Meanwhile, both sides blame each other for the partial destruction of a major dam that could have significant impact on civilian populations and the environment. The next few days will bring more details.According to Russian officials, the Ukrainian army started its counteroffensive two days ago. The Russian ministry of defense released its tally of the two days of action.
Here is a summary of what has been put in the public domain thus far.
From the Russian Ministry of Defense:
Within three days , the Ukrainian regime launched a long-promised offensive on different sectors of the front , concentrating a large amount of equipment and manpower for this purpose.On June 4, the forces of the 23rd and 31st mechanized brigades of the AFU attempted an offensive in five areas. The enemy did not achieve success on any of them, suffered significant losses : 300 military personnel, 16 tanks, 26 armored combat vehicles, 14 vehicles. On June 5 , the Kiev regime attempted an offensive in seven directions with the forces of five brigades. It was stopped , suffered even more significant losses: more than 1,600 military personnel, 28 tanks, including 8 Leopards and 3 AMX-10 wheeled tanks, 136 units of other military equipment, including 79 foreign ones. Attempts to attack were thwarted, the enemy was stopped, Russian soldiers and officers showed courage and heroism in battles . I repeat, the enemy did not achieve his goals, suffered significant and incomparable losses. The units of the 433rd motorized rifle regiment of the 127th motorized rifle division, the 37th and 60th motorized rifle brigades have distinguished themselves in battle, showing perseverance and stamina. Special heroism was shown by the 3rd company of the 37th motorized rifle brigade under the command of junior lieutenant Yuri Yurievich Zhelanov and the commander of the 1st battalion of the same brigade, Major Vladimir Vladimirovich Polozhentsev. These units, being in the direction of the main attack, staunchly defended their positions and inflicted significant losses on the superior forces of the enemy's 37th Marine Brigade . Under the threat of encirclement, Junior lieutenant Zhelanov, being wounded, took his company to pre-equipped defensive positions, where he successfully stopped the advancing enemy units. It is especially necessary to note the skillful actions of our operational-tactical, attack and army aviation . They used 50 anti-tank guided missiles . As a result , 5 tanks and 29 other armored fighting vehicles were destroyed. In just 3 days of hostilities in all directions, the losses of the armed forces of Ukraine amounted to 3,715 military personnel, 52 tanks, 207 armored combat vehicles, 134 vehicles, 5 aircraft, 2 helicopters, 48 field artillery guns and 53 unmanned aerial vehicles. Unfortunately, it was not without our losses. In total, 71 servicemen were killed and 210 were injured during the repulse of the enemy offensive in the Joint Group of Forces. We also lost: 15 tanks, 9 infantry fighting vehicles, 2 vehicles and 9 guns. Tonight, the Kiev regime committed another terrorist crime : the Kakhovskaya hydroelectric power station was blown up , which led to the flooding of large areas. The purpose of these actions , according to available data, is as follows . Having not achieved success in offensive operations , in order to strengthen its potential, the enemy intends to transfer units and equipment from the Kherson direction to the area of its offensive operations , thus significantly weakening its positions in the Kherson direction . The enemy began to build defensive positions on the right bank of the Dnepr , which indicates his intention to go on the defensive here. In order to prevent offensive actions of the Russian army on this sector of the front , the Kiev regime carried out a sabotage , in fact, a terrorist act , which led to the flooding of large areas and will have severe and long-term environmental consequences. In addition, according to available data, the discharge of water from the Dnepropetrovsk hydroelectric power station has been significantly increased , which leads to even more flooding of the territories. This fact indicates a large-scale sabotage planned in advance by the Kiev regime. Minister of Defense of the Russian Federation, Sergei Shoigu.
Looking back, references in Western media point to the thinking about the use of dams as weapons of war.
While Moscow accused the Ukrainian forces of deliberately sabotaging the Nova Kakhovka Dam in Kherson today, Tuesday, an interview that was conducted by the Washington Post in December 2022 is cited, in which a Ukrainian general talks about a test that was conducted to hit the aforementioned dam.
According to the "Washington Post", a major general in the Ukrainian army, Andriy Kovalchuk, was assigned to lead the Kherson counterattack, and considered flooding the river as part of his plan.
In the interview, Kovalchuk said, "The Ukrainians conducted a test strike using a HIMARS launcher on one of the gates of the Nova Kakhovka Dam."
He also explained that "the strike punched three holes in the metal, to see if the water level of the Dnieper could be raised enough to impede the Russian crossings, but not flood the nearby villages."
"The test was successful, but the step remains the last resort," said the major general in the Ukrainian army.
This morning, the mayor of Nova Kakhovka in Kherson, accused Kiev of attacking the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Station. The mayor said that the Ukrainian attack destroyed the upper part of the station.
As a result, "the water in Kakhovka rose 10 meters, and the maximum height could reach 12 meters, after the station was destroyed by a strike by the Ukrainian forces," according to the head of the Nova Kakhovka district administration, Vladimir Leontyev.
And Leontyev indicated that the water is washing away the dam of the hydroelectric power station, and he confirmed in statements to the Russian "Channel One", that the bombing of the city by the Ukrainian army from the right bank of the Dnieper River continues, until now.
Ukrainian side statement:
Ukrainian president, Zelenskyi, talking to US-European officials via videoconference, denied the statements of the Russian Federation that the dam in Novaya Kakhovka was blown up by Ukraine.
"For more than a year, Russia has been controlling both the dam and the entire Kakhovskaya HPP. To blow it up somehow from the outside - by shelling – is physically unrealistic. It was booby-trapped. It was mined by the Russian occupiers and blown up by them," Zelenskyi said.
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