Ukrainain and Western officials say Volodymyr Zelensky’s forces may finally be achieving a breakthrough in their stalled counter-offensive, after U.S.-made HIMARS artillery launched a “massive” strike against Russian positions.
HIMARS rockets reportedly blasted a Russian ammunition dump sky high in the southern Zaporizhzhia (Zaporozhye) region, which links the Donbass to Russian-controlled southern Kherson and the Crimea, and hosts the largest nuclear power plant in Europe.
They have also seemingly punched a hole through the Russian minefields and fortifications which have thwarted Ukraine’s Western armor before now, with geolocated images showing Ukrainian tanks and American-made Bradley fighting vehicles beyond the Russian lines near the village of Robotyne.
U.S. officials have hailed the possible breakthrough as the “main thrust” of the Ukrainian counter-offensive arriving at last, while British officials are hyping a “major offensive operation”.
Russian officials, too, acknowledge the situation is serious, with Vladimir Putin himself saying fighting has “intensified significantly”.
The Ukrainians will be keen to demonstrate they have some momentum in the war, with Ukrainian ports being systematically devastated by air strikes in recent days and a 100-strong force of Russians back on the offensive in the Kharkov region.
