Ukrainian units are advancing decisively 10-12 miles, threatening Russia’s strategic supply routes. A tactical maneuver that could turn the tide of war?
After hard months of fighting in the minefields, villages, and open steppes of the south, various sources report that Ukrainian forces are making significant progress. The release states that Ukrainian troops advanced 10-12 miles (16-19 km) along two main lines of attack to bring Kiev to the southern coast and disrupt Russian supply lines. Although these advances might seem modest by comparison, according to the New York Times significant enough to force Russia to reposition its troops and withdraw them from other parts of the front.
The Washington-based Institute for the Study of War, cited by the New York Times, emphasizes that these advances are “tactically significant.” The institute’s experts argue that Moscow’s redeployment is likely to further destabilize Russian defenses and may offer Ukraine opportunities for a decisive breakthrough.
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The New York Times further reports that the Ukrainian military launched a counteroffensive this summer, aiming to repeat the success of their impressive advance in the Kharkiv region from last September. The heavy losses, however, forced Ukrainian commanders to change tactics away from direct assaults to a war of attrition. In doing so, they focused on continuous, smaller gains while trying to protect their own resources and reduce those of the Russians.
The newspaper also mentions that Ukrainian forces continue to attack Russian supply lines. As recently as Saturday, there were reports of explosions as the Russian military claimed it had destroyed two Ukrainian missiles aimed at a key bridge near Kerch, a strategic link to Crimea.
Image: RARESH MIHALESCU ION, Battle of Donetsk, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, (no changes made)