The HIMARS missiles that last weekend hit the Russian base in the temporarily occupied Melitopol, wounded almost 150 Russian soldiers, destroyed a key bridge and the activities of Ukrainian saboteurs, may indicate the “next important step” in the Ukrainian counteroffensive, New York reports. Times, quoted by Ukrainian Pravda. At the same time, Melitopol is a vital connecting link with Crimea.

Ukraine is stepping up efforts to isolate and weaken Russian forces in and around the strategic city of Melitopol ahead of what is expected to be the next major phase of the war – a Ukrainian offensive to drive Russian forces out of southern Ukraine.

The publication notes that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are using, in particular, high-precision long-range missile strikes and sabotage activities to take control of the strategically important city, located at the intersection of two highways and a railway line connecting Russia with occupied Crimea and others. occupied territories of southern Ukraine.

The NYT reports that Melitopol is a key hub, and regaining control of it could help Ukrainian defenders regain control not only of all of Zaporizhzhia, but the rest of neighboring Kherson Oblast as well. It may even pave the way for the return of Russian troops to occupied Crimea.

The bridge over the Molochna River in Melitopol destroyed by the Ukrainians

On Monday night, a bridge across the Molochna River was blown up in Melitopol, and the video showed how two supports were destroyed by the explosion. The bridge was a key supply route for the Russians.

It is not clear whether the strike is an attempt to distract the Russians so that the Ukrainians can prepare an attack from another direction, but military analysts say the attack was significant.

Melitopol is a key city for Ukrainians to regain control over the entire Zaporizhzhia region, as well as the rest of the neighboring Kherson region.

Then, if the Russians can be expelled, it could open the way for the Ukrainians to Crimea, a peninsula that the Russians have controlled since 2014.

“It’s all about Melitopol,” Oleksiy Arestovych, adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyi, said at the weekend.

“If Melitopol falls, the entire Russian defense up to Kherson will fall,” the New York Times reports.

Apocalyptic footage after the destruction of the Russian base in Melitopol

On Saturday, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that Ukrainian troops struck a Russian base in the zone of temporary occupation in the Zaporizhzhia region.

According to the General Staff, up to 150 Russian soldiers were injured in the occupied Melitopol of Zaporizhzhya region, 50 soldiers were taken to the hospital.

At the time, it was not known how many Russians were killed.

Later, images of the results of the HIMARS missile attack on the hotel, which, according to Ukrainians, was used as a base for the invaders’ troops appeared on social networks.

According to information that appeared on social networks, the shelling from the HIMARS missile launchers, obtained by the Ukrainians from the United States, was aimed at a hotel and a restaurant where Russian troops were stationed, and in the images shared by Russian soldiers, it can be seen that some time after shots, rescue operations began. .

Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Tuesday that Russian forces could launch a “large-scale offensive” in Ukraine by the end of January or early February, and that Ukraine is doing everything to prevent this.

“I think Russia’s ability to launch an offensive, perhaps even a large-scale one, can be restored sometime in late January or February. That’s what he’s trying to do. And, of course, we do everything possible to prevent this from happening.”