Ukraine Starts Counteroffensive to Liberate Kherson City – Days 112-118 (June 15-21, 2022)

UAF – Ukrainian Forces
RF – Russian Forces
MLRS – Multiple Launch Rocket Systems

Summary of the Events

Ukraine is slowly losing the war against Russia in the Donbas, mainly because all the heavy weapons promised from Western allies have failed to arrive yet. RF forces have taken a few more settlements on their drives on Severodonetsk, Lysychansk, and Slovyansk. The biggest loss was the forced retreat from Zolote to prevent being cut off resulting in the Zolote pocket falling to RF. But something is happening around Kherson. UAF seem to have reached the outskirts of Russia’s biggest prize so far in the war. On Tuesday, explosions were heard in Kherson suggesting UAF are close to liberating the city. Russia unleashed a barrage of missiles against Odesa, Mykolaiv, Sumy, and Kharkiv out of desperation.

Battle for the Donbas (Donetsk and Luhansk)

Target Severodonetsk-Lysychansk – The week began with Russia in control of most of Severodonetsk, the last city in the Luhansk region still not fully under the control of Russia. Like the last stand in Mariupol, 3000 UAF are holed up underground beneath the Azot Chemical Plant as their last stand along with 10,000 civilians. The decision to stay was made so that Russian forces attacking Severodonetsk cannot be sent elsewhere on the battlefield.

Over the weekend, RF had some success taking Metiolkine, a suburb on the southside of Severodonetsk, and Ustynivka to the south of Lysychansk bringing the battle to Bila Hora, the southern suburb of Lysychansk.

The main target over this last week was to take the Zolote pocket. RF moved into the outskirts of Syrotyne to the north and took Vrubivka after UAF retreated from the city by Friday. By Tuesday, RF had moved in and taken Myrna Dolyna and Pidlisne.

Target Kramatorsk – UAF retreated across the Siversky Donetsk River north of Slovyansk as RF continued to pound them there. Early in the week RF made some progress taking Dovhenke as well. But UAF have held on to the key city of Bohorodychne.

RF gave a brief scare south of Kramatorsk on the drive to take Bakhmut. RF crossed the M-03 highway last Wednesday threatening a run on Bakhmut, but by Friday UAF had pushed them back.

Expansion from Donetsk – RF have stopped their offensive against Marianka but did destroy three schools in Avdiivka.

Battle for Kherson

Ukraine has started a counteroffensive to take back Kherson, the only regional capital Russia has taken so far in this renewed invasion of Ukraine. All the details are secret to protect the offensive, but some details have become known. UAF had captured Davydiv Brid on the eastern side of the Inhulets River giving them a base to move deeper into liberating Kherson region. RF are digging in their defense in that region. UAF forces claimed to have taken Tomyna Balka. If true, then they surely have liberated Oleksandrivka, or cut off RF in that port city. This would also put them within 20 km (12 miles) on the southeast approach to Kherson. UAF forces are moving against Tavriyske as well. Some UAF claim to be within 10 km (6 miles) of Kherson (possibly at Chornobaivka where explosions have been reported). Explosions were heard inside the city of Kherson on Tuesday suggesting that UAF were very near and attacking RF inside the city. Partisans are also increasing their activities in the city of Kherson assassinating a Ukrainian prison chief cooperating with Russia.

UAF reportedly blew up a RF weapons depot in Nova Kakhovka.

Battle for Kharkiv

Rubizhne and Stary Saltiv were not taken by RF as I had previously reported, but Rubizhne has been under heavy attacks by RF trying to reestablish their foothold in the northern border region above Kharkiv. UAF have repulsed all attacks. But RF did catch UAF by surprise and retook Izbytske to the north of Rubizhne.

On Friday a Russian rocket hit a community center in Pervomaiskyi 55 miles south of Kharkiv injuring three people. And on Monday two missiles struck a vocational college in Liuhotyn causing no injuries. More missiles fell on Kharkiv on Tuesday killing fifteen civilians and injuring eleven others.

Other Ukraine Regions

Black Sea – UAF is making it difficult on Russia using occupied Zmiinyi (Snake) Island as a base against Ukraine’s Black Sea interests. On Friday UAF sunk a Russian navy tugboat unloading air defense missiles and personnel from a land-based ant-ship missile, the first to have arrived from the West. Then days later UAF delivered another fatal blow to the RF building up on Zmiinyi (Snake) Island. UAF also hit an oil rig off the coast of Crimea.

Chernihiv – RF fired artillery at several border communities in the Chernihiv region early Monday morning. There were no injuries.

