Ukraines Counteroffensive Has Begun

Ukraine appears to have launched its long-anticipated counteroffensive, according to several indicators, kicking off an attempt to break the deadlock in fighting, liberate occupied territory and, notably, prove to Western backers the value of their billions of dollars in military support.

Several government officials and news outlets reported a sharp spike in Ukrainian military operations on Thursday in several areas along the front lines. Fighting appeared to intensify particularly in the southern direction of Zaporizhzhia, home to Europes second-largest nuclear power plant which has been shut down for several months after fighting there surged and one of the key front-line positions along the Dnieper River separating Russian and Ukrainian-held territory.

Hanna Maliar, Ukraines deputy defense minister, in a Telegram post early Thursday listed several areas in the east in which fighting had increased and where she said Ukraine had defended against Russia. She noted, vaguely, that in Zaporizhzhia, The enemy is actively on the defensive.