The Wall Street Journal newspaper, based on interviews with the Ukrainian military, reports that Ukrainian armored vehicles were able to break through the main defense line of the Russian army for the first time during the counteroffensive near the village of Verbove, located near Rоbotyne in the Zaporizhzhya region. The goal of the offensive in this area is to cut the Russian grouping on the left bank of the Dnipro River, reaching the Sea of Azov or establishing fire control over the corridor to Crimea.
Correspondents note that the breakthrough is small and the Ukrainians are suffering heavy losses. Some of the equipment that broke through was destroyed, a Ukrainian officer told the newspaper. The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has also recorded signs that Ukrainian armored vehicles have overcome the last layer of Russian defenses in the Zaporizhzhya region. However, the ISW notes that it is premature to conclude that the Ukrainian army has driven the vehicles through the defense line because it is unclear whether the AFU holds the territory behind the last layer of fortifications.
US President Joe Biden, who held talks with Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Washington yesterday, approved a new $325m military aid package for Ukraine and said that the first US M1 Abrams tanks would arrive in Ukraine next week.
