Disinformation about counterattack; casualties from dam break

Ukraine denies counterattack

The Washington Post reports that Ukraine's long-awaited counteroffensive has begun, opening a new phase in the conflict.

The newspaper quoted four unnamed Ukrainian servicemen as revealing the information. Accordingly, Ukrainian soldiers from units equipped with Western weapons and trained in NATO tactics, have intensified attacks on frontline positions in the southeast since the evening of June 7.

Disinformation about Ukraine's counterattack

On the same day, NBC News also quoted a senior officer and a soldier near the Ukrainian front line as saying that the counterattack had been launched, focusing on the southeast region. ABC News quoted Ukrainian officials, including sources close to President Volodymyr Zelensky, saying the counterattack took place south of the city of Zaporizhzhia in the province of the same name.

Chiến sự ngày 470: Loạn thông tin về cuộc phản công; thương vong từ vụ vỡ đập - Ảnh 1. — Ukrainian soldiers fire rockets during a military exercise not far from the front line in Donetsk on June 8.

Meanwhile, a senior US official told The New York Times that Ukraine stepped up its attacks overnight in Zaporizhzhia province and that appeared to be the main breakthrough direction of the counteroffensive.

The Ukrainian military, which has previously kept its plans for a counterattack under wraps, immediately denied the Western media reports. "We have no such information," a spokesman for the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine told Reuters. "And we do not comment on anonymous sources."

On the same day, June 8, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that Ukrainian forces tried to break the Russian defense line in Zaporizhzhia province at dawn, according to RT. He said that Ukraine deployed up to 1,500 soldiers and 150 armored vehicles, but Russian forces "made a stoppage punch". In the two-hour battle, Ukraine lost 30 tanks, 11 armored personnel carriers and 350 soldiers, Shoigu said. Ukraine has not commented on this statement.

Zaporizhzhia is a potentially difficult area for Ukrainian forces, as Russia has spent months digging trenches and laying mines. A member of a brigade that took part in the Ukrainian counterattack on the morning of June 8 described the fierce fighting that continues in the area today.

Landmines drifting in floods after Kakhovka dam collapse pose new danger in Ukraine

Two senior US officials told CNN that Ukraine has suffered significant losses of troops and heavy equipment in the face of tougher-than-expected Russian resistance to its offensive in the east in recent days. Officials said Ukrainian forces have driven out some Russian units around the eastern city of Bakhmut, but Moscow has put up a tough defense with multiple layers of anti-tank missiles, grenades, mortars and mines.

Both officials said the Ukrainian losses did not affect the planned large-scale counterattack.

Chiến sự ngày 470: Loạn thông tin về cuộc phản công; thương vong từ vụ vỡ đập - Ảnh 2. — Volunteers help evacuate residents in Kherson on June 8.

Ukraine’s offensive is intensifying amid a widening crisis in the southern Kherson region, where the collapse of the Russian-controlled Nova Kakhovka dam on June 6 sent water over the banks of the Dnipro River and submerged dozens of communities in Ukraine and the Russian-controlled region. The massive flooding has changed the dynamics of the regional battlefield.

Ukraine attacks Russian defense lines, suffers significant losses against strong resistance

The flooding forced thousands to evacuate and shelling complicated rescue efforts. Ukraine's Kherson governor Oleksandr Prokudin said at least nine people were injured by shelling during the evacuation on June 8. They included two emergency services workers, a police officer, a doctor and a German volunteer, Prokudin said, CNN reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the flooded area during the day and visited evacuees.

Meanwhile, the Kremlin announced that Russian President Vladimir Putin has no plans to visit the flooded area. According to TASS, Mr. Putin spoke by phone with the Russian-appointed official who is the governor of Kherson region, instructing him to provide all necessary assistance to the affected people.

The Russian-appointed mayor of Nova Kakhovka said five people had died in flooding after a dam burst, while Russian media quoted officials in Kherson as saying 62 injured people had been taken to hospital. Kherson is one of four regions that Russia annexed last year, despite protests from Ukraine.

How does the Kakhovka Dam collapse affect Ukraine's counteroffensive?

Ukrainian authorities have evacuated 2,334 people from the regions they control in Kherson, not counting those who left voluntarily. Russia has evacuated more than 4,000 people from its regions.

Ukraine perfects combat capabilities

Ukraine’s combat tactics are overcoming some of its weaknesses against the Russian military. Analysts say Ukraine is using multiple combat tactics simultaneously, as well as deploying its marines to act as infantry to fight against the Russians.

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