KYIV: Kyiv’s army has made an important breakthrough by breaching Russian lines in southern Ukraine, a key general told British media this weekend, saying he now expected faster progress in the Zaporizhzhia area.General Oleksandr Tarnavskiy, leading the southern counteroffensive, spoke several days after Kyiv declared a strategic victory by recapturing the southern village of Robotyne.
The interview came as President Volodymyr Zelensky has increasingly vocally dismissed criticism of Kyiv’s counteroffensive, that has made slower gains than expected.
“We are now between the first and second defensive lines,” Tarnavskiy said.
“In the centre of the offensive, we are now completing the destruction of enemy units that provide cover for the retreat of Russian troops behind their second defensive line.”
Heavily mined territory had slowed Ukrainian troops, saying that sappers had cleaned a route by foot and at night.
Tarnavskiy told The Guardian that Moscow’s forces “just stood and waited for the Ukrainian army.”
The paper quoted him as saying that Kyiv’s forces are now back on vehicles and that Russia has redeployed troops to the area.
“The enemy is pulling up reserves, not only from Ukraine but also from Russia. But sooner or later, the Russians will run out of all the best soldiers. This will give us an impetus to attack more and faster,” Tarnavskiy said. “Everything is ahead of us.”
Under Tarnavskiy’s command, Ukrainian troops liberated the southern city of Kherson last year.
He said that when Kyiv launched its counteroffensive in June, it “spent more time than we expected on demining territories.”
“Unfortunately, the evacuation of the wounded was difficult for us. And this also complicated our advance,” he said.
Tarnvaskiy admitted difficult losses for Kyiv.
“The closer to victory, the harder it is. Why? Because, unfortunately, we are losing the strongest and best,” he said.
“So now we have to concentrate on certain areas and finish the job. No matter how hard it is for all of us.”
On Saturday, Zelensky said shrugged off criticism of the counter offensive.
“Despite everything and no matter what anyone says, we are advancing, and that is the most important thing,” he said on Telegram.
“We are on the move.”
Ukraine’s air force said early on Sunday it had destroyed 22 Russian drones in an overnight attack on the southern Odesa region.
Russia “launched several waves of attacks by ‘Shahed-136/131’ (unmanned aerial vehicles) from the south and southeast”, Ukraine’s Air Force wrote on Telegram.
A total of 25 Iranian-made Shahed attack drones had been launched and “22 of them were destroyed by... the Air Force in cooperation with the air defence of other components of the Defence Forces of Ukraine”, it said.
Following the collapse in July of a United Nations-brokered deal allowing safe shipments from the Black Sea, Russia has ramped up attacks on Ukraine’s southern Odesa and Mykolaiv regions, home to ports and infrastructure that are vital for the shipment of grain.
Last month, the first civilian cargo ship sailing through the Black Sea from Ukraine arrived in Istanbul in defiance of the Russian blockade.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Saturday that two more vessels had passed through the country’s “temporary Black Sea grain corridor”.
Meanwhile, a Kyiv court has ordered a two-month detention for billionaire Igor Kolomoisky, under suspicion of fraud and money laundering, Ukrainian media reported at the weekend.
The arrest of the tycoon—one of Ukraine’s richest men and once an ally of President Volodymyr Zelensky—comes as Kyiv says it is still determined to crack down on corruption during the Russian invasion.
“The court chose a preventive measure for Igor Kolomoisky in the form of detention for two months with an alternative in the form of a bail of more than 509 million Ukrainian hryvnias,” Radio Svoboda reported.
Ukraine’s SBU security service said Kolomoisky was under suspicion of fraud and illegally obtaining property.
Kolomoisky, 60, appeared at Kyiv’s Shevchenkivsky district court, wearing a yellow t-shirt and a blue jumper—the colours of the Ukrainian flag.
Kolomoisky backed Zelensky’s candidacy during the 2019 presidential election.
Before becoming president, Zelensky rose to fame as a comedian, acting on a television channel owned by Kolomoisky.
Since Russia invaded in February last year, Zelensky has repeatedly vowed to fight corruption in Ukraine—a key requirement by Kyiv’s western allies.
