Intense fighting as Ukrainian forces launch major assault against Russian positions

Intense fighting as Ukrainian forces launch major assault against Russian positions

A substantial Ukrainian force was pushing an assault against Russian positions in the south on Thursday, in an intensification of fighting that some Ukrainian officials and western analysts said marked the start in earnest of Kyiv’s much-vaunted counteroffensive.

The combat against Russian positions south of Zaporizhzhia included western-supplied tanks and armoured vehicles and infantry backed by artillery. There were reports of intense fighting outside of the town of Tokmak, a key Russian logistical hub.

Asked about US media reports that the counteroffensive had begun, a spokesman for Ukraine’s general staff said: “We have no such information. And we do not comment on anonymous sources.”

Ukrainian officials, however, have insisted that they would not make an official announcement when the counteroffensive begins and have cautioned against focusing on a single area, suggesting it could involve a number of components.

The Institute for the Study of War, a US-based thinktank that has been producing daily updates on the war, said it had concluded on Thursday that the Ukrainian counteroffensive had begun.

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“Activity throughout Ukraine is consistent with a variety of indicators that Ukrainian counteroffensive operations are under way across the theater,” the group tweeted.

Following days of heavy shelling of Russian defences, Ukrainian units were reported to have stepped up efforts to break thorough in the Orihiv-Tokmak sector, which blocks the route to the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol – a key objective for Kyiv.

Unconfirmed reports suggested that German-made Leopard tanks and US Bradleys had been thrown into the battle along with scores of other armoured vehicles.

The Russian defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, said Ukrainian forces from Ukraine’s 47th mechanised brigade, with up to 1,500 troops and 150 armoured vehicles, made “an attempt to break through” but Russian forces dealt the attack “a preventive blow”, although Russian military bloggers painted a far more nuanced picture.

Images posted by the Russian military blogger Rybar purported to show Ukrainian armour immobilised during the assault although neither those claims nor those of Shoigu could be verified.

Intense fighting as Ukrainian forces launch major assault against Russian positions