Ukrainian troops near Bakhmut in the Donetsk region in the east of the country (Efrem Lukatsky/AP)

Wednesday’s Coverage: Further Limited Gains in Ukrainian Counter-Offensive

Map: Institute for Study of War

UPDATE 1424 GMT:

In a delayed visit to the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (see 1147 GMT), International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi said a “number of measures have been taken to stabilize the situation” at the Russian-occupied complex.

IAEA inspectors will remain at the plant, Europe’s largest, but it is still not possible to produce an agreed document.

UPDATE 1419 GMT:

The US, UK, Netherlands, and Denmark have announced a partnership to send defense equipment, including hundreds of missiles, to Ukraine.

The powers said in a joint statement that delivery of the equipment had already begun and should be completed “within several weeks”.

UPDATE 1338 GMT:

Up to 100 Russian troops, gathered for a motivational speech in occupied eastern Ukraine, were reportedly killed by a strike earlier this week.

Russian Telegram channels say the attack was near Kreminna in the Luhansk region. The soldiers — who were soon to be deployed in a Russian assault — had been gathered for more than two hours for a speech by a divisional commander of the 20th Guards Combined Arms Army.

The commander, Sukhrab Akhmedov, had already been blamed for the deaths of large numbers of his troops in a failed offensive last year.

UPDATE 1330 GMT:

Members of the European Parliament have urged NATO countries to invite Ukraine to join the bloc, and called on the European Union to open accession negotiations with Kyiv this year so they can “be finalized as soon as possible”.

The resolution passed 425-38 with 42 abstentions.

Pending full membership in NATO and the EU, the organizations must work closely with Ukraine on a temporary framework for security guarantees, the MEPs declared.

They also condemned “in the strongest possible terms Russia’s destruction of the [Nova] Kakhovka Dam” on June 6, with the ensuring flooding of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine causing an environmental disaster constituting ecocide.

The destruction of the Kakhovka dam is a war crime

All those responsible for war crimes, including the destruction of the dam, will be held accountable in line with international law.

UPDATE 1325 GMT:

In a video message to the Swiss Parliament, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has asked Bern to lift its ban on re-export of weapons to Ukraine.

I know there is a discussion in Switzerland about the exportation of war material to protect and defend Ukraine. That would be vital.

We need weapons so we can restore peace in Ukraine.

Last month the Parliament rejected a proposed amendement to Switzerland’s long-standing policy of barring any supply of weapons to a country involved in a conflict. A specific embargo on munitions to Ukraine or Russia was imposed last November.

UPDATE 1212 GMT:

The latest Russian shelling of the Kherson region in southern Ukraine has killed an 80-year-old woman and wounded another person.

UPDATE 1153 GMT:

Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malyar has told a briefing of “a gradual but steady advance” on the southern front of Ukraine’s counter-offensive: “At the same time, the enemy is putting up powerful resistance.”

She reported an advance of more than 3 km (1.9 miles) around Bakhmut on the eastern front.

“The enemy is pulling up additional reserves and is trying with all its might to prevent the advance of Ukrainian forces,” she added.

Brig. Gen. Oleksii Hromov said Ukraine has liberated more than 100 square km (38 square miles).

Noting the recapture of seven settlement, he said forces have advanced up to 3km (1.9 miles) near the village of Mala Tokmachka and up to 7 km (4.3 miles) south of Velyka Novosilka, both on the southern front near the Zaporizhzhia-Donetsk border.

UPDATE 1147 GMT:

International Atomic Energy Agency head Rafael Grossi has made his delayed visit to the Russian-occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in southern Ukraine.

Grossi was scheduled to tour the complex on Wednesday, but delayed the trip because of issues over safe travel.

He met Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Tuesday to discuss the situation at Zaporizhzhia, including the effect of the June 6 demolition of the Nova Kakhovka Dam on the waters that cool the plant.

UPDATE 1143 GMT:

Norway and Denmark are sending another 9,000 artillery rounds to Ukraine.

Norwegian Defense minister Bjørn Arild Gram said, “It is important that we continue to stand together in demonstrating our support of Ukraine. Norway will continue to support Ukraine against the Russian invasion forces as long as it is needed.”

Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy responded:

UPDATE 1128 GMT:

Addressing NATO Defense Ministers in Brussels, US Defense secretary Lloyd Austin said the defeat of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is a “marathon, not a sprint”.

Austin paid tribute to Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov and said Ukraine “stands well positioned for the challenges ahead.”

He assured, “Make no mistake, we will stand with Ukraine for the long haul.”

Speaking before the meeting, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said:

Ukraine has launched a counteroffensive, what we see is fierce fighting. It’s still early days but we also see that Ukrainians are making gains and that Ukraine is able to liberate occupied land.

He said NATO support for Ukraine “for many, many months actually makes a difference on the battlefield”, and Ministers will be considering how to sustain support in their discussions.

UPDATE 1122 GMT:

Retracting a public appeal, Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov said on Wednesday that his second-in-command Adam Delimkhanov is “alive and well and not even wounded” in Ukraine.

Russian media said Delimkhanov, a member of Russia’s parliament and head of the Chechen division of the Russian National Guard, was wounded on the battlefront.

Kadyrov appealed on Telegram:

I myself can’t find Adam Delimkhanov in any way. He doesn’t get in touch. I ask Ukrainian intelligence to provide information on exactly what place and what positions were hit, so that I can still find my dear BROTHER. I promise a generous reward and I ask you to help.

UPDATE 1058 GMT:

Russia has again attacked the city of Kryvyi Rih, in south-central Ukraine, with cruise missiles.

Three of four cruise missiles evaded air defenses. They struck industrial complexes, causing significant damage including broken gas pipelines. A 38-year-old man was hospitalized.

Early Tuesday, at least 12 people were killed and dozens wounded when a cruise missile struck an apartment block and a food warehouse.

See also Ukraine War, Day 475: 11+ Killed in Russian Strike on Apartment Building in Kryvyi Rih

Russia has also attacked the southern port city of Odesa for the second day in a row.

All 20 drones were intercepted by air defense, but residents were advised to go to shelters because of the threat of missile strikes.

On Wednesday, three people were killed and at least 13 injured in the city.

ORIGINAL ENTRY: Both Ukrainian and Western officials said on Wednesday that Ukraine’s counter-offensive to liberate territory from Russian invaders could last for months.

Assessing the first week of the counter-offensive in the south and east of the country, the officials said operations are “going in the right direction”. However, progress is slow and Ukraine’s forces are taking significant casualties against Russian defenses built up for months.

Ukraine has liberated seven villages on the southern front, near the border of the Zaporizhzhia-Donetsk regions. In the east, they have advanced around Bakhmut, the city seized by Russia last month after a year-long assault.

However, other attacks have not been as successful. Ukrainian forces are having to risk single lines of armored vehicles through minefields up to 20 km (12.5 miles) from the main line of Russian defenses.

Map: The Economist

“The vulnerability of the classic single lanes through the minefields make the Ukrainian armoury very vulnerable to attack,” the officials said.

[This is] grinding, costly warfare likely for many months to come. This is incredibly difficult.

They are going against a well-prepared line that the Russians have had months to prepare. Russia has generally put up a good defense from their well-prepared positions and falling back to tactical lines.

They concluded that it may take three months before it can be determined if the counter-offensive is a success.

The officials asssessed that some armored vehicles, including advanced battle tanks provided by an international coalition, had been damaged. However, they brushed away Russia’s propaganda that Ukraine has lost up to 120.

Most of the vehicles that have been damaged have been hit by mines. The armor is also vulnerable to drone attacks as they move in single file.

The challenge was demonstrated on June 7 in an operation near Mala Tokmachka in the Zaporizhzhia region on the southern front. Up to 12 Ukrainian armored vehicles, including German-made Leopards and US-supplied Bradleys — bunched together on a muddy track near a minefield. They were attacked by shells and rockets, damaging the vehicles and killing several troops. One Leopard tank and four armored personnel carriers were lost.

However, the vast majority of Russian forces are now committed to positions in the defenses, given the size of territory that has to be defended in the south and east. So Moscow has little room for maneuver in the deployment of reinforcements if a point in the line is vulnerable or broken.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is holding back some of its heaviest armor and its most advanced forces.