Ukrainian officials have warned that their push towards the Sea of Azov, a crucial objective in their counteroffensive, will involve navigating through minefields and fortified trenches, likely facing heavy artillery fire along roads lined with Russian armor and machine guns. However, Kyiv has a more immediate goal.
Their aim is to penetrate deep into occupied territory to bring more Russian military targets within range of Ukraine’s expanding arsenal, further disrupting Moscow’s supply lines and its ability to counter Ukrainian advances.
Hanna Malyar, the deputy minister of defense, stated on Ukrainian national television, “The main task we face now, in addition to moving forward, is, of course, to weaken the enemy’s ability to defend itself. And in fact, this is what we are doing now.”
The Ukrainian military claims to be destroying numerous Russian weapons depots every week while constantly searching for command posts, air defense systems, and concentrations of troops to target.
Assessing Ukraine’s success in degrading Russian forces and logistical operations independently is not possible. However, this month, Col. Serhii Baranov of the Ukrainian military’s general staff claimed that Ukrainian rockets and artillery were responsible for the majority of Russian losses in soldiers and equipment.
Brig. Gen. Oleksandr Tarnavsky, the commander of Ukraine’s military fighting in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia, likened the counteroffensive to a boxing match, stating that Ukraine intends to strike with longer-range weapons to “hold the opponent at arm’s length” and avoid close combat.
After the United States supplied Ukraine with longer-range rocket systems known as HIMARS last year, Russia was compelled to move its logistical operations and bases closer to the coast of the Sea of Azov, beyond the 50-mile range of the rockets.
Prior to Ukraine’s counteroffensive two months ago, their frontline positions were between 60 and 90 miles from the coast, just out of reach of the HIMARS truck-mounted launchers that fire satellite-guided rockets.
This means that with every mile gained in the current assault, Ukraine gets closer to Russian targets along the coast.
Although the HIMARS are mobile, Ukrainian forces have a limited number and prefer to keep them at a distance from the front line. Analysts say that in order to significantly change the dynamics on the battlefield, they must first consolidate their gains and demonstrate their ability to hold newly reclaimed territory, often in the face of Russian aerial and artillery bombardment.
HIMARS and other Western weapons recently supplied to Ukraine are much more powerful than the long-range drones they have been using to target Russian supply routes far from the front. One of these routes passes through Crimea, which Russia has illegally occupied since 2014. The only land route from Russia to Crimea is the Kerch Bridge, which has…
2023-07-28 10:39:39
Link from www.nytimes.com
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