Kyiv launches major push to dislodge Russian forces from southeastern Ukraine

The surge in troops and firepower has been centred on the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, a Western official said

Kyiv: Kyiv has launched a major push to dislodge Russian forces from southeastern Ukraine as part of its weeks-long counteroffensive, committing thousands of troops to the battle in the country’s southeast, according to Western and Ukrainian officials and analysts.

The surge in troops and firepower has been centred on the southeastern Zaporizhzhia region, a Western official said late on Wednesday. Fighting has intensified in recent weeks at multiple points along the 1,500-km frontline as Ukraine deploys Western-supplied advanced weapons and Western-trained troops against the deeply entrenched Russian forces who invaded 17 months ago.

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Ukrainian officials have been mostly silent about battlefield developments since they began early counteroffensive operations, though Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Maliar said troops are advancing toward the city of Melitopol in Zaporizhizhia.

Though that movement could be a tactical feint, and both governments have used disinformation to gain battlefield advantages, such a manoeuvre would be in line with what some analysts had predicted. They envisioned a counteroffensive that would try to punch through the land corridor between Russia and the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula, moving towards Melitopol, which is close to the coast of the Azov Sea.

That could split Russian forces into two halves and cut off supply lines to the units that are located further to the west. The intense fighting is taking place in areas in the south and east of Ukraine, far from the capital Kyiv, and it was not possible to verify either side’s claims.

The Institute of Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, reported that Ukrainian forces launched “a significant mechanised counteroffensive operation in western Zaporizhzhia region” on Wednesday, adding that they “appear to have broken through certain pre-prepared Russian defensive positions.” It cited Russian sources, including the Russian Ministry of Defense and several prominent Russian military bloggers.