Is it time for the much-heralded counter-attack as Kiev confirmed on Monday that it was carrying out "offensive actions"? This is implied by the Russian Ministry of Defense. The Ukrainian authorities have warned, however, that they will not reveal anything about their plans or the timing of this attack: discretion is required in this battle of communication.
"The defensive operation (of Ukraine) includes counteroffensive actions. Therefore, in some areas, we are carrying out offensive actions," Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Ganna Maliar said on Monday. It also reported, without elaborating, "minor fighting" in the south where Russian forces are "on the defensive". Asked by the press about the chances of success of the Ukrainian counteroffensive Monday at the White House, US President Joe Biden responded by crossing his fingers.
"The enemy has not achieved its objectives," Moscow welcomes
The Russian Defense Ministry said it had countered attacks on five sectors of the front "in the southern direction of the Donetsk region" in the east since the morning of June 4. He claimed that Russian soldiers had inflicted heavy casualties on Ukrainian forces on the outskirts of the town of Neskuchne, in the Donetsk region, and Novodarivka, just on the border between the same region and the more southern Zaporizhzhya region.
New "attempts to break through Russian defenses" also took place Monday afternoon near the town of Novodonetske, in the vicinity of Vugldar, a recurring hotspot on the front in the south of the Donetsk region. "The enemy has not achieved its objectives," the Russian ministry said, releasing images of tanks being destroyed.
Bakhmut, still the epicenter of hostilities
According to Kiev, the Bakhmut area, which is the scene of the longest and deadliest battle of the conflict and which Moscow claimed to capture in May, remains "the epicenter of hostilities".
Ganna Maliar claims that Ukrainian forces are advancing on the outskirts of this city "on a fairly broad front": "We are achieving successes and occupying the dominant heights." According to her, Ukrainian troops advanced several hundred meters on this sector of the front.
This Ukrainian advance was confirmed by the leader of the Russian paramilitary group Wagner, Yevgeny Prigozhin, according to which "part of the locality of Berkhivka is already lost", a "shame". Russian experts and military expect Kiev to increase attacks on enemy lines to detect weaknesses, before launching the bulk of the troops.
In September 2022, the Ukrainian army secretly prepared an assault that eventually led to the reconquest of almost the entire Kharkiv region in the northeast.
Russia 'repels global offensive that doesn't exist yet'
On Monday, Pope Francis' envoy for peace, Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, traveled to Kiev to discuss with Ukrainian authorities ways to resolve the war with Russia and humanitarian needs. He visited Butcha, a town near Kiev that has become a symbol of Russian atrocities.
Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podoliak joked on Twitter that Russia "is already actively engaged in repelling a comprehensive offensive that does not yet exist."
Russian news reports have long since become a separate virtual meta-universe. #Moscow is already actively involved in repelling... a global offensive that "does not yet exist." The million-strong Russian army is actively repelling attacks, destroying thousands of tanks, hundreds...
— Михайло подоляк (@Podolyak_M) June 5, 2023
In addition, for the past two weeks, incursions and bombings have multiplied in the Russian region of Belgorod, bordering Ukraine, claimed by fighters posing as Russians fighting alongside the Ukrainians. The strikes left several civilians dead and dozens injured.
In the latest operation on Sunday, one of these groups dubbed "Russia's Freedom Legion" took prisoners who are to be handed over to Kiev. A dozen detainees, including two wounded, are visible in a video. This is the first time that Russians have been captured on Russian territory.
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The governor of Belgorod, Vyacheslav Gladkov, even, exceptionally, evoked possible negotiations but the pro-Ukrainian fighters assured in their video that this Russian official had not gone to the meeting point. The Russian Defense Ministry made no comment, saying only it had repelled a new incursion on Sunday. A senior Russian officer was killed on the night of June 5, Ukrainian military intelligence reported. He was accused of participating in the Butcha massacre.
Fighting has concentrated in recent days around Novaya Tavoljanka and Chebekino, near the border, forcing thousands of civilians to flee to Belgorod, the regional capital.
"A boomerang effect"
"We are in a terrible state. But we hold on, we try to be strong, because we have children (...). But what happens next? Of course, we don't know," Irina Burlakova, a displaced person, told AFP. The 30-year-old fled Chebekino with her husband and son. They lived there in the city center, hit in recent days by artillery fire of unprecedented intensity.
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On the night of Sunday to Monday, the Belgorod region was again the target of strikes and a drone attack, according to Vyacheslav Gladkov. "Many people are asking a fair question: what exactly is happening in the Belgorod region right now? It's simple, it's a boomerang effect," Mykhailo Podoliak wrote on Twitter, repeating that Ukraine was "not involved in these attacks."