Ukraine's counter-offensive advances step by step thanks to cluster bombs

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar confirmed the successful recapture of the village on Wednesday morning, as a CNN team approached the outskirts of the village with the 35th Marine Corps. Heavy shelling from the Russian side against Ukrainian troops in the area remains intense.

Fighting footage from drones has emerged, showing Russian troops retreating south of the village. Two weapons experts who viewed the footage said the troops appeared to be shelled as they retreated, and at some points appeared to be attacked with cluster bombs. The experts asked to remain anonymous because they did not want to be identified discussing the sensitive issue.

Dykyi, the nickname of an assault company commander, commented on the attack on Russian soldiers: “A lot of enemy soldiers were killed.”

Videos show large numbers of Russian soldiers retreating down a major road, apparently forced to use because the surrounding fields and trees were mined. Russian soldiers were also seen gathering in buildings that had been hit by artillery fire.

Mr Dykyi said mortars and tanks were used in the battle. He did not comment on the use of cluster bombs.

Drone footage shows a Ukrainian tank moving toward the Russian positions, firing its cannon repeatedly, and dragging a cable with explosives attached to it to defuse mines. The explosives detonated as the tank began to move away from the point of attack, ensuring that the units could then move safely through the minefield.

Argumentative

The decision to supply cluster bombs to Ukraine’s military has sparked a major ethics debate within the Biden administration. While highly effective against infantry in open battle, the weapons scatter multiple submunitions that often don’t detonate immediately, potentially endangering civilians for decades to come.

More than 100 countries have signed a treaty banning the use of cluster bombs. However, Ukraine, Russia and the United States are the only countries that have not signed this international treaty.

The US military says the cluster munitions it has supplied to Ukraine have a lower failure rate, with only 2.5% failing to explode when used – a claim widely questioned by critics. By comparison, the cluster munitions used by the Russian military in its conflict with Ukraine are said to have a failure rate of 30%, according to Western officials.

The Ukrainian military has confirmed that US-supplied weapons have been used on the front lines, but has not provided details. CNN has not been able to confirm that the devices, which experts say could be cluster bombs, seen in videos in Urozhaine were US-supplied weapons. Many believe Ukraine has produced similar devices domestically and may have been used on the battlefield.

World - Ukraine's counter-offensive advances step by step thanks to cluster bombs — The successful operation to retake Urozhaine is the second advance in the past two weeks. Photo: Reuters/Armed Forces of Ukraine.

However, the ethical issues surrounding the weapon still make commanders like Mr. Dykyi, who runs a unit that suffered many casualties during the offensive in the South, hesitate to comment on the use of the weapon by both sides.

The successful recapture of Urozhaine represents progress in a difficult counteroffensive in which ground is fought in meters, not miles. Ukrainian troops encountered fiercer fighting than expected and were delayed by stubborn Russian defenses, fortified by vast trench networks and tens of thousands of square miles of minefields.

Earlier this week, Kyiv rejected criticism that its troops were not advancing fast enough, insisting they were focused on wearing down Russia's fighting capacity and disrupting its supply lines.

On the front line, the 35th Marine Brigade has suffered heavy losses in the southern push, making Mr. Dykyi hostile to “desktop” assessments of the slow progress of the counteroffensive from Western analysts and officials.

He said that those who criticized the counter-offensive “can come and fight with me. There are people who think they can ride a broomstick through a minefield like Harry Potter. That is not the way the real battlefield is.”

“If you don't understand that, then sit at your desk and eat popcorn,” he said.

Nguyen Quang Minh (according to CNN)

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