The Ukrainian counter-offensive against Russian armed forces occupying much of the south of the country has produced few results since it was launched in June and has seen several Leopard II tanks given to the Ukrainians by the West damaged, with Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu claiming all 16 German-made tanks given to the country by Poland and Portugal were destroyed.
According to a report from the New York Times, Ukraine seems to be gearing up for a big push in the south and is deploying thousands of troops to the area; troops which are said to have been trained and equipped by Western nations.
The newspaper, which cited unnamed officials in the U.S. Pentagon, claimed that Ukraine is now throwing far more men and equipment into the battle in the Zaporizhzhia region in an effort to advance to cut off Russian-occupied Ukraine from the Crimean peninsula, with Ukrainian officials giving a timeline of around three weeks for the operation, if successful.
The claims from the New York Times are echoed by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), which stated on July 26th that “Ukrainian forces launched a significant mechanised counteroffensive operation in western Zaporizhia Oblast on July 26 and appear to have broken through certain pre-prepared Russian defensive positions south of Orikhiv.”
The ISW goes on to cite the New York Times article but also notes, “Western officials are unhelpfully raising expectations for rapid and dramatic Ukrainian advances that Ukrainian forces are unlikely to be able to meet, as well as offering forecasts of the likely Ukrainian avenues of advance that should probably not have been shared publicly.”
Russia’s TASS state-owned news agency claimed that a “massive” battle was reported on the morning of July 26th and quoted Defense Ministry Spokesman Lieutenant-General Igor Konashenkov who stated that the attack had been repulsed by Russian forces.
Konashenkov stated:
From the morning of July 26, the enemy resumed intensive offensive operations in the Orekhov area. It carried out a massive attack by three battalions reinforced by tanks. All of the Ukrainian army’s attacks were repelled by the courageous and professional actions of units from the 810th marine infantry brigade and the 71st motor rifle regiment of the 42nd motor rifle division. The positions were retained.
The spokesman went on to claim that Ukraine had lost 22 tanks, 10 infantry fighting vehicles, an armoured combat vehicle, and around a hundred men and claimed that a separate attack near Rabotino saw two tanks, a howitzer, and a motorised artillery system destroyed.
On July 27th, TASS reported that Russia’s Battlegroup South repelled more attacks from Ukrainian armed forces in Lysychansk, Aleksandr-Kalinovsk, and Soledar-Artyomovsk.
Vadim Astafyev, head of the press centre for the Battlegroup, stated that several pieces of Ukrainian artillery had been destroyed in the fighting.
Ukraine is said to have had a tough time advancing on Russian lines due to large numbers of minefields and other defensive structures that have fortified the Russian position in southern Ukraine but have made some advances in and around the city of Bakhmut where Russia has had little time to fortify their line after the city was taken in May.
The new push in the south comes as Russia has bombarded the port of Odesa with missile strikes after giving up on a grain deal that allowed Ukraine to export grain from the Black Sea city.
One of Ukraine’s largest grain producers claimed that the strikes had destroyed around 60,000 tonnes of grain in the span of just a week while Russian President Vladimir Putin promised African leaders that Russian grain could make up the shortfall and replace Ukrainian grain exports.
Ukrainian media, meanwhile, called Putin’s promises to African leaders attempts to bribe them. The Russian leader promised several countries tens of thousands of tonnes of free grain supplies as the country expects a record harvest this year.
