Ukraine's much-heralded counter-offensive to drive Russian troops out of its territory may already be underway, according to Ukrainian military and officials quoted by US media. Kyiv, however, insists on keeping it a mystery, as it tries to retake the initiative after the destruction of the Kajovka dam, causing severe flooding. Russia, which already appreciated signs on Monday that Kyiv was pressing the accelerator, assured yesterday that it had frustrated important advances by Ukrainian troops in Zaporizhia.
Ukrainian forces intensified their attacks on outposts in the southeast of the country, sources told The Washington Post on condition of anonymity. Those of the ABC News chain, which include one close to the Ukrainian president, Volodímir Zelenski, assured that the active phase of the counteroffensive has entered. The same idea was expressed by NBC News sources, a senior officer and a soldier from the front line.
Moscow and influential Russian military bloggers have been sounding alarm bells for days. On Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that it had halted an offensive near Donetsk, eliminating 250 enemy soldiers.
Yesterday, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the Ukrainian army had tried in vain to break through the Russian defensive lines in four sectors of the front in Zaporizhia with a motorized brigade of 1,500 people and 150 armored vehicles. "The intelligence forces detected the enemy in time, launched a preventive attack with artillery, aviation and anti-tank means," Shoigu said.
Ukrainian troops were pushed back and withdrew with heavy losses, Shoigu maintains. After two hours of fighting, Ukraine lost, according to the Russian estimate, 350 men, 30 tanks and 11 infantry fighting vehicles.
If Ukrainian troops manage to breach Zaporizhia they could attempt to cut off the strip of land connecting mainland Russia to the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Moscow in 2014. Later targets could be the city of Melitopol, which Russia has set as its capital. of the part of the region under its control, and Enerhodar, where the Zaporizhia nuclear power plant is located.
The Ukrainian government has insisted that there will be no public announcement about the start of its counteroffensive, although members of the government and even Zelenski have assured that everything is ready. “Words are unnecessary. They can only do harm,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Olexy Reznikov wrote on Sunday. Security Council Secretary Alexei Danilov said Thursday that Kyiv had not yet started its counteroffensive. When it happens, "everyone will know," he said. A spokesman for the Ukrainian armed forces denied yesterday to Reuters that the counteroffensive has begun.
Events on the battlefield and the possible Ukrainian counteroffensive have been in the spotlight for months. But the collapse of the Kajovka dam this week has brought a surprising turn to the situation. Both Kyiv and Moscow have been forced to evacuate thousands of people as the waters ripped through the southern front of this war.
Ukraine has accused Russia of blowing up the massive infrastructure to stop its counterattack plans. Russia, for its part, blames its adversary. The Russian ambassador in The Hague, Alexander Shulgin, assured yesterday in a speech before the International Court of Justice, for a separate case, that it was Ukraine that blew up the Nová Kakhovka dam with "artillery attacks", and called the "neo-Nazi" Zelensky government.
The cross accusations do not end there. Ukraine's attorney general asserted yesterday that Russia had shelled the city of Kherson, 60 kilometers from the dam, during the evacuation of the population, killing one civilian and injuring two. “The evacuation continues. Under fire! The Russian artillery continues to fire, no matter what. Savages!” Zelensky reacted.
Russia, for its part, said Ukraine had shelled Russian rescue teams working in the affected area. According to Vladimir Saldo, Russia's acting governor of Kherson, two people were killed by Ukrainian attacks on an evacuation point in Hola Pristan.
Russia, whose territory under its control has been the most affected by the floods, yesterday estimated at five the number of citizens killed so far by the floods. “Of seven people who were herding, five drowned. Now we are evacuating the remaining two,” said the mayor of the city of Nová Kakhovka, Vladimir Leontiev, on the Soloviov Live program. The Ukrainian authorities counted three deaths in the area under Russian control.
As far as the emergency goes, 4,500 people have been evacuated in Kherson and 41 have had to be hospitalized, Alla Barjátnova, Minister of Labor and Social Policy in the Russian administration of this region, explained yesterday. The water has flooded 14,000 houses in 15 towns in the Russian zone.
On the other side of the front, the Ukrainian Zelenski visited several affected areas yesterday, such as the city of Kherson and Mikolaiv, where the Ukrainian authorities registered one death.
