British defense and security analyst Michael Clarke tells Sky News about the three focuses of strengthening Ukrainian counterattacks.

• NUTS
• To the north and south of Bakhmut
• Velika Novosilka, near Vugledar

“The most interesting thing is in Orichov… there was a big battle there,” Professor Clark said, adding that Ukraine inevitably lost some of the Western tanks.

They are reportedly trying to take an “ambitious and dangerous” route south to Russia’s “tough defense” in Tokmak and on to Melitopol.

Muscovite and Russian pro-war bloggers have reported heavy fighting on the Zaporozhye front near the city of Orykhiv, suggesting that the Crimean peninsula may be one of Ukraine’s targets.

According to Vladimir Putin, four Ukrainian attacks were carried out on Velika Novosilka, and in the east, in the Bakhmut region, Ukraine reported progress.

Professor Clarke said Ukraine could “take on the best of Russian defences” to destroy the land bridge linking Russia to Crimea and isolate enemy forces in the west.

This would put “Crimea at risk” and allow Ukraine to bomb the peninsula.

“This is the most ambitious and most dangerous thing I can try. We don’t know yet if they really want to do it, but they’re pushing hard,” Clark said.

They forced Russia to send troops into the area, giving Ukrainians important information about what they were up against.

“Perhaps, this is not the main push, but it definitely convinces the Russians that they are serious about Orichov. They can see how the Russians will react before deciding where they will place theirs money“, the analyst said.

In total, Kyiv has 12 brigades with a total number of 50,000-60,000 troops ready for deployment, nine of which were armed and trained by the West.

“They have a choice between how many people they bring in initially and how many they keep in reserve in case the dynamics of the battlefield change,” Ben Barry, an associate partner at the International Institute for Strategic Studies, told Sky News.

Barry said Ukraine’s initial priority would be to try to throw the Russians off balance and achieve tactical surprise through deception and camouflage.

In the absence of independent reports from the front, although Kyiv is silent, it is impossible to assess whether Ukrainian forces are breaking through Russian defenses, but Russia reported heavy fighting along the front line in southern Ukraine on Friday, and President Vladimir Putin says Ukrainian forces have not . achieve your goals.

It is expected that the counteroffensive will eventually involve thousands of Ukrainian troops trained and equipped by the West. Russia, which has had months to prepare its defense lines, says it has repelled attacks since the start of the week, Reuters reported.

Kyiv stated that the main efforts have not yet begun. Moscow and Russian pro-war bloggers reported intense fighting on the Zaporizhia Front in the area of ​​the city of Orikhov on Friday.

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