The Ukrainian military command has informed Washington of a new phase of the Defence Forces’ counter-offensive — New York Times with reference to US anonymous officials
The New York Times noted that Ukrainian officials had told US officials that reinforced Ukrainian groups would attempt to advance south through Russian minefields and other fortifications to the city of Tokmak, and, if successful, to Melitopol.
Their goal is to break the so-called land bridge between the Russian-occupied Ukrainian territories and the Crimean peninsula, or at least advance far enough to put the strategically important peninsula within range of Ukrainian artillery.
The new Defence Forces operation, if successful, could take one to three weeks, Ukrainian officials told Washington.
However, little has gone according to plan since the counteroffensive began in early June, and officials at the White House and Pentagon said on Wednesday that they were watching the increased activity with great interest.
