Ukraine's Armed Forces move to Svatove-Kreminna line in east, US praises Ukrainian offensive in south: Serhii Zgurets' column

The Ukrainian military continues to liberate Ukraine's populated areas from the invading Russian forces, both in the east and in the south. In my opinion, today is quite a revealing and effective day in this sense.

Ukraine's Armed Forces are moving to the Svatove-Kreminna border, and the Russian forces do not have time to form a line of defense

In the Kharkiv region, Ukraine's Armed Forces liberated the village of Borova. After the Russian enemy fled from Lyman, the active actions of our units to reach the Svatove-Kreminna line continued. There is movement to Svatove and exit to Kreminna from different directions. There are even reports that there are battles for Kreminna, and this is being written about in Russian publications. The Russian enemy simply does not have time to form new lines of defense.

Russian control on the right bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region may be reduced by 25 km

Against the background of the events around Lyman, the front in the south, in particular along the right bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region, found itself in a certain shadow, but there are also positive changes there. On the right bank of the Dnipro, where there are up to 15,000 enemy forces, a sufficiently powerful Russian group is being squeezed by our offensive actions. There was a section about 150 km long and 60 km wide that was occupied by the invading Russian forces and now it is shrinking in length.

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the liberation of Arkhanhelsk and Myroliubivka villages. Today we saw the soldiers with the 128th Brigade install a blue-yellow flag on the highest point in Myrolyubivka. The process is moving forward and already today the National Guard of Ukraine announced that the liberation of the Kherson region is continuing and that Ukrainian soldiers have liberated Zolota Balka. Until recently, this was the last point held by the enemy on this bridgehead.

There is a high probability that our troops are now moving from Zolota Balka to Dutchany. This is a reduction of the Russian section on the right bank of the Dnipro River by 25 km. Today, the installation of our flag over Havrylivka appeared - this is also in the direction of Dutchany. 

In general, invading Russian forces are not going to leave the right bank of the Dnipro River in the Kherson region despite all the obvious risks of a trap for them. We remember that Putin forbade the generals to retreat from this bridgehead and now the transfer of equipment to this area continues. Ferry crossings and, in particular, near the lock of the Kakhovska HPP. I think that it will not last long.  In turn, the accumulation of this enemy equipment is affected by our long-range systems, and Russian command posts and air defense equipment are also gradually and systematically destroyed.

The US praises Ukraine for its offensive, but does not supply ATACMS missiles

It is interesting that the Americans recognize Ukrainian progress in the Kherson region.  There was an interview with US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin on the CNN channel, where he claimed that the fighting in the Kherson region is going slower than in the Kharkiv region, but Ukraine's Armed Forces are moving forward. Austin attributes the dynamics of positive change to the training and skill of the Ukrainian military and the use of America's long-range HIMARS systems. But when asked if Ukraine would get ATACMS missiles in addition to HIMARS, he said that "it's not just about the weapons you have, it's about how you use them to create an effect on the battlefield that then can create new opportunities".

In my opinion, the US still believes that HIMARS is enough for Ukraine, and the only question is the number of targets that they have to destroy. But I am sure that we cannot do without ATACMS and we will have them.