‘Not a Hollywood movie.’ Russia mounts strong fightback to Ukraine counteroffensive
KYIV — Ukraine is facing fierce Russian resistance in the south and east, as it plugs away with a counteroffensive to retake Russia-occupied territory.
Ukraine’s Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said in a statement.
“The enemy is doing everything to keep the captured positions. Russians actively use assault and army aviation, and conduct intense artillery fire,” Maliar said. “During the offensive, our troops encounter continuous minefields, which are combined with anti-tank ditches. All this is combined with constant counterattacks by enemy units on armored vehicles and the massive use of ATGMs and kamikaze drones.”
Over the past day, Ukrainian troops have advanced 250 meters in the direction of Bakhmut in the area of the Berkhiv Reservoir, and another 200 meters in the direction of Toretsk in the Donetsk region, Maliar said. In the Zaporizhzia region, Ukraine’s army took back up to one kilometer in the Berdiansk direction, making it a three square kilometer total advance in the region so far.
According to Maliar, battles are currently ongoing in several districts across south and east Ukraine.
Ukrainians and Russians have been reporting their gains in meters [1 meter=3.28 ft] for months now. For example, in the nine-month battle for Bakhmut alone, Russia reportedly lost one soldier killed or wounded for every 48 centimeters [19 inches] of territory gained, the British defense ministry reported in recent days.
Outsize expectations
After last year’s rapid counteroffensive success in Kharkiv and Kherson, Ukraine is facing pressure to deliver equal or even better results.
A “successful Ukrainian counteroffensive could force Putin to negotiate an end of the war,” U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a press conference with Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani in Washington on Monday.
[Blinkin is wrong.]
However, people not directly involved in the war may have outsize expectations, Taras Chmut, a Ukrainian military analyst and head of the largest Ukrainian military volunteer foundation, called Come Back Alive, told POLITICO.
“This is not a Hollywood movie. Ukrainian forces are advancing with the speed they need this time. The same way as last year’s counteroffensive. People do not have information on how many failed attempts were made last year before the grand success everyone cherished,” Chmut said.
[That's contra to the sub-lead, "Outsized Expectations". According to Chmut the advances are the same as last year's widely hailed counteroffensive.]
Despite the Ukrainians having to push through minefields under artillery and aerial bombings, they have still reported gaining some ground. Over the past week, Ukraine reported liberating seven villages in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. However, during the first weeks of the counteroffensive, the Ukrainian army has already lost at least 16 Bradleys and four Leopard tanks [Those are Western vehicles.]
On Monday, Ukraine eliminated [i.e. WHACKED] Russian army general Sergei Goriachev, Russian media reported, citing so-called Russian military bloggers.
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Putin admits Russia doesn’t have enough weapons and drones
Speaking Tuesday at a meeting of pro-war bloggers in the Kremlin, Putin acknowledged that “during the course of the special military operation, it has become clear there are shortages of many things — precision-guided munitions, communications equipment, aircraft, drones and so on.”
“We have them, but unfortunately we don’t have enough of them,” he said, according to state media. As well as drones, “modern anti-tank weapons are needed, and modern tanks are needed.”
A report from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, published in April, [two months ago] found that Western sanctions were preventing Russia from bringing in the components needed to manufacture advanced weaponry. “While the quality of the military equipment used by the Ukrainian army continues to improve thanks to the Western aid, the quality of Russia’s weapons continues to degrade,” the analysis concluded.
Kyiv, in contrast, has received a tranche of Western tanks in recent weeks, including the British Challenger 2 and German Leopard 2. [four Leopards were destroyed by Russians]
