Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Ukraine has ‘good chance’ to retake territory, U.S. assesses

Ukraine has ‘good chance’ to retake territory, U.S. assesses

Ukrainian officials announced the operation to liberate Russian-occupied territories in the country’s south on Monday, following weeks of counterattacks on towns in the Kherson region.

The U.S. has assessed that Ukraine has a “good chance” to retake territory that Russia captured in its initial invasion, after Kyiv on Monday launched a counteroffensive, according to two Defense Department officials.

Ukrainian forces have taken out “most” of the bridges crossing the Dnipro River using U.S.-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and other weapons, said the officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss a sensitive operation. The bridges serve as a crucial route to resupply Russian troops stationed to the west of the river, which are now at risk of being cut off from the rest of Moscow’s occupying forces.

Destroying the bridges is part of Kyiv’s operation to prepare the battlefield for the counteroffensive, the officials said, noting that Ukrainian forces are also attacking logistics, command posts and airfields ahead of the operation.

The goal of this phase of the counteroffensive is to cut Russian forces off at the river and force them to surrender the city of Kherson, they said. At this point, crossing the river would be “very tough to do,” one of the officials said.

Ukrainian officials announced the operation to liberate Russian-occupied territories in the country’s south on Monday, following weeks of counterattacks on towns in the Kherson region. Ukraine’s armed forces claimed that they had breached Russia’s “first line of defense” near Kherson.

The U.S. is supporting the counteroffensive with visual intelligence about the battlefield from satellites and advice on how best to use weapon systems, one of the officials said.



John Kirby, a spokesperson for the National Security Council, would not confirm the counteroffensive has begun and referred questions to the Ukrainian Armed Forces. But he stressed that Kyiv has been conducting a more “localized” counteroffensive for weeks.

“The idea of going on the offense is not new to the Ukrainians, and they have been taking the fight to the Russians inside their country,” Kirby said, noting that the HIMARS, in particular, has made a significant difference in the fight.

The system, along with precision-guided rockets, has allowed Ukraine to strike behind Russian lines and pushed Moscow into defensive positions, Kirby said.

The conflict has offered the U.S. the rare opportunity to assess the HIMARS capability, and that of Russian defenses in action, one of the DoD officials said. U.S. officials are “a little surprised” at how well the HIMARS is performing — and by how poorly Russian defensive capabilities have fared against the attacks, the person said.

“The Ukrainians are doing very well at what they are doing with them and how they are employing them, but we are also learning that they are able to get through a lot of Russian systems,” the person said.

The next question, one of the DoD officials said, is whether Russian forces decide to surrender the captured territory in the south or reposition units from the fight in the east.

Kirby said Moscow has already had to pull resources from the fight in the Donbas, where Russia has concentrated most of its forces, due to reports that Ukraine might be going on the offensive in the south.

“They’ve had to deplete units from certain areas in the east and in the Donbas to respond to what they clearly believe was a looming threat of a counteroffensive,” Kirby said. “From a strategic perspective, it has already had an effect on Russian military capability inside Ukraine.”

Upriver from Kherson, a team from the United Nations nuclear watchdog is expected to inspect the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which was captured by Russian forces in March and has become a dangerous frontline in the conflict.

Russia has “essentially militarized” the power plant, which is still manned by Ukrainians, by stationing weapons and soldiers there, Kirby said.

“We continue to believe that a controlled shutdown of Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactors would be the safest and least risky option in the near term, “Kirby said.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
×