russian control, while small, are the largest since November. The leadership in Kiev has been preparing the counter-offensive for months, which they hope will mark a turning point in the war. However, it has imposed a news blackout and independent reports are scarce. But there are said to be heavy casualties on both sides. According to experts, most of Ukraine’s troops have yet to be deployed, some of which have been trained and equipped by the West.
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