Ukraine counteroffensive, Edition 3. Date 6-7-23
Hello, my friends!
I had planned to send out a second update yesterday afternoon/evening to go along with the morning edition, but there wasn’t enough counteroffensive news to merit an update.
As a reminder, I will likely send out additional updates each day. Maybe even twice a day if there are major breakthroughs or big news.
I will make all of these FREE, so please feel free to share.
Thanks!
Russia and Ukraine news:
There is still shockingly little news about any offensive news out there at this point.
About the biggest thing I’ve seen is this:
I confirmed those quotes ran in this Washington Post column: D-Day dawns for Ukraine.
If Ukrainian units have pushed through heavily mined areas to advance between five and 10 kilometers in some areas of the long front,then they’ve done much of the hardest part. And breakthroughs WILL happen.
But I still expected more. Much harder punches, even if the punches failed.
And the fact there isn’t more makes me think that Russia prevented some major attacks to the south toward Kherson and the Crimean Peninsula by the dam collapsing and the area being flooded.
If that’s the case, those brigades would need to be moved to other areas to punch through, and moving those units and all their logistics will take time.
That’s my thoughts on the matter, though I’ve not seen anyone else say them yet.
Still, some movement happening in Bakhmut:
(Though I’ll bet that’s a feint or just a pinning-down attack. I expect Bakhmut to be encircled. Not attacked through the center.)
Just remember that our impatience is not realistic, as General Milley said.
Milley says fighting in Ukraine has increased and cautions the war with Russia will be lengthy
U.S. Joint Chiefs chairman Gen. Mark Milley said Tuesday that fighting in Ukraine has increased, but he cautioned against reading too much into each day’s operations.
“There’s activity throughout Russian-occupied Ukraine and fighting has picked up a bit,” Milley said.
…
Milley said it was up to Ukraine to announce whether its counteroffensive campaign has formally begun, but he said Ukrainian troops are ready for this fight.
“There will be days you see a lot of activity and there will be days you may see very little activity. There will be offensive actions and defensive actions. So this will be a back-and-forth fight for a considerable length of time.”
Here’s the update on the flooding situation.
Floodwaters engulf more areas of southern Ukraine after dam breach as hundreds evacuated
Floodwaters from a collapsed dam kept rising in southern Ukraine on Wednesday, forcing hundreds of people to flee their homes in a major emergency operation that brought a dramatic new dimension to the war with Russia, now in its 16th month.
Amid the disaster response, artillery shelling rang out as people scrambled to get out of the danger zone, climbing onto military trucks or rafts.
A day after the dam’s collapse, it remained unclear what caused it. Ukraine accused Russia of blowing up the dam wall, while Russia blamed Ukrainian shelling for the breach. Some experts said the collapse may have been an accident caused by wartime damage and neglect, although others said this was unlikely and argued that Russia might have had tactical military reasons to destroy the dam.
Ukraine is trying to rescue civilians on its side.
But you’re not seeing much — if any — rescue effort from the Russian side. Either because they don’t care or lack the capabilities.
One thing I hadn’t thought of is the flooding will also push landmines across the area, which is not only bad for military forces, but also civilians, as well.
And in classic Russian fashion, Russia probably lost a ton of equipment in this mess. Probably some troops, too.
I’d venture that many troops made it out, but have you ever tried to carry a mortar or heavy machine gun through raging water? I have. It’s not easy.
And this flooding happened in the middle of the night, so the troops had no warning and were awakened probably too late to rescue much equipment.
Ukrainian troops witnessed Russian soldiers swept away in dam breach floodwaters
Ukrainian troops witnessed Russian soldiers being swept up in floodwaters and fleeing the east bank of the Dnipro River after the collapse of the Nova Khakovka dam, an officer in Ukraine's armed forces said. Many Russian troops were killed or wounded in the chaos, according to the officer.
Capt. Andrei Pidlisnyi said when the dam collapsed in the early hours of Tuesday morning “no one on the Russian side was able to get away. All the regiments the Russians had on that side were flooded.”
Pidlisnyi told CNN he believed the Russians had deliberately attacked the dam to disrupt Ukrainian forces’ plans for an upcoming offensive.
It’s still too early to know how bad this flooding will be, but we already know it’s horrendous.
Ukraine dam’s destruction could ‘forever’ change ecosystems, officials say
The escape of the huge store of water from the reservoir will reshape Ukraine’s map, its habitats and its livelihood, endangering communities that depend on the water for drinking and growing crops, forcing farmers out of business, pushing towns to relocate and unsettling delicate ecological balances. Ukrainian officials warned that at least 150 tons of oil stored inside the hydroelectric power plant in the dam were washed into the waterway. Water from the reservoir also fed the cooling ponds of Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, in Zaporizhzhia, although nuclear experts said there was no immediate threat.
And did you catch this part of the story?
150 tons of oil stored inside the hydroelectric power plant in the dam were washed into the waterway.
It’s horrendous what has happened in just this latest Russian act of tyranny.
If you have additional information, add it below in the comments. Or you can email me the information at AuthorStanRMitchell@yahoo.com. (It should go without saying, but if you are current military or government employee, do NOT send me classified or secret information. Only open-source information.)
I will put out my podcast tomorrow, and possibly an update in the morning, as well.
Please share this with others.
Love and peace,
Stan R. Mitchell
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P.P.S. Want to know more about me? Click here: About me. You can also learn more about my journey here: Writers are crazy, and I’m crazier than most.
