Ukraine’s push to smash Russian defences on the battlefield: ‘Small advances have colossal meaning’

The mutiny by the Wagner mercenaries over the weekend raised hopes that the turmoil in Russia would dramatically propel Ukraine’s offensive to recapture territory occupied by Moscow.

The rebellion humiliated Russia’s president Vladimir Putin and rattled his regime as forces marched on Moscow, before turning around after a last-minute deal, meaning the Kremlin did not have to redeploy troops from Ukraine to tackle the insurgency.

Ukraine is mounting attacks in a number of areas along the 965km (600 miles) frontline, but that progress will not be easy. A Ukrainian colonel told The Independent his country’s forces have to deal with multiple lines of defence constructed by the Russians in the build-up to the long-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive.

The colonel said that Ukraine’s main attack – where they commit tanks, armoured vehicles, artillery and advanced rocket systems supplied by Western allies – would only come after the defensive lines had been eradicated.

Advances are slow and Kyiv is being careful not to waste the lives of its military in the type of attacks ordered by Moscow, where waves of soldiers would be thrown at an area.

A former member of the Ukrainian parliament, Yuriy Syrotyuk, who joined his country’s army on the day Russia invaded last year, explained the first line of Russian defences is filled with anti-tank mines, and that Russian artillery is zeroed in on every patch of land – with the area also replete with fortifications and trench systems.

Syrotyuk said a key element in Ukraine’s advance will be the use of the precise artillery and missile systems provided by the West.

“We have to reply in an asymmetric way when using artillery, to strike the enemy with precision and not – as they do – saturate entire [areas] with shells. We try to send out infantry to locations where the enemy is weakened and minefields have been cleared to minimise casualties.

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“Overcoming this first line is essential... and we will do it,” he added. “Behind the first line are two weaker defensive lines where their reserves are deployed. After we overcome these defences we will emerge on to territory where there isn’t such a deep defence by the enemy and where it’s easier to manoeuvre.”

Syrotyuk has been serving as an officer on the Bakhmut front, in eastern Ukraine, for many months. The city was almost completely taken by Wagner forces in the longest and bloodiest battle of the war. Bakhmut, of little intrinsic strategic significance, became a powerful symbol for both sides. Putin and Russia were desperate for some sort of success amidst the catastrophes that dogged Russia’s military since its invasion began in February 2022.

The fighting around Bakhmut never ceased though, and Ukraine continued to press their enemy after Kyiv observed tension mounting between Wagner and the regular Russian forces. The Ukrainians believed the remaining Russians were vulnerable to being surrounded.

Since the mutiny by Wagner, Kyiv’s forces have stepped up their attacks. Ukraine’s deputy defence minister, Hanna Maliar, said Ukrainian forces have gained ground on the northern and southern flanks of the Russian forces.

Syrotyuk said that the regular Russian army has bolstered its forces around the city with airborne units and attack helicopters supporting reserve troops and “lots of completely new guys”.

He said “the ruins of Bakhmut” have an enormous symbolic value for the Russians and if they lose the city “it will annul the only victory they can claim in this war. That’s why they are putting up fierce resistance.”

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He added that the Russians had suffered large numbers of deaths this week, but admitted Ukrainians had also taken many casualties.

As for the counteroffensive as a whole, Syrotyuk said: “We are not advancing as fast as we’d like but we recognise that the lives of our soldiers are more important than the numbers about square kilometres taken.”

While much of the fighting that has received publicity is around Bakhmut, Kyiv has been giving away much less information about advances its forces have made further south, around Kherson – where Ukrainian forces have apparently captured ground on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River.

That is where Russian forces retreated last November when they were swept out of Kherson City. As they fled they blew the Antonivsky Bridge across the Dnipro to prevent being followed.

The Independent received information from a source close to the Pentagon that the US, earlier this year, supplied Ukraine with 18 pontoon bridges that are designed for river crossings.

Whether these were used is unknown but Ukrainian forces appear to have crossed the river in the past few days.

The Washington DC-based Institute for the Study of War, which has tracked the invasion since it began, said there is visual evidence to show Ukrainians have gained a foothold around the town of Oleshkiy.

Ukrainian forces have also captured small settlements as they advance, including the village of Rivnopil in Donetsk Region, which had been under Russian occupation since Putin first invaded Ukraine in 2014.

The commander of Ukraine’s forces General Valeriy Zaluzhny speaking by telephone to his US opposite number, General Mark Milley, said: “We have managed to seize the strategic initiative and Ukraine’s security and defence forces are continuing offensive actions and we have made advances.”

Syrotyuk said that although some newly-captured areas were minor, they were “loaded with symbolism” as Moscow had believed they would be in those places forever. “That’s why these small advances have got colossal meaning,” he said.