‘Extremely fierce’ fighting as Russian forces resist Ukrainian counteroffensive. Kyiv and western sources issue downbeat assessment as Moscow targets supply lines in Odesa with deadly cruise missile strike
Kyiv has said its troops are battling under Russian “air and artillery superiority” as cruise missiles targeting the supply lines of the Ukrainian counteroffensive killed three people working a nightshift in a warehouse in the southern city of Odesa.
The country’s deputy defence minister, Hanna Maliar, said she could report just partial success over the last 24 hours, during which the progress of Ukraine’s forces had been measured only in the hundreds of metres as they sought to advance in the east and south.
Western officials added to the sombre tone as they briefed that Ukraine was taking significant casualties and making slow progress towards Russia’s main line of defence, in one of the west’s first assessments of the Ukrainian counteroffensive launched on 4 June.
“The Russian manoeuvre and defence approach is proving challenging for Ukraine and costly to attacking forces, hence the advance at the moment is slow,” an official said. They added that “grinding, costly warfare” was likely for many months to come.
“This is incredibly difficult,” the official said. “They are going against a well-prepared line that the Russians have had months to prepare.”
The downbeat assessments came as what was described as extremely fierce fighting spilled over again into Ukraine’s urban centres. Kalibr missiles hit Odesa at 2.40am on Wednesday, setting a warehouse, a business centre, an educational institution, restaurants and shops ablaze.
It was a one of a number of attacks across the country on Wednesday that left 13 civilians dead and 24 injured. The death toll from a strike on a warehouse and apartment block in Kryvyi Rih was also raised to 12 after the death of a 67-year-old man in hospital overnight.
See:
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...lls-three-people-working-in-warehouse-ukraine