The Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine, Hanna Maliar, confirmed on Monday that Ukrainian forces had successfully regained control of seven villages, covering an area of 90 square kilometers (35 square miles), previously held by Russian troops in the last week. This marks an early victory in Kyiv's counteroffensive.
In an update provided through the Telegram app, Maliar noted that the Ukrainian flag was once again soaring high in the village of Storozhov, located in Donetsk province in eastern Ukraine. She also stated that her forces had successfully retaken another trio of smaller nearby villages, as well as three additional villages in the neighboring province of Zaporizhzhia.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, in his daily video address, acknowledged the challenges that lie ahead, stating, “The battles are tough, but our movement is there, and that is very important”. He added that despite the adverse rainy weather hampering the troops, he has been discussing the strategic points to reinforce and possible tactics to overcome more Russian strongholds with his military commanders.
On the previous day, Ukrainian authorities reported that their forces had successfully recaptured the Donetsk villages of Blahodatne, Makarivka, and Neskuchne, located south of Velyka Novosilka. Monday's report from Maliar added the Zaporizhzhia province settlements of Lobkove, Levadne, and Novodrivka to the list of territories reclaimed by Ukraine.
These alleged Ukrainian gains, while unconfirmed by Russian officials and not independently verifiable, denote a minor expansion of Ukrainian control amidst the back-and-forth flux of the conflict. These gains also underscore the immense challenges Ukrainian forces face in their quest to reclaim the approximately one-fifth of their country currently under Russian occupation.
The western front line, spanning 1,000 kilometers (600 miles), has been rendered more complex due to a dam breach that has caused flooding in a section of the Dnieper River dividing the warring parties."
With any situation where opponents of equal ability delay to capitalizing on one's weakness when it appears generally leads to a defeat for the opponent which delayed the attack allowing the apparent weakness to be "corrected". There is something in the Ukrainian leadership's planning that our best observations is missing. With three of Russia's biggest threats from NATO and other's openly supporting the Ukrainian efforts, there is something the "intel" community which led the Ukrainians to delay this offensive or to keep the "hammer" hidden at the moment. Could the five or six apparent pushes actually be large scale probing actions along this massive front actually be a defensive action? Has Russia amassed forces in Russia (as this sit…
I think that the Ukrainians waited to long to launch their offensive, gave the Russians plenty of time to prepare their defensive positions. The only thing in the Ukrainians favor is the ineptitude of the Russian tactical commanders and large percentage poorly trained troops and conscripts. But we shall see if they can force a break through and be able to exploit that opportunity,