Ukraine Makes Additional Gains In Zaporizhzhia Region

Multiple sources report Ukrainian gains in the critical Zaporizhzhia region in the country's south. 

This comes even as Russia has redeployed troops to launch counterattacks in the Kharkiv region, an effort which seen as an attempts to distract the increasingly fruitful Ukrainian counteroffensive in the east and south. JL   

RFE/RL reports:

Ukrainian troops are advancing in the southern Zaporizhzhya region. In a boost for its firepower as it conducts counteroffensive operations in several areas of the front, the Ukrainian military said it had received cluster munitions pledged by the United States. "We just got them, we haven't used them yet." The Russian military continues (offensive) efforts on areas around Kupyansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiyivka, and Maryinka (in an attempt to distract Ukrainian troops from the counteroffensive).

The Ukrainian military says its troops are advancing in the southern Zaporizhzhya region and restraining an "onslaught" by the Russian Army on the Kharkiv and Donetsk regions in the east.

 

The General Staff of the Armed Forces said in its evening summary on July 14 that the enemy carried out 43 air strikes and launched 17 attacks from rocket salvo systems. It said the Russian military would continue to focus its main efforts on areas around Kupyansk, Lyman, Bakhmut, Avdiyivka, and Maryinka, and heavy fighting is ongoing. About 20 combat clashes took place during the day.

President Volodymyr Zelenskiy referred to the fighting in his nightly address, telling Ukrainians that they must realize that Russian forces in the south and east are deploying all possible resources to stop Ukrainian soldiers from advancing.

"We must all understand very clearly, as clearly as possible, that Russian forces in our southern and eastern lands are doing everything they can in order to stop our soldiers," Zelenskiy said after chairing a meeting with top commanders.

"And every thousand meters we advance, every success of every combat brigade deserves our gratitude," he said.

Several Ukrainian regions declared an air-raid alert earlier on July 14 as Russia unleashed a fresh round of Iranian-made drones, causing damage and injuries, regional officials said.

Six drones were shot down by the Ukrainian air defenses over the industrial city of Kryviy Rih in the southern region of Dnipropetrovsk, regional Governor Serhiy Lysak said on Telegram.

"However, it was not possible to destroy all drones, and a utility company was damaged in Kryviy Rih," Lysak wrote, adding that a local transport company and several buildings were also damaged in the city, while special industrial equipment was destroyed. A 56-year-old man suffered light injuries, Lysak said.

The head of the Kryviy Rih Defense Council, Oleksandr Vilkul, said on Telegram that despite the damage, utilities in the city were working.

The Ukrainian air defense said that it shot down 16 of the 17 Iranian-made drones used by Russia in the attack.

The fourth consecutive day of Russian drone strikes came a day after at least two people were killed, several were wounded, and material damage was caused in Kyiv and other Ukrainian regions.

The Pentagon, meanwhile, said on July 13 that the Wagner mercenary group, whose members had fought some of the harshest and bloodiest battles in the Bakhmut area, was not taking part in military operations in Ukraine in any significant way following a brief armed mutiny that the group staged in Russia more than two weeks ago.

"At this stage, we do not see Wagner forces participating in any significant capacity in support of combat operations in Ukraine," Pentagon spokesman Air Force Brigadier General Patrick Ryder said.

In the aftermath of the June 23-24 mutiny, Wagner fighters were reportedly offered the option of going into exile, joining Russia's regular forces, or disbanding.

 

In a boost for its firepower as it conducts counteroffensive operations in several areas of the front, the Ukrainian military said it had received cluster munitions pledged by the United States.

"We just got them, we haven't used them yet," General Oleksandr Tarnavskiy, the head of Ukraine's southern command, said in an interview with CNN, referring to the controversial cluster munitions. He added that Russian forces understand that this will give Ukraine an advantage and "radically change" the battlefield situation.

The United States last week said it would deliver cluster bombs to Ukraine despite concerns over the long-term risk to civilians.

Ukrainian forces will not deploy the weapon in heavily populated areas, Tarnavskiy said.

Germany on July 13 said that additional military aid, including ammunition and Gepard self-propelled antiaircraft guns, was on its way to Ukraine. A government statement said Germany's "security-capacity-building initiative" now amounted to 5.4 billion euros ($6.1 billion) in 2023.