Talking for weeks about preparations for a major counter-offensive, the Ukrainian army announced yesterday that it had begun conducting operations in several directions in the south.. Across the Kherson region, districts have been cut off from power amid fighting, with Russian media reporting "

However, it is still not clear, this is the beginning of the same counter-offensive that Ukraine has been talking about for several months.. Or is it a continuation of the strikes in the south, which the Ukrainian military has carried out over the past few weeks, writes the New York Times.

President Volodymyr Zelensky has come under pressure to expel Russian troops from Kherson and the right bank of the Dnieper before the rainy season makes the fields impassable. Rising energy prices also created a risk of reduced support for Ukraine from Europe.

The New York Times writes that fighting in the south intensified in May. But since that time, the front line has not changed much.. A spokeswoman for the southern military command of Ukraine said that " At the same time, she stressed: “Every military operation requires silence.. Everyone needs to be patient."

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Stephen Twitty, formerly of the US Army and now a fellow at the Center for European Policy Analysis, observed that " He conceded that this strategy could be designed to relieve pressure from the east by forcing Russia to redirect some forces to the south..

“The impressive thing is that with what they have, and with the training that the US has provided, they have actually been able to strike in Crimea and abroad.. If they continue in the same spirit, they will be able to step on the heels of the Russians and achieve some success, ”said General Twitty.