The Ukrainian counteroffensive has been slowed by a complex system of defenses erected over several months by Russian troops, Army Gen. Mark Milley, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Tuesday.
However, the Russian troops manning those lines are poorly trained and equipped and suffer from poor leadership and morale, Milley said. The brief insurrection in June by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who led the Wagner mercenary group, has complicated the Russian’s muddled chain of command, he said.
“The Russian situation is not very good,” Milley said.
Mine-clearing equipment is the top request by Ukrainian leaders of U.S. and Western allies, Milley said. Ukrainian progress has been slowed by mines in what he termed a bloody and difficult fight. However, the Ukrainians have yet to commit the bulk of their Western-trained and equipped forces, which total 63,000 troops. It’s too early to assess the counteroffensive, he said.
“It’s far from a failure, in my view,” Milley said.
Warning from Russia:Calls for ‘quite inhumane’ retaliation after Crimean bridge blast: Live updates
Developments:
∎ Ukrainian forces downed 31 of 36 attack drones, all six cruise missiles, and a reconnaissance drone launched by Russia overnight, the Ukrainian Air Force reported.
∎ The Russian Defense Ministry said it thwarted a drone attack on Crimea, claiming air defenses destroyed 17 Ukraine drones while another 11 were “suppressed by electronic warfare.”
Russia warns Ukraine against shipping grain
The Kremlin warned Ukraine against attempting to ship grain out of its Odesa port without an extension of the shipping deal with Russia, arguing that Kyiv uses the same lanes for military purposes. Russia pulled out of an agreement Monday that had allowed Ukraine to ship grain to Asian, African and European ports ports without interference from the Russian military. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy responded by saying his country could continue shipments with Turkey and the U.N. inspecting the ships.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov, however, warned that the Ukraine grain ships would sail “close to the combat area” coming out of Odesa and other ports.
“Without appropriate security guarantees, certain risks are there,” Peskov said. “This zone is used by the Kyiv regime for military purposes. This is a very important aspect that should not be forgotten.”
Russia said it targeted ‘terrorists’ in Odesa assault
Russia missiles and attack drones pounded Odesa on Tuesday in what the Russian military called a “mass retaliatory strike” for the bombing of a crucial Russian-built bridge to Crimea the Kremlin blamed on Ukraine special forces. The Russian Ministry of Defense said it targeted Odesa facilities where “terrorist acts” were being prepared, including a shipyard where the ministry said boats for the assaults were being manufactured. The attack also destroyed fuel storage facilities, the ministry said in a statement. “All the targets planned to strike have been hit,” the statement said. “Fires and detonation were recorded at the destroyed facilities.”
Ukraine’s military said Russia launched 36 attack drones to exhaust the city’s air defenses before firing six cruise missiles at the port city.
“All the missiles were destroyed by anti-aircraft defense forces,” the Ukraine military said. “Unfortunately, the fragments of hit rockets and the explosive wave from the hit damaged port infrastructure facilities.”
Russia promotes tourism in Crimea despite attacks
The Kremlin’s unwillingness to shift Russian society into war-time mode is having a significant impact as Russian tourist traffic jams Russian military logistics in Crimea amid the ongoing Ukrainian counteroffensive, a Washington-based think-tank says.The Kerch Strait Bridge, damaged in a bombing Monday, is crucial for supplying large numbers of mechanized Russian forces in southern Ukraine. The 12-mile-long bridge is an engineering marvel and glittering symbol of Russian occupation.
“Russian occupation officials have continued to promote occupied Crimea as a tourist destination, however, urging Russian civilians to drive through and to a war zone rather than advising them to avoid it as a responsible government would,” the Institute for the Study of War says in its most recent assessment of the conflict.
Some Russian military bloggers are urging the government not to let the attack force a reduction in tourism in the region. Russian President Vladimir Putin has ordered the use of Russian military assets to ferry tourists across the Kerch Strait.
European Court drops Russia’s claims of human rights violations
The European Court of Human Rights dismissed Moscow’s legal actions against the Kyiv government, rejecting claims of a pattern of abuse against ethnic Russians in Ukraine dating to Russia’s seizure of Crimea in 2014. The court said Russia had stopped responding to inquiries concerning the case and that it overlapped with individual complaints still being investigated. The court is continuing to weigh Ukraine’s claims of human rights abuses against Russia.
The Kremlin accused Kyiv of killings, abductions, forced displacement, interference with the right to vote, restrictions on the use of the Russian language and attacks on Russian embassies and consulates.
Russia also complained of the water supply to Crimea via the North Crimean Canal was cut off after April 2014 and even alleged that Ukraine had been responsible for the deaths of those on board Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, apparently shot down by Russian separatists in Ukraine, in July 2014 because Kyiv had failed to close its airspace.
