Ukraine Russia War: Kyiv troops make ‘notable progress’ in counteroffensive

Vladimir Putin has declared Russia to be ‘absolutely invincible’ as the White House revealed Ukraine’s counteroffensive has started to make ‘notable progress’.

Ukraine’s forces have made “notable progress” against Russian troops in their crawling counter offensive, with troops gaining ground in the south and drone attacks striking targets on Russian soil.

As Vladimir Putin told Moscow schoolchildren that Russia was “invincible”, the White House’s national security spokesman John Kirby said Ukraine’s troops were pushing forward on the road to Crimea.

Conceding the counteroffensive has been slower than expected, Kirby added the tide had turned in the past three days.

“We have noted over the last 72 hours or so some notable progress by Ukrainian armed forces on that southern line,” Kirby told reporters.

“They have achieved some success against that second line of Russian defences.”

US National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communications John Kirby says Ukraine has made ‘notable progress’. Picture: AFP

In recent days, Western battlefield analyses have shown Ukrainian forces penetrating Russian lines for several kilometres (miles) between Robotyne and Verbove in the Zaporizhzhia region.

Kyiv’s aim is to advance directly south to the Sea of Azov, cutting off Russian land access to occupied Crimea.

But Russian forces have established long and deep barriers across the terrain, including tank traps, minefields and other defences, to slow Ukraine’s advance.

“We’ve all seen the criticism by anonymous officials out there, which frankly is not helpful” to Ukraine’s battlefield effort, Kirby said.

“Any objective observer of this counteroffensive, you can’t deny … that they have made progress now,” Kirby added

UKRAINE DRONES ATTACK LAUNCHED FROM RUSSIA

Ukraine’s military intelligence said a recent drone attack on an airport in northwestern Russia, which damaged several transport planes, was carried out from within Russian territory. The attack on Pskov airport, about 700 kilometres from Ukraine, marked the latest strike to rock Russian territory since Kyiv vowed to “return” the conflict to Russia in July.

“The drones used to attack the ‘Kresty’ air base in Pskov were launched from Russia,” Ukraine’s intelligence chief Kyrylo Budanov said on social media.

An explosion lights up the sky as the Russian military repell a drone attack on an airport in the northwestern city of Pskov. Picture: Supplied

“Four Russian IL-76 military transport planes were hit as a result of the attack. Two were destroyed and two were seriously damaged,” he added.

Budanov said the aircraft had been used by the defence ministry to transport troops and cargo.

The Kremlin said this week that military experts were working to find out which routes drones are taking in order “to prevent such situations in the future”.

Asked about Ukrainian claims, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov declined to comment and instead deferred questions to the defence ministry.

The region of Pskov, which was also targeted by drones in late May, is surrounded by NATO members Estonia and Latvia to its west and Belarus to its south.

PUTIN SAYS RUSSIA ‘ABSOLUTELY INVINCIBLE’

President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, told pupils at the start of the school year that it was impossible to defeat Russia as Moscow’s offensive in Ukraine grinds through its nineteenth month.

“I understood why we won the Great Patriotic War,” Putin said, referring to World War II, adding: “It is impossible to defeat this kind of nation with this kind of attitude. We were absolutely invincible. And we are the same now.”

Putin spoke to the children during a lecture called “Important Conversations”. Thirty high-achieving schoolchildren were selected to attend Putin’s lecture.

Vladimir Putin tells students Russia is “absolutely invincible”. Picture: AFP

“Important Conversations” were introduced after the start of the Kremlin’s assault on Ukraine to boost patriotic sentiment.

The patriotism classes combine World War II revisionism, lessons on Russian values and the Kremlin’s narrative about Moscow’s troops “protecting” compatriots in Ukraine.

Across Russia, schoolchildren have been encouraged to send letters to Russian soldiers in Ukraine and make camouflage nets and candles for the trenches.

During the lecture, Putin said that Russia would seek to “ensure security” in the four Ukrainian regions the Kremlin claimed to have annexed last year without fully controlling them.

Originally published as Ukraine Russia War: Kyiv troops make ‘notable progress’ in counteroffensive