Soldiers of the 110th separate mechanized brigade of Ukraine fire from a rocket launcher at Russian positions Photo: NYTNS/Redux/eevine
Ukraine sent Western the tanks went into action for the first time, launching a long-awaited counteroffensive.
Leopard II main battle tanks were sighted in the Zaporozhye region, where hostilities suddenly broke out, marking the start of the attack.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry, which has a strict policy of operational silence on the offensive, has denied reports that it has begun.
But Ukrainian officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said US media reported that an active phase of the counter-offensive was underway.
U.S. officials said the latest offensive was the main thrust of the counteroffensive.
Two officials warned that the Russians put up “fierce resistance” and the Ukrainians suffered casualties, according to NBC.
Ukrainian and Western officials have long warned that a counter-offensive would be difficult even with fresh stocks of modern NATO-standard equipment such as main battle tanks.
The Leopard is involved in the fighting in Ukraine
The Russians have prepared multi-layered defensive lines in Zaporozhye is several miles deep, including minefields, trenches and anti-tank traps.
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Russian sources have previously reported “wave after wave” of attacks by Ukrainian infantry and armored vehicles in the south of the country for the fourth day in a row.
< p>Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu told Vladimir Putin that Russian forces had repulsed a major attack by Ukraine's 47th Mechanized Brigade in a two-hour battle in the Zaporozhye region on Thursday morning. This claim was impossible to verify.
Russian drone images shared by pro-Kremlin social media show several vehicles, including two Leopard main battle tanks, at an intersection near Malaya Tokmachka.
>The footage shows some vehicles on fire after they were apparently blown up by mines or artillery.
Pro-Russian sources say at least one Leopard was among the damaged or destroyed vehicles.
The British Ministry. The Ministry of Defense stated in an intelligence brief that “against the backdrop of a very complex operational picture, heavy fighting continues on several sectors of the front. In most areas, the initiative belongs to Ukraine.”
Ukraine – Launch of the counteroffensive
None of the claims about the progress of the battle could be independently verified and were likely part of propaganda campaigns by both sides.
However, images with independent geolocation confirmed that the battle was in progress and suggested that Ukraine may have directed the battle cutting-edge Western weapons.
Russian bloggers, many of whom have close ties to the military and downplay Ukraine's successes, have claimed that numerous attacks were repulsed near the Ukrainian-held frontline town of Orikhov.
“Active operations began at about 3 am, the most fierce fighting took place in the Novodanilovka area. The enemy managed to occupy the positions of the outriggers of the 291st motorized rifle regiment,” wrote one of them, referring to contacts at the front.
Novodanilovka is a village southwest of Orikhov.
It was also reported that “Wave after wave the enemy is trying to break through our defenses in the area of Malaya Tokmachka”, a village in the same area. It claimed that the attacks were repulsed with heavy losses.
A Ukrainian tanker near Chasovoy Yar while fighting with Russian troops continues. Photo: Irina Rybakova/AP
Volya, a Russian-language Telegram channel who claims to have contacts on both sides of the line, said Russia suffered extremely heavy casualties when it discovered hidden firing positions, prematurely deploying small Ukrainian intelligence groups.
Igor Girkin, a former Russian intelligence officer who played a prominent role in Russia's first invasion of Ukraine in 2014, wrote on his blog that “now we can say with certainty that the Ukrainian offensive began 5-6 days ago.”
Offensive operations on the southern front appear to have begun on Monday with assaults near the village of Veliko Novoselka, 50 miles east of Orekhovo.
Ukraine also continued to push forward around Bakhmut in Donbas and support cross-border raids by anti-Kremlin Russian militias further north in an attempt to stretch Russian defenses.
The target of the Ukrainian advance around Orikhov appears to be Tokmak, a village about 20 miles to the south, anchoring Russian defenses in central Zaporozhye.
The battle in the area of Velyka Novoselka, which is believed to be ongoing, threatens a similar line of advance on the border with Zaporozhye and Donetsk regions.
A Ukrainian tank moves near Chasovoy Yar, the site of heavy fighting with Russian troops. Photo: Ryna Rybakova/AP
Attacks have also been reported in the Kamenskoye area, at the western end of the line.
It is not yet clear which attack will be the main attack. Breaking through Russian lines in the Zaporozhye region could allow Ukraine to jeopardize the “land bridge” connecting Russia to occupied Crimea.
Ukraine's Third Separate Assault Brigade on Thursday said it had advanced another 1.2 kilometers around Bakhmut.
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A Ukrainian soldier holds a drone bomb in a trench in Chasovy Yar. Photo: Ryna Rybakova/AP. about 30 Russian soldiers were killed and 40 wounded in the assault, which ended up behind a canal recently held by the enemy.
Large explosions were reported in the industrial area of the Russian-occupied city of Luhansk. Russian sources link them to Storm Shadow cruise missiles supplied by the UK.
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