After penetrating Russian defenses to retake the village of Robotyne, Ukrainian forces have pushed the fight a few miles east, but formidable obstacles lie ahead by Marc Santora, Constant Méheut and Eric Schmitt reporting from Odesa, Ukraine, London, and Washington.
After piercing a daunting line of Russian defenses around the southern village of Robotyne, Ukrainian forces are now seeking to take the next step in their arduous counteroffensive, waging a fierce battle a few miles farther to the east, according to Ukrainian military commanders and U.S. officials.
The intense fighting on Thursday comes amid weeks of brutal battles that have resulted in small but significant advances that Ukrainian forces are trying to exploit, with the broader goal of driving a wedge into the so-called land bridge between Russia and occupied Crimea, which is vital to the Russian military’s supply routes.
The Ukrainian 46th Brigade, which is participating in the fighting in the area, said that its assault units were attacking Russian positions near the village of Verbove, nine miles east of Robotyne.
The move toward Verbove is notable because it shows that Ukraine is confident enough in its hold on Robotyne that it believes its troops can try to press forward.
U.S. officials on Thursday confirmed that Ukrainian forces had punched through a major line of Russian defenses around Robotyne and were engaged in fighting near Verbove.
Even such small advances are significant, American officials said, because they have generated the first real Ukrainian momentum in weeks and pushed their artillery and missiles a bit closer to strike deeper into Russian-held territory at Moscow’s troops, supplies and transportation networks.
A senior Western military official said the Ukrainian advances, while noteworthy, do not yet represent a major operational breakthrough. But they provide a morale boost for both Ukrainian troops and public sentiment, and demonstrate real progress to the United States and other allies that have provided Ukraine with billions of dollars in arms and equipment, the official said.
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Western analysts noted that several other defensive lines converge around Verbove, which could slow or stall the advance.
Ukrainian military officials themselves have warned not to expect rapid progress, with every bit of ground retaken exacting a toll on their troops. And as Ukrainian forces look to push south toward the Sea of Azov, there are still miles of formidable Russian defenses ahead — including mines, tank traps, fortified trenches, concrete pill boxes and sniper nests.
On Thursday, the 46th Brigade said its soldiers had reached the western part of Verbove, though it underlined that there were much more difficult fights ahead.
“The battles will be for heights farther south and southwest,” the brigade said. The brigade cautioned against “hype” since even if it can punch through the next defensive line, Russia has still more ahead.
As they aim to push forward, Ukrainian forces also have to defend against Russian efforts to propel them back again.
“Russia is constantly counterattacking, conducting an active defense,” the brigade said, adding that “our month of battles has shown that the enemy is not going to give up the captured lands — there is a lot of work ahead.”
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Ukrainian soldiers from the 22nd Mechanized Brigade firing a self-propelled howitzer at targets in direction of the city of Bakhmut on Monday. Credit...Tyler Hicks/The New York Times
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