Ukrainian troops reach “dragon’s teeth”, a critical Russian defensive line. Russia threatens civilian vessels in the Black Sea, an audio intercepted by Ukraine reveals. Almost 80 per cent of Ukrainians consider all Russians responsible for the war, a survey finds.
Ukrainian troops reach “dragon’s teeth”, Russia’s critical defensive line, CNN says
Ukrainian forces in southern Ukraine can be seen for the first time at one of Russia’s long-stretching “dragon’s teeth” defensive lines in a new video circulating on Russian social media.
CNN has geolocated the video to an area just east of the small villages of Nove and Kharkove in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia oblast.
The video was taken from a Russian military position and shows a Ukrainian military vehicle moving in a field, heading toward a ditch in front of a large row of “dragon’s teeth” — concrete and rebar pyramids that can serve as barriers against tanks.
Pro-Ukrainian channels claim it’s their forces testing the ability for a vehicle to make it over the trench and the “dragon teeth,” while pro-Russian channels claim it’s a casualty of one of their military strikes.
While the ability of the Ukrainians to push Russian forces back behind their “dragon teeth” line is a clear indicator, the counteroffensive has been successful so far.
The defensive line also poses a significant obstacle that the counteroffensive will need to find ways to overcome in the days, weeks, and months to come, CNN says.
For months, satellite images have shown that the Russians have installed the “dragon’s teeth” lines across the territory they control in Ukraine. The “teeth” are laid out in three-deep rows that stretch for hundreds of miles; on either side of the concrete lines, Russian forces have also dug massive anti-tank trenches.
Сommander of the Tavria operational strategic group, Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi earlier said that the counteroffensive will definitely reach its goal. He said “any defense can be broken but you need patience, time and skillful actions”.
Russia threatening civilian vessels in the Black Sea, audio intercepted by Ukraine reveals
Ukraine’s State Border Guard Service said it had intercepted a warning from a Russian warship to a civilian vessel passing near a Ukrainian port. Russian warships continue to behave brazenly and audaciously in the waters of the Black Sea, violating all the norms of international maritime law, the State Border Guard Service said.
According to the intercepted audio, the Russians asked the vessel’s crew about the country of its flag, and the cargo it was carrying. They also asked if the ship was carrying weapons, and put forward threats to the vessel.
The statement quoted the Russian party as saying: “I am warning you about the ban on movement to the ports of Ukraine. Also, the transport of any cargo to Ukraine is considered by the Russian side to be the potential transportation of military cargo. The country of the vessel’s flag would be considered a party to the conflict in Ukraine.”
Almost 80 per cent of Ukrainians consider all Russians responsible for the war, survey finds
A vast majority of Ukrainians (78 per cent) say they consider all Russians responsible for Russia’s war against Ukraine, a survey commissioned by the International Center for Ukrainian Victory and conducted by the Ilko Kucheriv Democratic Initiatives Foundation and the Center for Political Sociology finds.
A majority of Ukrainians (57 per cent) are convinced that all Russians directly involved in the planning, approval, preparation and execution of war crimes should be held accountable.
Ninety-five per cent want Ukraine to make Russia pay for war damages. Only 40 per cent believe that getting the reparations is realistic.
The pollsters conducted a series of face-to-face interviews between June 5 and June 15, 2023 collecting responses from 2001 respondents ages 18 and older.
