franceinfo visited one of the three axes of the Ukrainian counter-offensive between the regions of Zapporijjia and Donetsk, where the Kiev army would have spotted the flaw in the Russian defenses.
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Since the start of the counter-offensive, the small town of Velyka Novosilka has been the scene of constant troop movements. Barbara, one of the few civilians, observes a long convoy of the Ukrainian army passing on a rutted road. “Our soldiers are heading for the front line. They are exhausted.“, she breathes.
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The start of this counter-offensive, ten days ago, provoked a real Russian barrage. A veritable deluge of fire fell on this city which has become the rear base of the Ukrainian army. “The Russians kept shelling the city, Barbara continues. There, a whole neighborhood was razed. I live in a two-storey building whose roof was destroyed. Now my apartment is open to the sky. Around, everything is in ruins…”describes Barbara.
“It’s like a game of chess”
The Ukrainian soldiers remain confident, because they would have found the breach in the Russian military apparatus. This is what this lieutenant, who wishes to remain anonymous, says: “We have spotted a weak point in the Russian defense on this axis. We advance to pierce their lines”he explains.
“The goal is to cut the territory they control in two and separate the Donetsk region from Crimea.”
A Ukrainian lieutenantat franceinfo
He specifies : “We want to reach the Sea of Azov, which is only a hundred kilometers away. It’s like a game of chess. Nobody knows how it will end because they have massed a lot of troops in the area.”
It is in this part of Ukraine that the Russian army managed to connect Donbass to Crimea. A territorial continuity that the forces of kyiv are trying to break at the cost of heavy losses. “Our soldiers are young, continues the lieutenant. They advance as the Russians did in Bakhmout. We laughed at them and it is our turn to suffer losses, because it is more difficult to advance than to remain in the trenches. So we lose a lot of people.” And the more the Ukrainian army advances on this open ground, the more it will be exposed to Russian attacks.
The report by Omar Ouahmane and Jérémy Tuil
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