Ukraine in ‘strike phase’ of counteroffensive against Russia

After months of training and weeks of waiting, Ukraine is committing thousands of troops, armed with Western weapons and tactics, in the fight against Russia. Military bloggers are reporting heavy clashes in the Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine.

Ukraine launched its counteroffensive in early June but has been bogged down by the defenses Russia had months to establish. Minefields proved to be the biggest obstacles. Clearing mines takes time and is dangerous in the best of circumstances, let alone when being targeted by Russian artillery, helicopters and tanks.

Russian defensive lines are miles deep in some places. Most NATO armies would also struggle to break through similar defenses without air superiority. Ukraine has never had air superiority throughout the now 18-month-old war.

Minefields in Ukraine roughly the size of Florida slow counteroffensive

However, Ukraine’s military leadership is keen at adaptation. Since the start of the counteroffensive, Ukraine’s strategy was to stretch, starve and then strike Russian positions.

It seems Ukraine is now in the strike phase of that strategy.

There’s intense fighting around the village of Robotyne as Ukrainian troops try to push south. Russian troops are stretched across more than 600 miles of frontline, while also being starved of needed items like ammunition and fuel. Instead of fighting head on, Ukraine spent the last few weeks taking out Russian logistics.

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Russian troops in southern occupied Ukraine are likely running short on armored vehicles as well. Ukraine used cruise missiles to hit a Russian repair depot in Crimea this week that had hundreds of vehicles parked there waiting to be fixed.

There’s no official word on the damage from either side, but potentially hundreds of Russian armored vehicles could have been destroyed in a single strike.

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Back on July 17, Ukraine attacked the Crimean Bridge at Kerch as well. It was a huge blow to Russian logistics in southern Ukraine. Now, the latest updates from the front lines show Ukrainian troops are pushing south from Zaporizhzhia to Melitopol. If Ukraine can recapture the village and set up a stronghold along the Sea of Azov, Russian forces would be divided in two.

Western intelligence agencies report Russia doesn’t have enough troops in reserve to rotate out soldiers on the frontline, which will no doubt deteriorate Russian morale further.

In a move to bolster its fighting force, the Russian Parliament is pushing forward a bill to extend the upper age limit of military draftees from 27 to 30.

Currently, all Russian males aged 18 to 27 are required to serve one year of military service. The bill was passed by the lower house and still needs approval by the upper house of Parliament. From there, it would go to Vladimir Putin to be signed into law. If passed, the bill would also make it illegal for a draftee to leave Russia before their military service begins.

The Russian government said the military doesn’t use draftees in the fighting in Ukraine, instead relying on volunteers and reservists who were mobilized for action.

Some Russian media have reported, however, that the military tries to encourage or coerce many draftees into signing contracts as volunteers.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.