War in Ukraine: Kiev is on the offensive on the communication front

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, center-left, and Ukrainian soldiers hold the flag of a military unit at a position near Bakhmut, in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, Wednesday, March 22, 2023. © Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP

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1 min

After an offensive lasting several weeks, the Russian army is exhausted. In any case, this is the message Kiev wants to convey. President Volodymyr Zelensky himself has visited the front in recent days to show that his army still holds.

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With our correspondent in Kiev, Pierre Alonso

President Volodymyr Zelensky has just completed a tour of the front. He was in the south of the country on Wednesday, March 22 and in the east on Tuesday, March 21. He even went to the outskirts of Bakhmut, the Donbass city that has been under Russian fire for months.

Today, the fall of Bakhmut seems inevitable, but the Ukrainian power refuses to give up the fight, and insists on the enemy losses in this battle. They are "considerable", according to the commander of the Ukrainian ground forces. So much so that, according to him, Russian troops are "running out".

A spring counter-offensive

So for Kiev, it is a question of showing that the Russian offensive this winter has not resulted in any major victory. And that after having held, at the price, it must be said, many sacrifices, the Ukrainian army is ready to regain the initiative.

A spring counter-offensive that is much talked about here, even if the greatest secrecy surrounds this operation. It is for "very soon", simply promised, Wednesday, March 22, one of the highest officers of the Ukrainian army.

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Mistakes in Ukrainian communication

In an excess of optimism, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense had announced on Telegram on Thursday, March 23, the departure of Russian troops city of Nova Kakhovka near Kherson. An information immediately denied by Russia. Ukraine finally admitted that it had made a mistake. Witnesses in Nova Kakhovka, contacted by AFP, also claimed that Russian troops were still there.

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• Ukraine
• Russia
• Defense