Ukrainian troops reportedly broke through Russia’s first — and strongest — line of defense in the south and targeted Moscow military units sheltering the fleeing troops.
The breakthrough came after weeks of slow progress as Ukrainian troops cleared minefields in the Zaporizhzhia region amid counter-pressure, a senior military official said.
Brig. General Oleksandr Tarnavskiy told The Guardian, Moscow’s first line of defense was the strongest, as Russia devoted most of its resources to it because they did not expect Ukraine to get this far.
Tarnavskyi estimated that Russia spent about 60% of its time and resources building the initial line of defense, while devoting about 20% each to the second and third lines.
“We are now between the first and second line of defense,” he said.
“In the middle of the offensive, we are now completing the destruction of enemy units that are providing cover for retreating Russian troops behind their second line of defense,” he added.
In the weeks leading up to the breakthrough, Ukrainian infantry engineers painstakingly cleared paths through minefields while Russian troops “just stood and waited for Ukrainian troops” as they did so, using drones and artillery to pick off vehicles.
However, since the defense line was broken, Moscow began moving troops from Kherson in the west and Lyman in the northeast, as well as from within Russia, to the southern regions.
Ukraine has penetrated the Russian defense line in the south. AP
Ukrainian soldiers retaliating in the Kharkiv region have been filmed burning the Russian flag. @www.dshv.mil.gov.ua/Newsflash
“The enemy is withdrawing reserves, not only from Ukraine but also from Russia,” Tarnavskiy said.
“But sooner or later, Russia will run out of all its best soldiers. This will give us the impetus to attack more and faster. Everything is in front of us.”
He added that the counterattack started slowly because of the demining process – which had to be done at night to avoid Russian attacks – and because the wounded soldiers had to be evacuated.
However, he said the success was a big step.
“In my opinion, Russia believes that Ukraine will not pass through this line of defense,” said Tarnavskiy.
Ukraine has focused on attacking Russian military units used to provide cover fire for retreating troops, Brig. General Oleksandr Tarnavskiy said.AP
“They have been preparing for over a year. They are doing everything to make sure this area is well prepared.”
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Washington had taken note of Ukraine’s push for a counterattack, which he said had made “some significant progress” in the past 72 hours.
The development comes as the US appears to be planning to send controversial depleted uranium munitions as part of a new aid package.
The multimillion-dollar aid package could include uranium rounds, which use dense metal to penetrate armor, designed to be fired from US-made Abrams tanks, which are expected to be included in the same package, according to reports citing draft documents and two American officials.
The UK sent a depleted uranium round, intended for use in the British Challenger 2 tank, in March, although the decision sparked a backlash after Russia used the shipment of the munitions, which it claimed contained “nuclear components,” as a pretext for deploying nuclear weapons in territory of Belarus.
Meanwhile, Ukraine continues to target a key bridge linking Russia to Crimea, according to Moscow officials.
Russia destroyed three naval drones that tried to attack the bridge, closing it for the third time in less than a year, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Saturday.
Ukraine, which has generally avoided commenting on strikes carried out on Russian territory, has not confirmed whether it launched the drone.
By Postal Wire
Categories: Trending
Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
