Ukraine tries to make the case that it may well win, citing latest strikes

Just weeks in the past, Ukraine’s navy was being pummeled relentlessly within the east, taking heavy casualties because it slowly gave floor to the Russian advance. Western assist seemed to be softening, amid scepticism that Ukraine may win a conflict of attrition, or that an inflow of subtle weapons would flip the tide.

Through all of it, the Ukrainians’ message to the world didn’t change: We can win. Our technique is working, if slowly. Just hold the weapons coming.

No one can say but whether or not Ukraine may prevail in opposition to an invading Russian navy with superior numbers and weaponry. And Ukraine’s pleas for weapons have change into such a continuing chorus that some within the West have tuned it out as background noise.

But this week, because it employs new long-range rocket programs to destroy Russian infrastructure, Ukraine is once more making an attempt to make its case to the world that it may well defeat the Russians. And it’s citing proof.

Officials are pointing to successes like a latest strike within the city of Nova Kakhovka, on the Dnieper River in southern Ukraine, when Western-supplied High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, or HIMARS, hit a Russian ammunition depot, sending glowing munitions flying in all instructions like a deadly fireworks show.

A video revealed by President’s Office Head Andriy Yermak reveals the U.S.-made HIMARS rocket launcher destroying a goal in Ukraine’s south.

“Another Russian arms depot destroyed,” Yermak wrote.

Video: Andriy Yermak / Telegram pic.twitter.com/EsnH16E6Vg

— The Kyiv Independent (@KyivIndependent) July 17, 2022

Several days in the past, a Ukrainian artillery volley struck a key bridge on the Dnieper that was a important crossing level for Russian provides. Analysts say the strike augurs the beginning of a counteroffensive within the south, with an eye fixed towards recapturing the important thing metropolis of Kherson.

On Thursday, Ukrainian officers mentioned their forces had attacked greater than 200 targets within the south utilizing long-range missiles and artillery.

A Ukrainian soldier masses ammunition right into a tank within the Kharkiv area on July 19, 2022. (Emile Ducke/The New York Times)

“Russia can definitely be defeated, and Ukraine has already shown how,” Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov mentioned in a speech to the Atlantic Council on Tuesday.

Despite the Ukrainians’ renewed optimism, navy analysts and Western officers say that it’s far too quickly to forecast a flip in fortunes and {that a} lengthy slog appears doubtless. They warning in opposition to hanging too many hopes on explicit weapons amid the chaos and fluidity of the entrance line.

“We are now achieving what we have not achieved before,” mentioned Taras Chmut, director of a nongovernmental group aiding Ukrainian troopers. “But there was no breakthrough at the front. There is no panacea, no magic wand, that will lead to victory tomorrow.”