Ukraine Launches Mutli-Pronged Attack

Russian mil-bloggers report intense fighting but the attacks were mostly stopped

Ukraine Offensive Appears Underway

Ukrainian forces launched attacks in three areas the night of June 7th: Bakhmut, Veyka Novosilka, and Tokmak. While these were accompanied by deep preparatory fires and the first use of some western tanks and IFVs, it’s not yet clear if this is a movement to contact ahead of the main effort, or the main effort itself. As expected, pro-Ukrainian channels generally state that this is just the start and some suggesting the offensive hasn’t yet started at all. On the Russian side, they’re treating this as the main effort and are quickly releasing footage of all damage inflicted on Ukrainian forces.

What’s clear at this point is that Ukraine has attacked multiple positions across the front and they have suffered losses in terms of men and equipment. What’s not clear is how much of the Ukrainian reserve, set aside for this offensive, has been committed to battle and what the casualty rates are amongst the engaged units.

Official media out of Ukraine continues to be rather quiet about any news but the tone has changed a bit on the Russian side. Pro-Russian mil-bloggers were in a bit of a panic when these attacks first kicked off but have settled down and mostly are talking about how it’s a tough fight but the lines have held. Worth noting that in past battles, the mil-bloggers have been some of the first to report of breaks in the lines or Russian forces retreating. Their general tone right now is of success in stopping the attack.

At this point there don’t appear to be any breakthroughs of the Russian lines. It does look like Ukraine made modest gains around Bakhmut but the advances on the Tokmak axis that came out originally, look now to be more a flexing of the Russian defensive lines. That’s as the forward infantry positions are overwhelmed and fall back to engage the attacking forces in the ‘grey zone’ between the first and second line of defense.

Whether this is officially the start of the Ukrainian offensive or not, an operation this size will play out over weeks, even months before nearing an end. So we have to be careful not to draw conclusions from what we’ve seen so far and be patient as more information becomes available.

Source: https://twitter.com/GeoConfirmed

https://t.me/strelkovii/5318

https://t.me/wargonzo/13082

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/ukraines-big-offensive-kicks-off-to-tough-resistance

https://t.me/mod_russia_en/7769

https://twitter.com/TheStudyofWar/status/1666982205136961536

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