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NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said late Monday that the Ukrainian offensive into Russian-occupied parts of the east and south showed early signs of success.
Ukrainian soldiers are “gaining ground,” Stoltenberg told USA TODAY. Restore seven small towns villages from the Russian forces. His comments are among the Western leader’s first about the initial success of the Ukrainian forces. Ukrainian leaders also announced similar gains.
“We need to be prepared because this attack will be bloody and difficult,” Stoltenberg said. “The Russians have had time to build up – they are very heavy defensive lines, and breaking them is a herculean task.”
Although it is too early to predict the outcome against dug-in Russian defences, the early battles may indicate that the tens of billions invested by the US-led coalition in equipping and training Ukrainian forces with Western weapons and how to use them is paying off.
Russian President Vladimir Putin still claims his forces have the upper hand, Saying late last week The Ukrainian forces did not achieve their stated tasks in a single combat zone.
But a day after hailing the recovery of three villages in Donetsk province, the Ukrainian military said its forces added another small victory on Monday by capturing the village of Storogov in the same eastern region, providing impetus for the first phase of the country’s long-awaited counter-offensive.
Deputy Defense Minister Hana Malyar wrote in a letter: “The national flag is flying over Storogov again, and it will remain the same with every settlement until we liberate all Ukrainian lands.” Deploy the Telegram app With a picture of seven soldiers in front of a hollow building.
For NATO allies, Ukrainian success on the battlefield will be crucial to maintaining the popular support needed to ensure the steady flow of military aid that Stoltenberg has said is vital.
The Pentagon has supplied Ukraine with hundreds of armored personnel carriers, mine-resistant armored trucks and Humvees for assault. Germany introduced modern Leopard tanks, and Great Britain began providing long-range, aircraft-launched missiles to strike deep behind Russian lines.
For months, US and NATO forces have been training Ukrainian forces to combine artillery fire to cover troops in armored vehicles and on foot who will attack Russian fortifications.
Russian forces have spent a great deal of time digging trenches and erecting obstacles along a 600-mile front to thwart Ukrainian tanks and armored personnel carriers, according to a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Russian forces also directed artillery fire at the open, flat terrain that Ukrainian forces must cross to reach the defences.
Russia’s strongest defense is Zaporizhia Province, where some of the fiercest initial battles took place. Ukraine could threaten Russia’s main supply lines by cutting through this thicket.
Stoltenberg noted that the Russian forces were poorly led, equipped, and outsourced.
“But what we’ve seen is that the Ukrainians have the courage and determination to liberate the land… and push the Russians back,” Stoltenberg said.
Stoltenberg is visiting NATO countries ahead of the alliance’s summit in July in Vilnius, Lithuania. He is currently in Washington, where he plans to meet with President Joe Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. The NATO chief’s meeting with Biden has been postponed by a day after the US president had to get an unexpected root canal.
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