It is the Ukrainian defense that claims that Ukraine has recaptured the villages of Blahodatne and Neskuchne. Both are located in the west of Donetsk Oblast. Thus, Ukrainian forces may have achieved their first known advance in the announced counter-offensive. Lieutenant Colonel Palle Ydstebø at the Military Academy is not surprised. He says Ukraine has pressured the Russians on several axes in the past week. Lieutenant Colonel Palle Ydstebø at the Military Academy. Photo: Gunhild Hjermundrud / news – Ukraine has carried out smaller attacks to get a better overview and find weak points in the Russian defence. They have made a few kilometers of progress and taken a number of areas and smaller towns. Elsewhere it has stopped. It seems like a typical phase of the offensive that we have been waiting for for a while, says Ydstebø to news. Blahodatne is located around 95 km northwest of the city of Mariupol on the Sea of Azov. Russia captured the city last year after besieging and bombarding it. Neskuchne is around 50 kilometers further west. May have breached the first line of defense Ukraine may thus have broken through the first Russian line of defense. – Whether they have broken through the first defense line or whether it is a question of smaller security forces that are a little further out remains to be seen, but in some places they have probably started clearing trenches and perhaps reached the defense line, says the lieutenant colonel. He emphasizes that we are talking about deep defense belts that consist of several lines and a number of support points along the way. Photo: “INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR AND AEI’S CRITICAL THREATS PROJECT / news / Updated 11.06.2023 Photo: “INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF WAR AND AEI’S CRITICAL THREATS PROJECT / news / Updated 11.06.2023 Raising the Ukrainian flag Videos in social media shows what are believed to be Ukrainian soldiers raising the Ukrainian flag in a destroyed building in Blagodatne. The news agency has not been able to verify where or when the video was taken. The videos have been published by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Spokesperson Valeriy Shershen in the Ukrainian defense says that Ukrainian forces must have overpowered several Russian and pro-Russian troops, in order to be able to raise the flag over the city. There are many indications that Ukrainian forces are now in the process of launching powerful strikes against the Russian defense lines along several front sections. Several advanced Western weapons have also been used for the first time, including Leopard tanks. Ukraine has so far been sparing with information about the counter-offensive. In recent days, Russian authorities have claimed that they have repelled several Ukrainian attacks in the same area. Ydstebø believes that we will hear about both Ukrainian progress and decline in the time to come. – It is best to take what comes with a little ice in the stomach. Then we’ll see how it develops, he says. Four areas The Institute for the study of war (ISW) wrote on Saturday in its daily status update that Ukraine carried out offensive operations in at least four areas. Russian sources report Ukrainian activity in Luhansk near Bilohorivka. Ukraine reports progress on the Bakhmut front. Russian military bloggers also report Ukrainian advances northwest and northeast of Bakhmut. Russia’s Ministry of Defense says Ukraine attacked the border area between Donetsk and Zaporizhzhya, particularly at Velyka Novosilka. It is in this area that Blagodatne is located. Geolocated images indicate that Ukraine is also making progress west of Zaporizhzhya near Orikhiv. Confirmed that the counter-offensive is underway On Friday, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the Ukrainian counter-offensive was definitely underway. It was confirmed by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj on Saturday that votes. He would not, however, go into detail about where the offensives are taking place and to what extent. Military experts have warned that it will be difficult for the Ukrainians to break through the Russian lines. In recent days, a number of images of destroyed Ukrainian tanks, armored personnel carriers and armored personnel carriers have also appeared.
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