Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has begun making the case that the tide of the war is turning. It’s difficult to know if a shift has actually occurred or if he’s misrepresenting the situation so the West will keep the supply of weapons and supplies coming.
In the last 24 to 48 hours, reports from both Pentagon officials and U.S. media outlets suggest that the Ukrainians’ counteroffensive in the area of Kyiv is having an effect.
On Wednesday morning, Ukrainian forces announced they had recaptured the Kyiv suburb of Makariv. The Washington Examiner reported that the accompanying video showed that the town was, in fact, deserted. Part of Russia’s strategy was to encircle Kyiv, cutting off all access to supply lines, and to ultimately conquer the city. The loss of Makariv, if true, would be a serious setback for the Russians.
Reporting from the Municipality, one of the main control centers in Kyiv, NBC’s Richard Engel, who had been briefed by “two top municipal officials,” reported that the Kyiv counteroffensive, which began last week, was showing some real progress.
Looking at a map of northern Ukraine, Engel pointed out large red areas to the northwest and northeast of Kyiv that were currently under Russian control. More interesting were the smaller, but numerous blue areas that represent territory the Ukrainians have reclaimed in the past 24 to 48 hours.
“This, they say, is the biggest counteroffensive they’ve seen since the start of the war, the most blue they’ve ever had on this map and they’re finding it very encouraging,” Engel said.
Ukraine making big gains around kyiv. I got a brief (with an unclassified map) from two top municipal officials pic.twitter.com/zASEbmISyJ
— Richard Engel (@RichardEngel) March 23, 2022
On Tuesday, Pentagon press secretary John Kirby told CNN: “The Ukrainians are bravely defending their country. They are now in places and at times going on an offensive. They are going after Russians and pushing them out of places where the Russians have been in the past.”
“We have seen this now increase over the last few days,” he said. “It’s a real testament to their ability to fight, to plan, to adapt and to, again, try to push Russian forces back out.”
In the video below, CNN’s Global Affairs analyst Kimberly Dozier discusses the progress the Ukrainians have made. She offers a pretty good summary of the state of the war and reports on the dire conditions that Russian troops are facing which include frostbite, dwindling supplies and low morale.
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Thanks for the update. My only hope for them now at the present time, I only hope they can hold onto what they have re-captured from the Russians.
That, and that the local populace bugged out rather than be rounded-up and put on boxcars to Russian slave-labor camps as they liked to do in the push westward during and after WWII.
To hell with Putin and all who support him!