“Westwagen is Westwagen”
Zelensky inspects Leopard 2 at the front
October 3, 2023, 7:02 p.m
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The section of the front between Kupyansk and Lyman is currently one of the most hotly contested areas in Ukraine. The Russian military is on the offensive here. During a visit to Ukrainian units, President Zelenskyj also inspected Western weapon systems that are used here.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited troops in the particularly hotly contested region between Kupyansk and Lyman in the east of the country. The visit was aimed at the “brigades in combat operations in one of the most dangerous areas,” Zelenskyj wrote on Telegram. He published a video in which he appears to be seen with soldiers in a fortified shelter.
Zelensky further explained that he also inspected weapons systems supplied by Ukraine’s Western allies – including German-made Leopard 2 main battle tanks. The president was also seen in the video talking to soldiers and signing a brigade’s flag.
“A Westwagen is a Westwagen,” one of the soldiers praised the German-made tank in conversation with Zelensky. In addition to the Leopard tanks, Zelensky also looked at CV-90 infantry fighting vehicles, the caption to the video said. Both are in action in the fighting in northeastern Ukraine on the Kupyansk sector of the front. The tanks delivered by the West since this spring were intended to help Ukraine retake occupied territories.
The Ukrainian army recaptured the city of Kupyansk and parts of the surrounding area in the northeastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv from the Russian occupiers in September 2022. While the Ukrainian army is carrying out a slow counteroffensive in the south and other areas in the east of the country, the area between Kupyansk and Lyman has been the target of Russian attacks for weeks. In August, the Ukrainian authorities called for the evacuation of the area near Kupyansk.
Russia declares Ukrainian breakthrough attempts failed
Meanwhile, in eastern Ukraine, the commander-in-chief of the army, Oleksandr Syrskyj, reported “progress” by the army and the capture of Russian soldiers. According to prosecutor Oleksandr Prokudin, one person was killed and four others were injured in the southern Kherson region.
For his part, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that since the start of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, all Ukrainian attempts to break through Russian lines in the east and south of Ukraine have “failed.” Shoigu specifically mentioned the area around the southern Ukrainian towns of Verbowe and Robotyne, where the “enemy” had failed to advance towards Zaporizhzhia. The Ukrainian army had announced the recapture of Werbowe and Robotyne in recent weeks.
All Ukrainian attacks were also repulsed “in the direction of Soledar-Bakhmut” in the east of Ukraine. Kiev also reported the recapture of two towns in this area. The Russian army had succeeded in significantly weakening the Ukrainian “combat potential” and inflicting “severe damage” on the army, Shoigu explained.