For 72 hours, the Ukrainians have returned to the maneuver and are again attacking along the front line, crossed by particularly dense Russian defenses which have generally held since the start of the Kiev counter-offensive, launched in beginning of June. The Russian authorities themselves refer to “massive attacks”, which they consider to have “repelled”, while the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), based in Washington, observes in the region of Zaporijjia in the South an advance of 2.5 km from the Ukrainian forces, which would then have retreated slightly. Two Pentagon officials quoted by the New York Times report that Ukraine may have entered “the main phase” of its counter-offensive.
At the beginning of June, this great operation, which had been talked about for months, began with armored assaults against the Russian defense lines, but the Ukrainians failed to achieve significant breakthroughs quickly, as had been the case in the Kharkiv region in last fall. The Russians also succeeded from the first days in targeting Western tanks and armored vehicles that were particularly valuable for kyiv. Subsequently, Ukraine slowed the pace of its assaults and favored an artillery battle. After a month of strikes which particularly targeted the rear of the Russian system, Ukraine could thus have relaunched its maneuvers to break through the Russian defenses and clear a path towards the Sea of Azov. But the path, if there is one, is still a long way to these shores controlled by Moscow.
In video, Le Figaro takes stock of a decisive counter-offensive for the two protagonists. What are the forces at play? Where are the fights? What are the different axes of attack? What is the attrition level of the two forces? What short and medium term goals? The uncertainty is total, but some answers exist despite everything.