Dnipropetrovsk – RF continued their terror attacks on the residents or Apostolove and Zelenodolsk by firing Uragan MLRS. No casualties reported. Over the weekend, missiles fell on Kryvyi Rih. Eleven people were injured. RF fired artillery at Zelenodolsk on Tuesday, but there were no injuries.

Mykolaiv – UAF shot down a missile over Mykolaiv region last Wednesday. But several missiles got through the defenses on Friday morning hitting four multi-story apartment buildings killing two civilians and injuring 20 others, including children. Tuesday morning explosions were heard in Mykolaiv at the same time as explosions in Kherson resulting in one death.

President Zelensky made a surprise visit to Mykolaiv over the weekend to inspect the damage and consult with the city defenders. The following day Russian fired seven missiles on the city. One was shot down. Two hit industrial infrastructure, two hit a plastic window factory, one hit a sausage production plant, and one hit a residential building. There were no casualties.

Later Sunday night RF launched a missile strike on the port facilities of Ochakiv also damaging some homes. One person was killed and two other injured.

Odesa – Two cruise missiles were shot down over Odesa as the weekend started. President Zelensky made a surprise visit to Odesa the next day to thanks the troops for the brave defense of the port city. Missiles were fired on Odesa the next morning, but they were all shot down. But then on Monday afternoon a barrage of ten missiles did strike Odesa.

Poltava – Six to eight rockets struck the Kremenchuk Oil Refinery and a thermal power plant over the weekend. There were no injuries.

Sumy – Early Thursday morning missiles fell on the border village of Krasnopillya as well as Sad, a suburb of the regional capital city of Sumy. Four civilians were killed and another six injured. Later that day another missile struck a farm in Sadivsk injuring cows. On Sunday RF shelled the town of Seredyna-Buda with mortars destroying one home and damaging nine others. One woman was injured. On Monday border villages were attacked by artillery, but there were no injuries. Two RF drones dropped four explosives were dropped accompanied by mortar attacks on Yunakivka killing one man and injuring another. On Tuesday four drones unleashed missile on Krasnopillia injuring four people.

Other News

US President Joe Biden disclosed plans to build grain silos along the border of Ukraine, including inside of Poland, to get Ukraine’s grain to a world in desperate need of food.

The EU is turning to Israel for natural gas supplies they will lose as the sanctions on Russian gas begin to kick in.

Russia has banned the use of the Ukrainian language in occupied Mariupol, the exact thing they blamed Ukraine for doing that prompted their invasion falsely claiming that Ukraine was banning the Russian language. Russia is also forcing Russian birth certificates on newborns in the occupied city of Kherson. Russians are also moving to Kherson and simply taking over the homes of Ukrainian citizens.

Ukraine cancelled visa-free travel for Russians traveling to Ukraine. Russians will now need to apply for a visa to enter Ukraine.

Britain’s Top General, Patrick Sanders, raised some eyebrows this week after addressing British troops urging them to prepare for the possibility of fighting alongside Ukraine to defeat Russia on the battlefield.

Russia reversed their decision and now considers the two Americans captured defending Ukraine as criminals and will not be protected as prisoners of war. The two will now face the death penalty.

International Support

NATO held a key summit in Brussels where they called on member nations to provide more heavy weapons to Ukraine.

The US announced another $1 billion in military weapons to Ukraine which includes more artillery. The US will also provide another $225 million in humanitarian assistance to Ukraine.

French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi traveled to Kyiv in support of Ukraine. All three publicly voiced their support of Ukraine’s EU candidate status which was granted Thursday night. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Ukraine the next day to offer his congratulations.

The UK expanded their list of Russian sanctions in response to the forced deportation and adoption of Ukrainian children. Added to the sanction list include the Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill, Russian Children’s Rights Commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova, as well as personal supporters of Putin and four colonels involved in the war crimes committed in Bucha.

Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev publicly humiliated Putin during a joint news conference by categorically stating, in the presence of Putin, that Kazakhstan will not recognize the sovereignty of the breakaway Donbas regions and considers them sovereign Ukrainian territory. Putin was unmistakably angry at Tokayev and upon return to Russia, announced that Kazakh oil flowing through Russia was turned off for “maintenance” reasons.

Lithuania announced that it will enforce all sanctions on its territory cutting off the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad from receiving goods from Russia. Kaliningrad does not border the rest of Russia and is stuck between Poland and Lithuania. Russia threatened Lithuania with “serious negative impact” if they do not reopen transit through their country.

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