(Reuters) – Russian forces continue to face obstacles as they remain entrenched in heavily mined areas they control, hampering Ukrainian troops’ efforts to move east and south, according to Ukrainian officials on Wednesday.
Reports from the Russian side suggest that they successfully repelled 12 Ukrainian attacks in the Donetsk region, which has been a focal point for Russian advances in recent months.
Russian military activity has largely centered around air attacks, resulting in damage to grain infrastructure in Ukraine’s Danube port of Izmail. The Russian Defence Ministry also announced the destruction of a Ukrainian naval drone that attempted to attack a Russian warship escorting a civilian vessel in the Black Sea.
Ukrainian forces launched an offensive in June with the goal of recapturing occupied areas, and they have been progressing southwards towards the Sea of Azov in an effort to cut off the land bridge connecting occupied eastern Ukraine with the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula.
Officials in Kyiv claim to have successfully retaken areas near Bakhmut, an eastern city seized by Russian forces in May after months of intense battles.
Deputy Ukrainian Defence Minister Hanna Maliar stated that Russian forces have persistently attempted to halt the Ukrainian advance in the Bakhmut sector, but have been unsuccessful thus far. In a message on the Telegram messaging app, she revealed that Russian forces have been reinforcing reserves and equipment in three other areas further north, where heavy fighting has also been reported recently.
Oleksiy Danilov, the Secretary of Ukraine’s Security Council, emphasized that Russian forces had ample time during months of occupation to prepare defenses and lay extensive minefields. “The enemy has prepared very thoroughly for these events,” he said in a national television interview. “The number of mines in the territories we have recaptured is unbelievable. On average, there are three, four, five mines per square meter.” Danilov echoed President Volodymyr Zelenskiy’s remarks that the advances, although slower than desired, cannot be rushed since human lives are at stake. “No one can set deadlines for us, except ourselves… there is no fixed schedule,” he added. “I have never used the term counter-offensive. There are military operations, and they are complex, difficult, and depend on many factors.”
In response, Russia’s Defence Minister claimed that Ukrainian forces had made unsuccessful attempts to advance in various sectors in both the southern and northern parts of the Donetsk region. It was also stated that Russian forces had launched strikes on towns surrounding Bakhmut, including Kurdyumovka on the southern outskirts of the city and Chasiv Yar, the first major town to the west.
(Reporting by Ron Popeski; Editing by Gerry Doyle)
Credit: The Star : News Feed
