For months a guessing game has played out in military circles worldwide: where and when would Ukraine conduct its counter-offensive? Most expected it to come through Zaporizhia province, in the south of the country, perhaps directed at the city of Melitopol, with the aim of cutting the \u201cland bridge\u201d seized by Russian troops at the start of the war that connects occupied Crimea with Russia itself. Western officials had expected the offensive to begin two weeks ago, and some were getting impatient.<\/p>\n
On June 4th\u2014two days before the anniversary of D-Day, the start of the liberation of Europe from the Nazis\u2014Ukrainian forces launched what Russia\u2019s defence ministry called a \u201clarge-scale\u201d assault on five axes in the south-east of Donetsk province, in eastern Ukraine. Some of them may indeed threaten the land bridge; others were further to the north. Western officials tell The Economist that this does in fact mark the start of the offensive, with attacks also under way on other parts of the front. Yet the cream of Ukraine\u2019s forces has not yet appeared on the battlefield.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n Our take on Ukraine\u2019s counter-offensive\u2014by me, @ArkadyOstrovsky<\/a> & @olliecarroll<\/a>. We think attacks of last 24 hours in Donetsk (& elsewhere) are not just as business as usual. But we probably aren\u2019t seeing the main effort just yet. Watch this space. https:\/\/t.co\/lTyDJc7ykX<\/a><\/p>\n — Shashank Joshi (@shashj) June 5, 2023<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n