UKRaine Wants to Break Through RUssian Defenses. That’s Only the 1st Step; Defense Ministry Reports Gains in Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia; UKR Forces Repel RU Attacks on Bakhmut and Marinka Fronts; UKR Shoots Down 23 Kamikaze Drones in Southern, Eastern UKR, LIVE UPDATES and MORE

Ukraine Wants to Break Through Russian Defenses. That’s Only the First Step:

Ukrainian troops are battling to break through Russian fortifications in their country’s south, but even successfully piercing the line will only mark a start. For a shot at real gains, Kyiv’s forces would need to turn a breakthrough into a breakout.

Since June, Ukrainian soldiers have been struggling to cross the minefields, trenches and lines of obstacles that Russian troops spent months emplacing. In recent weeks, Ukrainian units have made progress penetrating what Russia refers to as its forward security zone at the town of Robotyne and advancing toward the heavily fortified nearby settlement Verbove.

The progress has brought hopeful comments from U.S. and European officials, some of whom previously had criticized Kyiv for not pushing aggressively enough. But even Ukraine’s boosters remain sober about the task ahead for its troops.

Russia not only built formidable defenses—its forces continue to reinforce them. Moscow has also moved more troops into the region, Ukrainian officials and open-source intelligence analysts say.

Ukrainian forces, operating in small units that seek to evade detection by Russian surveillance, are now working to slice through Russian lines and open paths for comrades with heavier equipment to follow. Kyiv’s spearhead troops want to create what military strategists call a salient, a bulge protruding into Russia’s rear defenses.

If Ukraine can accomplish the hugely difficult task of breaking through Russian lines, they would need to hold and expand any gap so that armored mechanized forces can flood through and attempt to overrun Russian lines. Moscow’s troops are fighting to stop that.

“A breakthrough may get units through the defensive lines, but there is much more fighting before a breakout is achieved,” said Mark Kimmitt, a retired Army brigadier general. “Most times this fails if the enemy is marginally competent and has the units and logistics to support counterattacks against the salient,” he said.

Russian forces have launched localized counterattacks to impede Ukrainian gains outside Robotyne, said a platoon commander with Ukraine’s 47th Brigade who uses the call sign Dobro and is operating on the town’s eastern outskirts. Russian forces fiercely defended the heavily mined road from Robotyne to Verbove, he said of the recent advance. —>READ MORE HERE

Ukraine war latest: Defense Ministry reports gains in Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia oblasts; Putin demands sanctions relief to revive grain deal:

Ukraine’s military has made gains near Klishchiivka, some five kilometers from Bakhmut, and Novoprokopivka south of Robotyne, Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar reported on Sept. 4.

Ukrainian forces have liberated three square kilometers around Bakhmut over the past week, Maliar said.

According to the official, Ukraine has regained 47 square kilometers of land in this area since the start of the summer counteroffensive.

Russia has carried out unsuccessful attempts to take back lost positions in Donetsk Oblast’s Klishchiivka, Kurdiumivka, and Ozarianivka, also trying to restrain the advance of Ukrainian troops toward occupied Bakhmut, Maliar said.

In eastern Ukraine, Russia also reportedly failed to advance in the areas of Novoiehorivka and Bilohorivka in Luhansk Oblast as well as Donetsk Oblast’s Sieverne, Avdiivka, Marinka, Krasnohorivka, and Novomykhailivka.

“In the Kupiansk direction (Kharkiv Oblast), our defense forces repel several enemy attacks per day and prevent the enemy from advancing,” the deputy minister added.

In the country’s south, Ukrainian forces continue the offensive operation toward Russian-occupied Melitipol, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, entrenching themselves in regained territory.

“The enemy in the south is suffering significant losses in personnel, weapons, and equipment, redeploying its units and troops and using reserves,” concludes Maliar’s Telegram report. —>READ MORE HERE

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