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A Ukrainian tank in Chasiv Yar, Donetsk region, on Wednesday. (Iryna Rybakova/AP)

Ukraine launches counteroffensive against Russia

Updated June 8, 2023 at 11:53 p.m. EDT|Published June 8, 2023 at 2:34 a.m. EDT
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Key updates
1 min

KYIV, Ukraine — The Ukrainian military’s long-anticipated counteroffensive against occupying Russian forces has begun, opening a phase in the war aimed at restoring Ukraine’s territorial sovereignty and retaining Western support. Ukraine’s troops intensified their attacks on the front line in the country’s southeast, according to four individuals in the country’s armed forces who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss the battlefield developments.

Key updates

Here’s what to know

  • The Ukrainian troops include specialized attack units armed with Western weapons and trained in NATO tactics. The attacks in the country’s southeast mark a significant push into Russian-occupied territory.
  • Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Ukrainian forces tried to break through the lines of the Russian army in the Zaporizhzhia region, using up to 1,500 troops and 150 armored vehicles. Shoigu’s claim could not be immediately verified. The Zaporizhzhia region has long been seen as the most strategic and likely location of the new Ukrainian campaign.
  • The offensive, which Ukrainian officials previously said they would not mark with an announcement and would not have a clear beginning, is expected to unfold over months and to serve as a test of a U.S.-led strategy to prepare Ukrainian forces with increasingly advanced weapons and tactics.
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The Ukrainian troops include specialized attack units armed with Western weapons and trained in NATO tactics. The attacks in the country’s southeast mark a significant push into Russian-occupied territory.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Ukrainian forces tried to break through the lines of the Russian army in the Zaporizhzhia region, using up to 1,500 troops and 150 armored vehicles. Shoigu’s claim could not be immediately verified. The Zaporizhzhia region has long been seen as the most strategic and likely location of the new Ukrainian campaign.
The offensive, which Ukrainian officials previously said they would not mark with an announcement and would not have a clear beginning, is expected to unfold over months and to serve as a test of a U.S.-led strategy to prepare Ukrainian forces with increasingly advanced weapons and tactics.
End of carousel
Skip to end of carousel
The Ukrainian troops include specialized attack units armed with Western weapons and trained in NATO tactics. The attacks in the country’s southeast mark a significant push into Russian-occupied territory.
Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said Ukrainian forces tried to break through the lines of the Russian army in the Zaporizhzhia region, using up to 1,500 troops and 150 armored vehicles. Shoigu’s claim could not be immediately verified. The Zaporizhzhia region has long been seen as the most strategic and likely location of the new Ukrainian campaign.
The offensive, which Ukrainian officials previously said they would not mark with an announcement and would not have a clear beginning, is expected to unfold over months and to serve as a test of a U.S.-led strategy to prepare Ukrainian forces with increasingly advanced weapons and tactics.
End of carousel

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