Ukraine claims to restore a village in the southern Donetsk region

Ukraine hopes that it can benefit militarily from the failed Wagner uprising in the near future, which must have been followed closely by the Russian invasion army. It remains unclear what effect the chaotic developments over the weekend will have on Russian soldiers at the front.

“Let’s go forward,” said Ukrainian Defense Minister Hana Malyar when announcing that southeastern Rivnopil had been captured. The rural village of Donetsk is located west of the hamlets that the army captured earlier at the start of the offensive. And Rivnobel was already captured on Sunday, according to photographs of Ukrainian soldiers in the village. The soldiers attacked the Russian soldiers who were going to flee the village.

According to Malyar, about 130 square kilometers have been captured from the Russians so far since Ukraine launched its long-awaited counter-offensive in early June. This is less than initially hoped. Even Zelensky admitted last week that the offensive is progressing slowly, mainly due to the unexpectedly fierce resistance of entrenched Russian forces. The minefields laid by the Russians also play tricks on the Ukrainian army and make rapid advances difficult.

breakthrough

In Kiev, it is indicated that the vast majority of the twelve brigades that are being trained for the offensive have not yet been deployed at all. The Ukrainian High Command hopes that the capture of the villages will gain momentum and that a military breakthrough can be forced somewhere on the eastern or southern front.

One of those possible places is the area around Bachmoet. To the north and south of the virtually destroyed city in Donetsk, the Ukrainian army is trying to push back the Russians, but here, too, the offensive is slow. At an unknown location near the front line in Donetsk, Zelensky met the soldiers involved in the battle around Pashmut, among others. Encourage the soldiers and distribute medals.

He also consulted with the commander of the army, Oleksandr Sersky. “I am honored to be here,” said the president, who has regularly visited places over a thousand kilometers since the invasion. He also reached a gas station along the way, where he took pictures with the soldiers. Zelensky understood that the battle in the east was difficult. The army hopes to achieve more success in the south, near Zaporizhia, in the coming weeks.

British cruise missiles

In the south, including the city of Melitopol, the Ukrainians are trying to weaken the Russian army by attacking supplies and command posts from the air. The British Storm Shadow cruise missile is mainly used for this, which can destroy targets over 250 kilometers away. British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said on Monday that the cruise missile deployment was successful and hit the Russians hard.

“The Storm Shadow missile has had a huge impact on the battlefield,” Wallace said in Parliament. It had an effect on the Russian army.” He did not give further details regarding the cruise missile attacks carried out by the Ukrainians. Kiev also wanted a high-tech American missile, the Atacms with a range of 300 km. But the United States refused, fearing that Russian territory would also be affected.