Why Ukraine’s southern offensive is proving more difficult than the blitzkrieg attack in the north | Stuart Ramsay | World News

We waited at a checkpoint near the Ukrainian defenses for the southern counterattack.

We were allowed to be there, but the soldiers were not satisfied, and all those permissions had to be checked again.

The Ukrainian government and military have imposed almost completely information on the counter-offensive in the south, to which the Russian-organized city of Kherson is its solution.

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We watched dozens of trucks, wagons, tanks and general hardware pass by.

We can’t film, people can’t be at checkpoints anyway – that’s the rule. To the left of the intersection, I could see dust rising over the wheat fields showing a large convoy.

Rumbling down the road was a massive array of trucks, each carrying a payload of Western-supplied weapon systems.

Their goods are the reason why Ukrainian counterattacks in the North and South even happened. We couldn’t film them, but we watched them go by. The systems are here and up and running.

The south attack proved to be more difficult than the north flash attack, there were a few reasons for this and they were quite simple.

First, the Russians knew it was coming, and so they prepared and solidified their position.

Second, Kherson, the only city they captured, was, in many ways, the gateway to Crimea and a land bridge with Russia. Russia cannot afford to lose this, so it is fighting hard to protect its lines.

And third, and this is the Ukrainian problem, the land is flat and infantry movements are potentially lethal because there’s nowhere to hide, so the battlefield is dominated by cannons and rockets.

The explosions didn’t stop.

Driving through these flat lands is very easy and really scary. The way out to the front is the supply line. They were a constant target, both sides attacking the supply line out of habit.

Mobile tank battalions headed to the front lines to support infantry. Behind them was the main line of defense held by kilometers of dug and camouflaged tank and artillery positions.

Their job is to fend off any unexpected Russian resistance. We watched as they loaded their tanks.

From “Mykola to Moskals” it says – a gift of the Ukrainians to the Russians. This attack costs lives lost.

Two paramedics preparing for their shift to save the wounded at the front told us that the casualty toll can sometimes be very high. The reason is simple, they say, the Russians knew they were coming.

Ismalihov told me: “What we know for sure is that after a successful counterattack in the Kharkiv direction, the Russians are trying to cut all options for going to Crimea,” Ismalihov told me, before when accelerating forward.

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Major Serhii Tsehotskii is the regional commander along these front lines and is of Crimean descent. He was a merchant businessman but rejoined the army after the Russian invasion began in February.

The 55-year-old’s family is currently in the UK. His wife, daughter and grandson lived in London after being evacuated at the start of the war. His brother and son are here fighting him.

The major liked to keep an eye on the civilians who had stayed in all the fighting.

Sixty-year-old Lyuba comes outside to meet him. They hugged each other tightly, and she called her husband, Leonil, to say hello. Lyuba is in high spirits, she says they’ve been able to get out of her basement in recent days.

She inhaled the air. “What does it smell like? Try it. What? Just tell me, what does it smell like?” she asked. “Like victory!” she la.

“And you want me to leave. Why should I? Why should I? No, no. That’s not how it works. I’ll wait here,” she said defiantly. “Anyway, they’ll be defeated soon, soon.”

Lyuba is like all Ukrainians optimistic, but the noises from the Kremlin are ominous.

This conflict can easily escalate. And that means no one here is safe.