Months of preparation and improved military tactics by Russia have made advancement particularly slow and treacherous for Ukraine’s counteroffensive, which is gaining ground at a very high cost.
The liberation of the southeastern village of Staromaiorske in Donetsk province last week was such an example. Ukrainian soldiers who survived the bloody military operation told Reuters they encountered stiffer resistance than expected before claiming the country’s biggest gain in weeks, an abandoned settlement of about 1,000 people before the war.
“The Russians were waiting for us,” said a soldier who goes by the call-sign Bulat. “They fired anti-tank weapons and grenade launchers at us.”
Ukrainian troops are also encountering extensive minefields and entrenched defenses fortified by superior air support, including surveillance drones that can relay their location and help pin them against Russian fire.
Ukraine continues to press the action on three fronts in an effort to spread out Moscow’s troops and create a weak spot that may open the way for a drive toward the Sea of Azov coast, which would split Russia’s so-called land corridor in the southeast and cut off its supply lines.
Kyiv’s forces reported modest gains south of Bakhmut and in the push toward the occupied port cities of Berdyansk and Melitopol in Zaporizhzhia province, the Institute for the Study of War said.
But it has been a grind, as a soldier who goes by Pikachu told Reuters after the battle for Staromaiorske.
“We advanced slowly but surely. They were shooting, everything was flying. It was scary, but we moved on. Nobody fell back. Everyone did a great job. … Many of us who went will never return home.”
Trump weighs in:Trump demands halt in Ukraine aid pending Biden probe; drone attack slams Moscow
Developments:
∎ Heineken said it remains “fully committed” to leaving Russia but is struggling to gain exit approval from the government. The beer giant said it would not accept any financial gain from the ongoing operations and will not profit from the sale of the business.
∎ Ukraine’s birth rate fell by 28% in the first six months of 2023 compared with the first six months of 2022, the Ukraine data firm Opendatabot reported. The biggest previous decline also came during war, the firm reported: After Russia attacked and seized Crimea in 2014, birth rates fell by about 12% the next year.
∎ Russia has forcibly mobilized up to 60,000 men in occupied territories since the invasion, Ukraine military spokesperson Andrii Cherniak said. “They simply dressed the people up and sent them to the front,” Cherniak told Donbas Realii.
∎ The Russian mercenary Wagner Group says it has suspended recruitment of new members, citing a “large personnel reserve.”
∎ China tightened export controls on civilian drones Monday to ensure they are not used for military purposes in Ukraine or elsewhere. The new rules make clear that drones can’t be exported if the exporter knows − or should have known − the drones could be used for military purposes.
‘The front is a disgrace’:Prigozhin says Wagner troops won’t fight in Ukraine now. Live updates.
Ukraine makes deal to export grain via Croatian ports
Ukraine may have found an alternative to export its grain through Croatian ports on the Danube River and the Adriatic Sea after the countries reached a deal “on the possibility” Monday, according to Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.
“Now we will work to establish the most efficient routes to these ports and make the most of this opportunity,” Kuleba said after holding talks with his Croatian counterpart, Gordan Grlic-Radman. “Every contribution to unblocking export, every door opened is a real, effective contribution to the world’s food security.”
Ukraine has been seeking new options for distributing its agricultural products since July 17, when Russia withdrew from a yearlong agreement that lifted its blockade of the Black Sea, then started targeting port infrastructure and grain storage in and around the southern city of Odesa. The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry estimated Monday that Russia has destroyed about 180,000 metric tons of grain in the past nine days, pushing up prices for the commodities.
Some of the attacks have impacted an export route through the Danube. Ukraine is also using land routes to reach European Union countries, but those are less efficient and more expensive than by sea.
Russia savages Zelenskyy hometown after drone attack on Moscow
Rescue workers were scrambling through rubble searching for survivors Monday after Russian missiles slammed into the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, killing at least six people and injuring dozens more in the hometown of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, authorities said.
The attack came a day after three Ukrainian drones damaged buildings in Moscow, prompting Zelenskyy to say it was “inevitable, natural and absolutely fair” to bring the war to Russian territory.
Local authorities said at least 75 people were injured, including five children, in the attack on Kryvyi Rih. A nine-story apartment building and a four-story building at a university were severely damaged in the city of more than 600,000 people, authorities said.
“During the search and rescue operation, a damaged building collapsed, and there may still be people under the concrete debris,” Ukrainian Human Rights Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said on Telegram. “The murdering country will be held accountable before the court for what it has done. We will not forgive.”
Tuesday was declared a day of mourning for the city.
Governor Serhiy Lysak said 150 people fled the apartment building while rescuers extricated more than 30 from the wreckage. Twenty-two people were admitted into hospitals, two of them in serious condition, he said.
Russian missiles and attack drones have routinely blasted residential and commercial buildings across Ukraine since the war began more than 17 months ago. Those attacks have stepped up in recent days amid a string of far-less damaging Ukrainian drone strikes on Moscow and Crimea that the Kremlin has branded as “terrorism.” In the southern Ukrainian city of Kherson, Russian shelling Monday killed four civilians and wounded 17.
“The enemy has been stubbornly attacking cities, city centers, shelling civilian objects and housing,” Zelneskyy said. “But this terror will not frighten us or break us.”
Zelenskyy says Ukraine would sink Russian fleet if it gets too close
The Kremlin is using missiles and terror to batter Odesa and other crucial Ukrainian ports because the Russian military does not have enough might to seize and hold them, Zelenskyy told Brazilian broadcaster Globo. He said Russia’s battlefield actions indicate its military is unable to occupy Ukraine fully “and destroy us,” so it is trying to intimidate the population with wanton destruction.
Russia has blockaded the ports to halt grain shipments desperately needed for the Ukrainian economy and to feed much of the developing world. But a Russian invasion of the cities would be impossible, Zelenskyy said.
“We will simply sink his entire fleet if he comes close to us,” Zelenskyy said, referring to Russian President Vladimir Putin. “He knows this very well.”
Zelenskyy also said in the interview he would like to meet with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has said the war was caused “by decisions made by two countries” and accused them of not trying hard enough to seek a peace agreement.
“I know that President Lula and the Brazilian society support Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” Zelenskyy said.
Russian lawmaker says US could escalate Ukraine war in 2024
Both major U.S. political parties could escalate the war to get additional votes in the 2024 elections, a top Russian lawmaker said Monday. In an interview with Russia’s Arguments and Facts, Konstantin Kosachev, vice speaker of the Federation Council, warned Russians that Democrats and Republicans won’t hesitate to use foreign policy to gain traction with the electorate.
“The U.S presidential campaign, which will culminate in 2024, may turn out to be a very unfortunate, if not fatal, circumstance,” Kosachev said. “I cannot say that there will definitely be an aggravation, but such a risk exists, it is obvious to me.”
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