“The fighting is very violent. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky admitted on Thursday evening August 3 that his army’s counter-offensive was difficult but assured that his troops were dominating the Russian forces. “The occupiers are trying with all their might to stop our guys,” he acknowledged in his daily message, but assured that “whatever the enemy does, the Ukrainian army dominates.” Ukraine launched a counteroffensive in June to repel Russian forces from eastern and southern territories, but has since made modest progress.
President Zelensky spoke on Thursday of the fighting in the key areas of Lyman, Bakhmout and Avdiivka, in the east of the country, but also on the southern front. In 2022, Ukraine recaptured swathes of territory around Kherson and Kharkiv in rapid counter-offensives. But Ukrainian forces are now facing entrenched Russian defensive positions over the past few months. kyiv warned that this counter-offensive could be long and difficult and urged its allies to send more weapons.
US Foreign Minister Antony Blinken on Thursday accused Russia before the UN Security Council of “blackmail” over the Black Sea grain deal, from which it withdrew in July, and “aggression” on the global food system.
In fact, Russia refused in mid-July to extend the agreement authorizing Ukrainian cereal exports via the Black Sea, leading to a rise in cereal prices which particularly affects the poorest countries.
