World Affairs International

Ukraine has reported new advances in Kherson as part of a larger counteroffensive beginning in late May. In an address, Zelenskyy made clear to the people that the Ukrainian counteroffensive would seek to liberate Kherson, a front where Russian forces have not been able to secure a proper encirclement of the Ukrainian army.

This allows Ukrainian forces far greater mobility and usage of Western heavy weapons, which have arrived and continue to arrive in greater numbers. Amidst efforts in occupied Ukraine to quell partisan warfare and introduce a sense of permanence through “passportization,” propaganda, and the introduction of the Ruble, Russia has been unable to fully suppress both armed and peaceful resistance.

In the Donbas, Ukrainian forces repelled an assault from Izyum on Sloviansk, but the situation in Sievierodonetsk remains perilous. More time and information are needed to ascertain whether Ukraine can hold the last remnants of the Donbas in time for Russia’s military to suffer prohibitive losses.