Pentagon Officials Say Main Thrust of Ukraine’s Offensive May Be Underway

 

New York Times: Main Thrust of Ukraine’s Offensive May Be Underway, U.S. Officials Say 

Ukraine has launched the main thrust of its counteroffensive, throwing in thousands of troops held in reserve, many of them Western-trained and equipped, two Pentagon officials said on Wednesday, hours after Russian officials reported major Ukrainian attacks in the southern Zaporizhzhia region. 

A spokesman for Russia’s Defense Ministry, Igor Konashenkov, said the Ukrainians had mounted a “massive” assault with three battalions, reinforced with tanks, south of the town of Orikhiv, and then another a few miles farther south near the village of Robotyne, according to the state news agency Tass. Both were repelled, the ministry said. 

Other American officials cautioned that the latest Ukrainian attack might be preparatory operations for the main thrust or perhaps just reinforcements to replenish war-weary units. 

The challenge for the Ukrainians, since they began their counteroffensive in early June, has been to blast open a gap in the deep Russian defense network, and then try to pour through a much larger force.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, officials at the White House and Pentagon said on Wednesday that they were watching the increased activity with keen interest, and that Ukrainian officials had told them the new operation, if successful, would last one to three weeks.  

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WNU Editor: It looks like this is Ukraine's final push, two months into its counteroffensive. And while it looks like they have finally reached Russia's first line of defense near the town of Robotyne, the casualties have been enormous. The military pundits that I trust and follow are detailing scores of Ukrainian tanks and armor vehicles destroyed. Check out the tweet and the analysis below.

I will be updating shortly on the ongoing Ukrainian offensive.

Recently it has involved courageous (if not terribly intelligent) assaults against Russian lines around Zaporizhzhia ending like this.

These BMPS carry squads (6-10 troops) to the combat line, what we see in this… pic.twitter.com/hQ2KuGReIM

— Erik Zimerman (@ZimermanErik) July 27, 2023

Update: A lot of doom and gloom from Western military analysts .... Ukraine Counterattack Isn't Going According to Plan (And NATO Is to Blame) (Newsweek).