Kyiv launches a major push against Russian forces

Kyiv, July 28: Ukraine has launched a major push to dislodge Russian forces from the country’s southeast as part of its weekslong counteroffensive, committing thousands of troops to the battle, according to Western and Ukrainian officials and analysts. The surge in troops and firepower has been centered on the region of Zaporizhzhia, a Western official said late Wednesday. The official was not authorized to comment publicly on the matter and spoke on condition of anonymity. Fighting has intensified in recent weeks at multiple points along the 1,500-kilometer (930-mile) front line as Ukraine deploys Western-supplied advanced weapons and Western-trained troops against the Russian forces who invaded 17 months ago. The counteroffensive is a massive military operation, which likely was months in preparation. Military planners need to orchestrate supplies of ammunition, food, medical supplies and spare parts to the front line. It faces deeply entrenched Russian defenses featuring minefields, trenches and anti-tank obstacles. Ukrainian officials have been mostly silent about battlefield developments since they began early counteroffensive operations, though Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said troops are advancing toward the city of Melitopol in the Zaporizhizhia region. Though that movement could be a tactical feint, and both governments have used disinformation to gain battlefield advantages, such a maneuver would be in line with what some analysts had predicted. They envisioned a counteroffensive that would try to punch through the land corridor between Russia and the Russian-annexed Crimean peninsula, moving towards Melitopol, which is close to the coast of the Azov Sea. That could split Russian forces into two halves and cut off supply lines to the units that are located further to the west. Russia currently controls the whole Sea of Azov coast. The intense fighting is taking place in areas in the south and east of Ukraine, far from the capital Kyiv, and it w