The president Volodymyr Zelensky said today (2.9.2023) that Kiev troops are “moving forward” in their counterattack against Russian forces, rejecting criticism from Western officials who say the Ukraine regains ground very slowly.
Ukraine’s long-awaited counteroffensive, approaching three months in duration, has recaptured at least a dozen villages but no major settlements, with troops hampered by Russia’s massive minefields and defense lines.
This week, unnamed US officials expressed frustration at the operation’s slow progress, going so far as to blame Ukrainian strategy, according to Western reports that have angered Kiev.
“Ukrainian forces are advancing. Nevertheless, and regardless of what anyone says, we are moving forward, and that is the most important thing. We are on the move,” Zelensky wrote on the Telegram app.
Some fear that Western support will begin to falter as colder and wetter weather slows progress on the battlefield later this year. The West has spent many billions of dollars to help the counteroffensive, and Kiev says it needs more.
Momentum on the Ukrainian battlefield increased slightly in a part of the southeastern front in Zaporizhia where Deputy Defense Minister Hana Maliar said yesterday, Friday, that Kiev troops had broken through the first line of Russian defense.
The White House said there had been “remarkable success” by Ukraine in the region, although Maliar warned that Kiev troops had reached more heavily fortified positions on the other side after breaking through the lines.
In its daily update on developments on the battlefield, the Ukrainian military did not report any major new progress, but said troops were continuing to advance toward Melitopol, a major Russian-held urban center in the Zaporizhia region.
He reported 45 clashes with frontline fighting in the past 24 hours and said fighting was raging in the east where Ukrainian troops had repelled several Russian attacks.
Russia is already describing the Ukrainian counterattack as a failure. Kiev maintains that it is advancing deliberately slowly to minimize casualties, and that its advance is greatly complicated by a lack of modern air power.
Source: News Beast
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