Putin sees the beginning of the offensive
Reisner: Strong resistance “nasty surprise” for Ukrainians
6/9/2023, 6:46 p.m
The Ukrainian military leadership continues to remain silent, but Russia’s President Putin has made it clear that Kiev’s counter-offensive has begun. Colonel Reisner describes why Russia’s fierce resistance is causing problems for the Ukrainians.
More than 15 months after the start of the war of aggression he ordered, according to Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin, a long-awaited Ukrainian counter-offensive is underway. “We can say with certainty that this offensive has begun,” Putin told journalists, according to the Interfax agency. “This is confirmed by the deployment of the strategic reserve,” he said at a conference in Sochi, excerpts of which were published on Telegram. Putin said there had been “intense fighting” for five days. He also claimed that the Ukrainians had not achieved their objectives on any sector of the front. However, this could not be verified independently. Since the beginning of the war, the Russian side in particular has repeatedly made false military statements.
The Austrian Colonel Markus Reisner spoke to ntv.de of fierce Russian resistance. “The Ukrainian side is surprised by Russian doggedness and flexibility.” The Russian armed forces were not only able to stop the Ukrainian offensive by using artillery and minefields, but also used the air force for tactical support, according to the expert. In addition, the Russians have become more flexible: “They are now using very small mobile squads with anti-tank guided missiles with a range of two kilometers on buggies,” says Reisner. These small vehicles are hardly recognizable. “This is a nasty surprise for Ukraine.”
Previously, some international media, citing Ukrainian military representatives, had suspected that the operation to liberate areas occupied by Russia had been going on for a few days. Kiev itself is keeping a low profile, but has always emphasized that it will not comment on the start of its own offensive.
Ukraine attacks in Zaporizhia
In fact, very heavy fighting is currently raging in the Zaporizhia and Luhansk regions in particular. Above all, south of the city of Orekhovo and west of Wuhledar, Ukrainian troops are apparently trying to advance. Fighting also continues over Bachmut. Initially, there were small reports of success from the Ukrainians, but almost exclusively through Russian war bloggers. The Ukrainian military leadership continues to be reluctant to provide information about the fighting, which is why reliable information is difficult to obtain.
Recently, however, there have also been numerous pictures and videos of destroyed tanks and infantry fighting vehicles of the Ukrainian military in the contested areas. Among them were apparently also Leopard 2 tanks supplied by Germany, as well as American Bradley infantry fighting vehicle. There is currently no reliable information about the successes or setbacks of the Ukrainian counter-offensive.
Ukraine meets Russian headquarters
Meanwhile, away from the front line, Ukrainian troops appear to have struck a major blow against the Russian military. Photos on social media show buildings on fire. It is said to be the headquarters of the Russian armed forces in southern Ukraine. This was in Cherson for a long time and was moved much further south, to Henichesk, before the first threatening counter-offensive by Ukraine. Vladimir Putin only visited the headquarters in April.
Russia invaded the neighboring country on February 24, 2022 and currently occupies around 20 percent of Ukrainian territory. Kiev is also planning to reconquer the occupied parts of the country with the help of Western weapons.