Ukraine’s Offensive Heats Up

Inthe last week or so, as Western analysts, officials, and observers have been anxiously preoccupied with the sluggish pace of Ukraine’s counteroffensive, the Ukrainians themselves were quite busy, as they bombed an airport in Pskov, and hit Moscow and St. Petersburg, showcasing an expanding appetite and ability to strike deep into the Russian homeland. Stunning videos and satellite images of <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/ukraine-satellite-photos-drone-strike-russia-airfield-pskov-il76-aircraft-1823615" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">Pskov</a> showed four destroyed Ilyushin-76 aircraft, used to transport paratroopers and military equipment, in what the UK’s Ministry of Defence called “the largest attack on Russia since the start of the conflict.” Days later, a massive factory became an inferno in Vladimir Putin’s home town of St. Petersburg after being hit by a drone. Moscow is being routinely bombarded by small Ukrainian OAS suicide drones. Crucially, some of these drones are reportedly being launched from <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-66682503" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">within Russia</a> itself, a fact that’s surely disconcerting for the Kremlin, as Ukrainian agents are apparently roaming near the Russian capital. Meanwhile, Ukrainian ground forces have finally begun to break through the first part of the so-called Surovikin line on the southern axis, evicting the last Russian troops from Robotyne, and widening the gap reaching toward Novoprokopivka and Verbove, amid bloody house-to-house fighting. It’s hellish, grueling combat, but Ukrainian troops are picking up some momentum in the push toward Tokmak on the road to Melitopol in the western Zaporizhia Oblast, despite <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/08/17/ukraine-counteroffensive-melitopol/" rel="noopener ugc nofollow" target="_blank">pessimistic assessments</a> from U.S. intelligence agencies earlier in August. <a href="https://alexziperovich.com/ukraines-offensive-heats-up-2f59ce9cb3f2">Learn More</a>