Arizona state university.
Geoff: Ukraine is in the early
stages of a long-planned
counteroffensive to win back
roughly a fifth of its homeland
from Russian occupiers.
But today, as Kyiv intensified
its ground attacks, Moscow
struck back with air assaults,
which devastated a residential
area in central Ukraine.
Russian missiles raining down on
the hometown of Ukrainian
president Zelinski earlier
today, leaving behind a
apocalypse scenes.
Rescue workers battled the
blazes through the morning in a
five story residential building.
The strikes killed at least 11
people, the highest toll from
any single Russian attack since
April.
Those who survived to describe
the horrors of the nighttime
assault.
>> We were asleep, all windows
were shattered.
I am still confused how it
happened.
At first, there was allowed
bang.
The cars, on fire and the window
was blown out.
It was bad, seriously.
Geoff: It came as Ukraine
continues its counteroffensive.
Broadcasting footage of what
appeared to be early phases of
his long planned military
action.
Today, Kyiv's deputy defense
minister outlined four full
points of his army's
counteroffensive in the south
and east.
Military analysts say Ukraine is
striking at fortified Russian
positions along hundreds of
miles of trenches, bunkers and
minefields.
>> These defensive
fortifications are only as good
as the soldiers in them.
Geoff: We asked former U.S. Army
Europe commander Ben hodges
about whether the Russian lines
will hold.
>> I am waiting to see are the
Russian troops better at defense
than they were in the attack?
If they don't do any better than
they did in the attack, then it
won't matter how many trenches
there are.
I also see on the trenches, none
of them have overhead cover.
So, people that are in those
trenches when the artillery
starts, they will be killed.
Geoff: Independent video
confirmed early signs of
Ukrainian breakthroughs in the
southeast.
Footage showed military vehicles
driving dusty roads near Rio
taken villages -- near retaken
villages.
Ukrainian flag over a
grocery store.
>> Three days ago, the Russian
forces were still here.
We chased them out.
Glory to Ukraine.
This village was under Russian
occupation for 1.5 years but
these are Ukrainian lands.
Geoff: Moscow claimed its own
rewards, releasing video of what
appeared to be a captured
german-made leopard 2 tank and a
u.s.-made Bradley fighting
vehicle.
>> There's a difference between
them getting on the offensive,
which clearly started, and the
beginning of the Maney tech.
When we see two or three armored
rates, that is 600 armored
vehicles of all types.
Then, I will think that looks
like main attack.
Even then, it could be a fake
to draw Russian attention away
from the real Maney tech.
Geoff: The nato
secretary-general met with
president Biden and said
Ukraine's counteroffensive would
send a strong message to Russia.
>> What we do know is Ukrainians
are able to liberate more land
and the stronger hand they will
have at the negotiating table,
and more likely it will be that
president Putin at some stage
will understand he will never
win this war.
Geoff: Earlier today in Moscow,
Vladimir Putin reiterated that
after 15 months of war, none of
his objectives have changed.
>> All in all, there are no
significant changes in terms of
the goals we set for ourselves
at the beginning of the
operation.
Nothing has changed today.
Geoff: As fighting rages across
a 600-mile front, a humanitarian
disaster still unfolds.
Soldiers picked apart buildings
as they continue to rescue
trapped residents one week after
a disastrous dam collapse
flooded the southern region.
♪♪