UKRainian Forces Have Broken Through RUssian Main Lines of Defense in Some Areas; UKR Strikes RU Positions in Crimea, Dozens of Casualties Reported; UKR Hits RU’s Black Sea Fleet Guards Brigade in Occupied Crimea; UKR Defense Forces Destroy 3 Enemy S-300 Systems, LIVE UPDATES and MORE

Ukraine war latest: Ukrainian forces have broken through Russian main lines of defense in some areas, top US general says:

Throughout their counteroffensive, Ukrainian troops have managed to attack through Russia’s first main defensive belt in some areas along the front lines, Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley said in an interview with Al-Mamlaka TV, a Jordanian public broadcaster, published on Aug. 25.

“Specifically on the axes of advance that (Ukrainian forces) are attacking right now, (Ukrainian forces) have attacked through the main defense belt,” Milley said.

The chairman noted that Russian troops have been preparing a deep line of defense for many months and it has “mine fields, dragon’s teeth, and tank ditches. It’s a very complex set of defensive preparations that the Ukrainians are fighting through.”

CNN also reported on Aug. 25, citing Ukraine’s General Staff, that there are signs Ukrainian troops have broken through Russian defenses along the southern front line in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Milley told Al-Mamlaka that “it’s too early to say” whether Ukraine’s counteroffensive has succeeded or failed, calling the push “very bloody, slow, long and difficult.”

He added that after having liberated “a considerable part” of lands occupied by Russia, Ukrainian forces have a “significant amount of power remaining, and it’s not over yet.”

Responding to criticism of the pace of the West’s military support to Ukraine, the general said that Kyiv had received “what they needed when they needed it,” mentioning the provision of anti-tank weapons at the start of the full-scale war as an example of timely assistance.

Ukraine’s counteroffensive has been ongoing in the east and south of the country since early June.

On Aug. 4, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said that the Ukrainian military had passed through the Russian first line of defense, moving to an “intermediate one” in some places on the southern front line.

“And there they are faced with concrete engineering fortifications on the dominant heights created by the enemy. This, of course, complicates the movement of our troops and their combat actions,” Maliar said on national television. —>READ MORE HERE

Media: Ukraine strikes Russian positions in Crimea, dozens of casualties reported:

The Ukrainian military, together with the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), launched a drone strike against the 126th Brigade of the Russian Black Sea Fleet. There were dozens of casualties, Ukrainska Pravda news outlet reported, citing their source at the SBU.

“Today’s strike on the 126th Brigade of the Russian Black Sea Fleet is a joint special operation of the SBU counterintelligence units and the Armed Forces of Ukraine,” according to Ukrainska Pravda.

The brigade was reportedly struck in the village of Perevalne located about 270 kilometers from the nearest Ukraine-controlled territories on the western side of the Dnipro River. It is also 300 kilometers away from the nearest Kyiv-controlled areas on the eastern side of the river.

The attack which involved “a number of drones” hit ammunition depots and damaged Russian military equipment.

Adviser to the head of the President’s Office Mykhailo Podolyak says that the Ukrainian military is making progress on the southern front line and is seeking to take fire control of the “land corridor to Crimea.”

“The stakes are already clear: all Russian supply lines, including railroads, are at stake. This means one thing: the Russian army is on the verge of losing its strategic positions,” Podolyak said оn Twitter.

On Aug. 24, Ukrainian troops landed in the Russian-occupied Crimea and raised the Ukrainian flag as part of an operation with the Navy. —>READ MORE HERE

Follow links below to +++++relevant+++++ and related stories:

+++++Russia-Ukraine News LATEST UPDATES: (REUTERS) (AP) (NY POST) and (WSJ)+++++

+++++Ukraine hits Russia’s Black Sea Fleet Guards Brigade in occupied Crimea+++++

+++++Overnight, Ukrainian Defense Forces destroy three enemy S-300 systems+++++

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