Russia attempts to turn the tide of Ukraine's counterattack.

The New York Times reported on June 14 that Russian forces are concentrating their attacks on villages that Ukraine had previously claimed to have captured after a week-long counter-offensive. The Ukrainian military said that Russian air and artillery attacks in the fighting have reduced the village of Makarivka in western Donetsk to rubble.

Ukrainian soldiers in a BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle during a counter-offensive operation.

Fierce fighting

Ukrainian forces are believed to have advanced in at least two southern areas but have shown no signs of breaking through dense Russian defenses, including minefields, trenches, and concrete barriers to prevent tank attacks. Rain and mud are hampering efforts on both sides. As they advance, Ukrainian soldiers are moving out of trenches and out of range of air defense systems. While shoulder-fired anti-aircraft missiles can be quickly moved to new positions, more complex systems are difficult to move, leaving these forces vulnerable to Russian artillery fire.

Quick overview: Operation 475, NATO encourages Ukraine's advance; Putin says counterattack suffered heavy losses.

Russia has not acknowledged losing control of any area since Ukraine launched its counterattack. TASS reported on June 14th that the Russian Ministry of Defense stated its troops repelled all Ukrainian advances in the Zaporizhzhia region, inflicting heavy losses on the enemy. The Ministry of Defense released footage showing Russian Giatsint-S 152 mm self-propelled howitzers destroying Ukrainian weapons and camouflaged positions near the Vremevsky area. A Russian officer stated that Ukrainian soldiers there primarily used M777, HIMARS, and other Western-made weapons. Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed Ukraine suffered ten times more losses than Russia in the counterattack, although he did not provide a specific figure. Speaking to reporters, the leader also indicated he was wondering whether Russian forces should return to Kyiv.

Meanwhile, Reuters quoted Ukrainian Chief of General Staff Valery Zaluzhny as saying that Ukrainian forces, thanks to Western support in weapons and training, have achieved "certain results, implemented our plans and moved forward." He said fierce fighting is taking place in eastern and southern Ukraine.

Russia destroys Ukrainian Leopard 2 mine-clearing tanks.

British intelligence reports yesterday indicated that the Russian air force has increased flights to support ground forces in southern Ukraine. Developments in southeastern Ukraine prompted the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on June 14th to postpone a trip to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant "until it can be safely reached." Additionally, Ukraine reported that Russian missiles struck several areas in the Odessa and Donetsk regions, killing at least nine people. Russia has consistently denied targeting civilians in the conflict.

Tensions between Russia and the West escalate.

Following the US announcement of an additional $325 million in military aid to Ukraine, Russian Ambassador to the US Anatoly Antonov criticized the action on June 14, saying it pushed Washington deeper into the "abyss of conflict." He also argued that American strategists have not understood that no amount of weapons or the involvement of mercenaries can change the course of Russia's special military operation.

US Ambassador to NATO: Ukraine cannot join anytime soon due to the conflict.

Russian nuclear weapons begin arriving in Belarus.

Reuters reported on June 14th that Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said the country has begun receiving tactical nuclear weapons from Russia. He described the weapons as three times more powerful than the atomic bombs dropped by the US on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. This marks the first time Russia has deployed such weapons abroad since the collapse of the Soviet Union. "We have missiles and bombs received from Russia," the Belarusian leader stated while standing on a forest road with military vehicles parked nearby. Lukashenko added that Belarus has many Soviet-era nuclear storage facilities and has restored five of them. Belarus borders three NATO countries: Lithuania, Latvia, and Poland.

Regarding the gas pipeline explosions in the Baltic Sea in September 2022, Russian Security Council Deputy Chairman Dmitry Medvedev declared on June 14 that there were no longer any "moral limits" preventing Moscow from destroying undersea fiber optic cables, accusing the West of "complicity" in the Nord Stream pipeline explosion. US media reported that the US may have known about a Ukrainian plan to detonate the pipelines, but both Kyiv and Washington denied all accusations.

Germany is investigating possible Polish involvement in the Nord Stream pipeline explosion.

In related developments, prosecutor Mats Ljungqvist, leading the Swedish investigation, said he hopes to conclude by the end of August on the perpetrators of the pipeline sabotage. He said he has met and coordinated with German prosecutors. The gas pipeline explosions connecting Russia and Germany occurred in the exclusive economic zones of Sweden and Denmark, and both countries believe it was an act of sabotage, although the perpetrators have yet to be identified.

Source link: https://thanhnien.vn/nga-no-luc-xoay-chuyen-the-tran-phan-cong-cua-ukraine-185230614230649661.htm