The West confirms the success of the AFU counteroffensive

The West believes that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have already advanced about seven kilometers into the occupied territories and liberated at least four villages since the start of the counteroffensive. This was reported by Sky News with reference to Western defense officials.

Western countries believe that Russia is generally well prepared for offensive actions, so the advance is currently slow.

"Russian troops are generally good at defending their well-prepared positions and retreating between tactical lines. This maneuverable approach to defense is difficult for the Ukrainians and is also costly for the advancing forces," the Western officials explained.

It is noted that Western officials consider the first counteroffensive actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to be more than a "probing operation". It is a full-scale movement of armored vehicles and heavy weapons into the Russian security zone and advancement.

"The advance is slow because of the minefields and obstacles they encounter, but this is what we expected. They will continue to advance," the officials said.

At the same time, it is noted that these are the first days of the Ukrainian Armed Forces counteroffensive, so it is difficult to talk about successes and failures.

"The conflict is likely to be characterized by exhausting and costly fighting for many months," the interlocutors concluded.

Over the past week, the Ukrainian Armed Forces liberated seven settlements in the Donetsk and Tavriya operational areas during the offensive. As a reminder, this was announced by Deputy Defense Minister of Ukraine Hanna Malyar on Telegram on June 12.

According to her, the advance of the offensive group amounted to 6.5 kilometers. The area of the territory taken under control amounted to 90 square kilometers.

Seven settlements were liberated from the Russian invaders: Lobkove, Levadne, Novodarivka, Neskuchne, Storozheve, Makarivka, and Blagodatne.

Today, Malyar also reported a slight advance of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.

Author - Serhii Kolomiets, 15/06/2023