Ukraine Does Damage Control as Counter Attack Falters

The Ukrainian offensive near Kherson in the south and Kharkiv in the north is failing. That explains why Ukrainian President Zelensky imposed restrictions the other day on what news western correspondents could report from the front. In fact, many of these reporters were pulled from the front lines. Do you think Ukraine would do that if they were pounding the hell out of the Russians and forcing the Russians to retreat? No. The west would be flooded with videos of triumphant Ukrainian troops celebrating victory.

Instead of celebrations, there are videos surfacing showing Ukrainian losses in the aftermath of their failed attempt to capture the Zaporhyzhia Nuclear Power Plant (aka NPP).

IAEA Chief Inspector Grossi confirmed today that the IAEA remains on scene at the NPP:

Six representatives of the IAEA continue the mission at the Zaporizhia NPP.

Meanwhile, the western press is debunking Ukraine’s claim that Russia is shelling the NPP. How so? By reporting what Ukraine itself is admitting:

At the close of today’s battle, the situation in the Nikolaevsko-Krivoy Rog is dire for Ukrainian forces.

By the end of the fourth day of the Ukrainian offensive against Kherson, the RF Armed Forces successfully repelled the offensive in all sectors, restoring the front line near Posad-Pokrovsky and Olgino. The most fierce battles unfolded on the Andreevsky sector of the front.

Despite the destruction of the command post of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Berezhuvate and the disabling of a large warehouse with weapons and ammunition in Belaya Krinitsa, Ukrainian commanders continued to transfer equipment and personnel to the bridgehead on the southern coast.

Reinforcements were driven across the open steppe through a narrow corridor at Sukhoi Stavka and Kostromka to the Davydov Brod-Novaya Kakhovka highway. The Ukrainian Armed Forces succeeded in occupying the ghost village of Bezimenne, west of Karlomarksovskoye, which the Ukrainian Armed Forces tried unsuccessfully to take by storm.

Russian Su-34s and Su-24s, as well as cannon and rocket artillery guns, disabled the pontoon crossings of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Andreevka and began to methodically destroy the enemy forces trapped in the fire bag. The forces in Bezimenne were destroyed.

At the same time, from the side of Blagodatovka, the RF Armed Forces crossed Ingulets and crossed to the northern coast, breaking through the defensive lines in the village of Ternovka and capturing a bridgehead.

The news from Kherson and, in the north, Kharkov is equally grim for Ukraine:

3rd counteroffensive attempt of the AFU in Kherson oblast, with basically same deplorable results. Dozens of ambulances seen on Ukrainian side going back and forth, transporting multiple wounded to the hospitals. Some battles are still underway with results yet unclear.

Ukrainian attack north of Kharkov, units that broke through partly destroyed, partly taken prisoners with their commanding officers.

Donbass: a definintive breach of the 2nd line of defense near Peski now confirmed. The fortified area between Peski and Pervomayskoye, that, as Yuri says, holds the key to the whole front, have been taken by the 11th Militia Regiment of the DPR.

The capture of Peski by Russian forces means that Russia will have an open road to the Dnieper River to the west. This does not mean that Ukraine will cease its efforts to re-take the Zaporhyzhia NPP. But it does mean Ukraine can no longer paint Russia as the villain. The IAEA inspectors on scene at the plant are voluntary human shields. If Ukraine kills or wounds any of those inspectors it is likely to force a change in the UN position towards the Russian Special Military Operation.

Once the full scale of Ukrainian losses in their counter offensive becomes widely known, the political divisions within the Zelensky government are likely to grow. There is a video online in Ukrainian with a Ukrianian General stating that Ukrainian losses are “hundreds of thousands.” This is a fact that will not remain hidden and will add to the turmoil swirling around Zelensky. How long will the Ukrainian people continue to support a policy where their husbands and sons are being used as cannon fodder? That is a critical indicator to monitor during September.

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