Key developments on June 11: * Ukraine liberates 3 villages, makes progress in Donetsk Oblast * Russian troops attack evacuation boat, killing 3, injuring 23 in Kherson Oblast * Water level drops in Kherson Oblast after Kakhovka Dam disaster * Russian forces blow smaller dam in Donetsk Oblast * Ukraine returns 95 prisoners of war
Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar reported on June 11 that Russia had redeployed its elite troops from Kherson Oblast to other directions after the June 6 Kakhovka dam disaster.
While there are several villages of the same name in the region, it's presumably the one located just west of Vuhledar.
"From my point of view, counteroffensive defensive actions are taking place in Ukraine," President Volodymyr Zelensky said during a press conference following a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in Kyiv on June 10.
Ukrainian troops have advanced up to 1,200 meters in some areas in the Bakhmut direction, Serhii Cherevaty, the spokesperson for the eastern command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said on June 9.
Ukraine launched its long-awaited counteroffensive against Russia on June 8, ABC News reported, citing unnamed Ukrainian official sources, one of them supposedly close to President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Key developments on June 7: * Dam explosion floods dozens of settlements in Kherson Oblast * Over 10,000 hectares of farmland expected to be flooded in the south, ministry warns * Risk of cholera after Kakhovka dam explosion, Health Ministry warns * General Staff: Russian forces block evacuation routes from flooded occupied territories
Editor’s Note: Soldiers in the story are introduced by their first names for security reasons amid the ongoing war in Ukraine. DONETSK OBLAST – Soldiers from Ukraine’s 24th Mechanized Brigade listened closely to the instructors as they practiced assault tactics before using them on the battlefield for the first
Ukraine's forces are successfully advancing in the Bakhmut direction along a "fairly wide front," Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar wrote on Telegram on June 5. Small-scale fighting is taking place in the south, she added.
In the early hours of June 5, the first announcement of what looks like it could be the start of a large-scale Ukrainian counteroffensive came from an unusual source. At 1:31 a.m. Kyiv time, the Russian Defense Ministry, which famously floundered in silence in response to Ukraine’s
Editor’s note: As per the regulations of the unit, soldiers interviewed for this article, many of whom have relatives remaining in Russian-occupied territory, are identified by first name and/or callsign only. SOUTHEASTERN UKRAINE – After months of seeing Russia’s war against Ukraine through the drab gray-brown landscapes of
As Ukraine gathers forces for the counteroffensive, Russia continues to build defensive lines on a massive scale. The lines are especially formidable in the southwestern part of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, where many observers expect the main Ukrainian assault to strike. But defenses have been prepared along pretty much the entire front;
Key developments on May 2: * Blinken says counteroffensive planned within weeks * 8 Offensive Guard brigades 'fully formed,' others in progress * US believes Russia has suffered 100,000 casualties in 5 months * CBC: 2 Canadians killed in Bakhmut * Parliament extends martial law, defines Russia's regime as 'ruscism' Ukraine's new Offensive
Key developments on April 30: * Ukraine, US' top generals talk of counteroffensive possible scenarios * Zelensky discusses military needs with Macron * Fire at oil depot in Sevastopol is 'preparations' for counteroffensive, says military * Intelligence chief pledges to eliminate Russian war criminals worldwide According to Ukraine's Armed Forces' Southern Command spokesperson Natalia
SNIHURIVKA, Mykolaiv Oblast — When Russian forces seized her town, chemistry teacher Natalia Vorobiova had a choice: collaborate and be left alone or defy them and risk everything. She chose defiance. Even after Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) threatened to abduct and imprison her in Siberia, she continued to refuse to
The Russian defeat in Kherson Oblast was almost inevitable — but it happened sooner than many expected. The Nov. 9 announcement on Russia’s “uneasy decision” to leave Kherson, voiced by General Sergei Surovikin, has drawn the line under a months-long Ukrainian effort to undermine the Russian presence on Dnipro’s
LYMAN, Donetsk Oblast – On a quiet road lined by pine forest leading into the city of Lyman, the remains of a frantic but unsuccessful escape clutter the roadside. Four repurposed civilian cars, burnt-out and upturned, mark the spot where the flight of Russian soldiers met an abrupt end. Just beside
Ukrainian forces are gaining ground in Kherson Oblast. They are liberating villages and pushing towards the western bank of the Dnipro River, to squeeze the Russian forces against it. The Russian lines in the region are collapsing as their position west of the river gets less tenable by the day.
KUPIANSK, Kharkiv Oblast — For the handful of Ukrainians left in the center of Kupiansk, life since liberation from Russian occupation has been reduced to an exercise in survival. The city in Kharkiv Oblast is shelled throughout the day by Russian artillery on the other side of the Oskil River, where
Key developments on Sept. 20 * Moscow’s proxies in the occupied territories of four Ukrainian regions say they will hold “referendums” to join Russia on Sept. 23-27. * Russia launches 7 missile strikes, 20 airstrikes across Ukraine * Erdogan alleges Putin willing to end the war in Ukraine * Moscow’s missile strike
IZIUM, Kharkiv Oblast – Six months into the occupation of Izium in Kharkiv Oblast, Russian forces announced a mysterious strict 24-hour curfew on Sept. 8. Roman, a bread vendor at the local market who declined to give his last name, drove north the following morning on an errand in defiance of
Key developments on Sept. 14 * Zelensky visits liberated Izium in Kharkiv Oblast * Ukraine says it is able to strike targets almost anywhere in Kherson Oblast * Russia continues its missile strikes on critical infrastructure President Volodymyr Zelensky made a symbolic visit to the recently liberated city of Izium on Sept. 14.
Editor’s Note: This is an analysis by Andriy Zagorodnyuk, ex-Defense Minister and the chairman of the Center for Defense Strategies, a Kyiv-based think tank. It was originally published in Ukrainian by Ukrainska Pravda on Sept. 14. The Kyiv Independent has translated it and is republishing it with permission. The
Ukraine’s surprise counteroffensive in Kharkiv Oblast forced Russian soldiers to beat a hasty retreat, abandoning ammunition and equipment to be captured by Ukrainian forces. Since the beginning of the advance on Sept. 7, Ukraine has liberated about 3,000 square kilometers, or over 40 settlements, in Kharkiv Oblast, according
Four days into Ukraine’s surprise counteroffensive in Kharkiv Oblast, Russian forces have retreated from the key cities of Kupiansk and Izium, signaling a near-total collapse of the Russian line of defense in the area. Reports are also circulating on social media and Telegram channels indicating that Russian troops have
