‘The Russians are stretched’: We shall see...
“U.S. officials describe a 3-point rationale for Ukraine’s new push.”
“For more than seven weeks, Ukrainian troops have fought along three main fronts across several hundred miles in the country’s east and southeast, pressing to find a weak spot in the heavily dug-in Russian defenses to burst through.
American officials said on Wednesday that Ukrainian officials told them that Ukraine was now engaged in the main thrust of the counteroffensive, throwing more troops and equipment at the westernmost of the three fronts, near Zaporizhzhia.
The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss Ukraine’s war plans, cited three reasons.
First, Ukrainian forces have been making plodding but steady progress clearing a path through the dense Russian minefields and other fortifications. Second, they sensed an opportunity with the sacking of the regional Russian commander, Maj. Gen. Ivan Popov, to exploit turmoil in the local Russian leadership.
Last month, General Popov addressed his troops in a four-minute recording, accusing his superiors of inflicting a blow on his forces by removing him from his post in retaliation for voicing the truth about battlefield problems to senior leadership behind closed doors.
And third, Ukrainian artillery barrages have been steadily attacking Russian artillery, ammunition depots and command posts in areas well behind the front lines, creating a vulnerability to exploit if advancing Ukrainian forces can punch through the Russian defenses, and cause havoc in the rear.
“The Russians are stretched,” a Western official said on Wednesday, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss operational details and intelligence assessments. “They are still experiencing problems with logistics, supply, personnel and weapons. They’re feeling the pressure.””
“Ukrainian troops say they are making step-by-step progress in the south.”
“The sound of artillery battles could be heard in villages all along the front line in southern Ukraine on Wednesday. Ukrainian guns fired steadily from hidden positions and Russian artillery and mortars targeted former Russian positions and villages now occupied by Ukrainian soldiers.
Ukrainian troops deployed along the southern front as part of the counteroffensive say they are steadily pushing the Russian troops back, but they describe their progress as step by step, rather than breakthrough movements.
The front in Zaporizhzhia is one of three axes of Ukraine’s counteroffensive. One Ukrainian military objective is to reach the Sea of Azov, driving a wedge between Russian-occupied territories in southern and eastern Ukraine.
But Russian forces have built a layered defense of minefields, tank traps and fortified positions that stretches along the length of the front line and runs at least 20 miles deep. In the two months since their counteroffensive began, the Ukrainians have had to cross these heavily mined fields and tree lines to take dug-in Russian positions, while coming under heavy bombardment and frequent airstrikes.
The devastating artillery fire and powerful aviation bombs have hampered them the most, soldiers on the front line said.
On Wednesday morning a Ukrainian jet flew low over the front line, firing rockets at Russian positions before banking away sharply and releasing flares to deflect any antiaircraft fire.
Some of Ukraine’s newly trained brigades, many of them equipped with Western armored fighting vehicles and personnel carriers, are engaged in the fighting alongside well-established units of marines and mechanized infantry. The Ukrainian army command has said that not all the new Western-provided weapons are in use yet.
The strength of Russia’s firepower has forced the Ukrainians to adjust their tactics, but Ukrainian officials say they are still progressing and in some places have succeeded in breaching the first line of Russian defenses.
That may open the way to faster progress in coming weeks, some officials have hinted, but the army command is also focused on straightening the front line to prevent bulges that would expose the advancing units to a flanking movement.”