Crimea:
Ukraine said it has breached Russian defense lines in the south as its military said on Saturday that senior Russian naval commanders were among dozens killed or wounded in a missile attack on Moscow’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters in Crimea.
In the latest claims of progress in the Zaporizhia area, the Ukrainian general leading the counter-offensive there told US media that the advance was still ongoing.
“On the left flank (near the village of Verbove) we have a breakthrough and we continue to advance,” General Oleksandr Tarnavskiy told CNN in an interview published Friday.
Ukraine launched its counter-offensive in June to regain territory from Russian forces.
Progress has been slow and much of the territory is heavily undermined, but Kiev has reported in recent weeks that strategic progress has been made in the Zaporizhia region.
“Not as fast as expected, not like in the movies about World War II,” Tarnavskiy said in the CNN interview, adding that it was important “not to lose this initiative.”
Last month, Kiev declared a strategic victory when it retook the southern village of Robotyne.
Tarnavskiy said there would be a major breakthrough if Kiev recaptured the city of Tokmak – 20 kilometers from the front line – which fell to Russian forces at the start of their invasion.
The recapture of Tokmak would allow Ukrainian forces to advance further into occupied Melitopol and annexed Crimea.
“I think it (a breakthrough) would happen after Tokmak,” he said, but warned: “Right now (Russian forces) rely on the depth of their defense line there.”
Tarnavskiy disagreed with some predictions that Ukraine’s advance could be further slowed in the coming winter months.
“The weather could be a serious obstacle during the advance, but given the way we are moving, mostly without vehicles, I don’t think it will heavily affect the counter-offensive,” he said.
Assault squads
He provided some insight into the kind of fighting that was taking place in the south, 19 months after the invasion of Moscow, saying: “At the moment neither the enemy nor we are using large formations, companies, battalions or brigades. We use assault units, groups of ten to 15 men.”
“They are doing a Herculean job of concentrating enemy fire on them and using whatever resources they need to survive.”
The interview was published a day after Kiev attacked Russia’s Black Sea Fleet headquarters in the Crimean port of Sevastopol, claiming it had killed “senior” commanders.
The military said the attack took place during “a meeting of the leadership of the Russian Navy.”
Kyrylo Budanov, head of Kyiv’s intelligence service, said in comments to Voice of America that “at least nine people,” including generals, were killed in the attack.
“The details of the attack will be revealed as soon as possible and will result in dozens of dead and injured passengers, including senior fleet commanders,” the Ukrainian military said.
AFP cannot verify this information.
Russia has said one of its soldiers is missing after the attack. Kiev has promised to take back Crimea, which was annexed by Moscow in 2014.
‘Mess’ on the battlefield
Tarnavskiy said the success of the counteroffensive depends not only on what happens at the front, but also on “destroying command centers” that are creating “a mess on the battlefield.”
He added that attacks on Crimea improved the morale of Ukrainian troops: “It helps us, but it also gives us hope for the future.”
The Russian-installed head of Sevastopol had warned on Saturday of a possible new Ukrainian missile attack.
“Attention! Missile danger!” Governor Mikhail Razvozhayev of Sevastopol said this in Telegram.
But shortly afterwards he announced that the ‘danger has passed’.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky met with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday, who pledged additional aid to the war-torn country.
Zelensky addressed the United Nations earlier this week and held talks in Washington with the US Congress and President Joe Biden, who promised that US tanks would soon arrive to boost Ukraine’s arsenal.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)