The major Ukrainian offensive has begun. After Moscow had declared that Ukraine was now attacking on a broad front, Kiev also confirmed in the late afternoon that there were “offensive actions” in some sections of the front.
Munich/Kiev – Before the Ukrainian offensive officially began, the Ukrainian army had released a video of the counter-offensive, soldiers from different branches of the army put their fingers in front of their mouths: Pssst. The message of the video: We keep silence. The Ukrainians have been wearing down the Russian attackers for weeks with a confusing tactic: Attacks on Russian regions such as Belgorod bind Russian forces, then yesterday there were attacks on different sections of the front.
Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine Hanna Maliyar said the area around Bakhmut remains “the center of fighting” and that Ukraine is making victories there. The Russian Defense Ministry, however, claimed to have thwarted the offensive and killed more than 900 Ukrainians. Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said: “The enemy’s goal was to break through our defenses on the part of the front line that they considered to be the most vulnerable.”
Ukraine War: Kiev counteroffensive begins
But the Russian field commander, Alexander Khodakowski, contradicted the report of success from his leadership. So far, the enemy has been “accompanied by success,” said Chodakowski. “Traditionally jamming radio communications, the enemy managed to put us in a difficult position,” said Khodakovsky, who heads the Vostok separatist brigade in the Donbass region. Ukraine is trying to understand the weaknesses of the defense. “For the first time we saw leopards in our tactical room,” wrote Chodakowski on Telegram. The Leopard battle tanks from Germany are part of the western arms deliveries to Kiev.
The fact that the Wagner mercenaries and the Russian army are openly fighting one another shows just how great the tensions within the Russian attackers have become. Yesterday, Wagner boss Yevgeny Prigozhin accused the Russian army of having fired on his fighters during a mine clearance operation. Prigozhin circulated a video showing Wagner militants humiliating Roman Venevitin, a Russian officer they had captured and apparently beaten. Venevitin, commander of the 72nd brigade, pleads “guilty” in the interrogation recorded on video, along with ten to twelve other soldiers and while intoxicated, shooting at a car belonging to the Wagner mercenaries. When asked why he did that, Venevitin replies: “Out of personal dislike”. Over the weekend, Prigozhin accused the Russian army of having mined a road his fighters were taking to leave Bakhmut.
Ukraine War: Kiev confirms attacks against Russian troops
Meanwhile, the West is increasingly criticizing the fighting on Russian soil. US vehicles and weapons from the EU were also used by Russian opponents of Putin in the attack on Russian territory on May 23. research of Washington Post confirm the Kremlin’s account, according to which the at least four military vehicles that the attackers had to leave behind when they fled came from western arms shipments – three US jeeps of the MRAP type and a Polish military transporter. The fighters of the self-proclaimed Freedom for Russia Legion and the Russian Volunteer Corps militia also carried rifles from Belgium and the Czech Republic and a Western-style rocket-propelled grenade. The Russian guerrilla fighters claim that they have recaptured the Western equipment from the Russian military – but recognizable markings on the weapons on photos make this seem little credible.
The Belgian government quite clearly asked Ukraine to “explain the situation”. Prime Minister Alexander De Croo stated: “The rule is clear: weapons that we supply to Ukraine are intended for defensive purposes and for defending Ukrainian territory”. Chancellor Olaf Scholz had also emphasized “that the weapons that we have supplied will only be used on Ukrainian territory. (Klaus Rimpel)
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