Moscow claims to have prevented a major Ukrainian offensive – but a commander from his own ranks takes a different view of the situation in Donbass.
Donetsk – A Russian commander has contradicted reports from Moscow about the failure of a major Ukrainian offensive in Donbas. Ukraine's troops have so far been successful in their attacks west of Wuhledar, field commander Alexander Khodakovsky wrote on his Telegram channel early Monday.
Moscow speaks of "large-scale" offensive - commander of limited operation
The Russian Ministry of Defense in Moscow had reported the failure of a major Ukrainian offensive in the south of Donetsk on Monday night. Spokesman Igor Konashenkov told Russia's state-run Tass news agency that attacks on a total of five different areas on the front line had been repulsed. In addition, Ukrainian troops lost more than 250 soldiers. On Telegram, the ministry published a video purporting to show Ukrainian armored vehicles filmed from the air under heavy fire.
With Khodakovsky, however, it sounds different. According to him, Ukraine is using limited capacities of armed forces in its successful attacks in the region so far. Already on Sunday, Ukrainian troops had achieved a breakthrough at the front near Velyka Novosilka, a small town with about 5,800 inhabitants.
Khodakovsky: Russian troops on the ground in "difficult situation" in Ukraine war
Through a deceptive maneuver, a shock troop later advanced almost unnoticed. Ukraine managed to put local Russian troops in "a difficult position," Khodakovsky said on Telegram. According to him, the Ukrainian armed forces interfered with radio communications on the ground. The situation is dynamic.
Field commander Khodakovsky has been at the head of the pro-Russian separatist brigade "Vostok" since 2014. After the start of the Russian war of aggression in February 2022, the brigade became part of the army of Russia.
Kiev has not yet commented on the reports
The Ukrainian government in Kiev has not yet commented on the representations. In the daily situation report of the Ukrainian General Staff, no special activity in the described region was reported. There it was only said that Wuhledar and the adjacent villages had been shelled by the Russian side.
Military observers have been speculating for months about a large-scale counteroffensive in the Ukraine war. Advances in the southern Zaporizhzhia region or to the Russian-conquered port city of Mariupol in the Donetsk region are considered possible targets. In 2022, Ukraine had already recaptured the regional capital Kherson as well as most of the Kharkiv region.
Military observers: Ukraine signals that it is ready for major offensive
According to military observers at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Ukrainian politicians are signaling that they are now ready for the next major counterattack. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had recently emphasized several times that his country was ready for the long-announced offensive to liberate its territories from Russian occupation. (with dpa and AFP)
Category list image: © IMAGO/Madeleine Kelly
