A top Ukrainian official repeated today
that there will be no announcement
when this major counteroffensive against
Russia is underway.
But also today,
a defense
ministry minister did note
that Ukrainian forces have, quote,
advanced in several directions
in the east in this long disputed
Donetsk region.
The top general in the US,
the Joint Chiefs chairman Mark
Milley, said that he believes
Ukraine is ready for what lies ahead
So I think it's too early to tell
what outcomes are going to happen.
I think the Ukrainians
are very well prepared,
as you know very well,
the United States and other
allied countries in Europe
and are really around
the world
have provided
training and ammunition and advice,
intelligence, etc.
to the Ukrainians. We're supporting them.
They're in a war
that's an essential threat
for the very survival of Ukraine
and has greater
meaning to the rest of the world
for for Europe,
really for the United States,
but also for the globe
And joining us now is
CNN military
analyst, retired Air Force
Colonel Cedric Leighton.
You heard what we are just hearing now
this Ukrainian offensive is taking place
in several directions,
according to an official.
I mean,
are we seeing the beginnings of this?
I think we are, Brianna.
And you know,
when you're looking at the various places
that the Ukrainians
could attack,
you're basically looking at this area
right here,
this junction between the southern fronts
in the eastern front
you're also looking in the towards
the east right here
and potentially, potentially,
even though we haven't
heard much about it.
The area
just to the northeast of Kherson.
So these are the potential areas
where they can do this
on the map of Ukraine.
But when you go beyond that,
there's other stuff
obviously going on in
Russia and potentially anywhere else
the Ukrainians feel they need to.
Russia is claiming
they repelled a large scale attack.
Right.
Where you're talking about there.
Ukraine is has pretty much been mum.
And we're seeing that they've emphasized
that being secretive.
But at the same time,
I mean, you will see
sort of what's happening.
What do you make of of all of this
sort of the delay and the be quiet?
What do you make of it? Yes.
When it's
when people are quiet,
there is usually either
no good news to report
or they're keeping something
secret in order to do something else.
So in this particular case,
we're looking at several things going on
basically down here where I
the Russians,
we're talking about potentially
hurting the Ukrainians in this area.
You also have the town of Lula Da,
which is a key point
where the Ukrainians are moving forward
and the very infamous city of Mahmoud
that we've been talking about for over
nine months now.
The Ukrainians are actually making gains
around Bermuda.
And both sides are reporting
that this is happening.
So given that that's going on,
there's a lot of mixed messaging here.
And right now,
we really don't know
who's ahead or who is behind
but it's pretty clear that at the moment,
the Ukrainians,
for the most part,
are moving forward in certain areas,
including right here
and of Dufka as well.
Really fascinating reporting
from Natasha Bertrand
that you just heard about there,
these sabotage agents inside of Russia
that Ukraine is providing with drones.
And there have been a lot of attacks.
Hard to know
exactly who you attribute these to,
but we know that some of them
are attributable
to these sabotage agents.
What do you make of this?
So Brianna,
you see a lot of symbolic attacks
like the one at the Three
Sisters Monument,
which is the tri point
between Belarus, Russia and Ukraine.
That is an area
where the Russians
actually attacked this part.
However,
there's a symbolic piece to this.
You have the Ukrainians
doing things allegedly in Smolensk,
obviously in Moscow,
Kursk, varnish, and, of course, Belgorod.
Several attacks,
many attacks
right in this area right here.
And then you also have
the area around Mariupol.
So what the Ukrainians are doing is
they're in essence,
shaping the battlefield.
They're keeping the Russians
off-balance by doing stuff
all over here in Russia itself,
while they are also
moving forces in Ukraine.
So what they're doing here
is very different
from what they're doing over here.
This is an eventual warfare,
unconventional warfare
with the purpose of destabilize
opposing the Russians
and destabilizing the Russian response.
Can we look at
what's happening in Belgorod?
I know you have a video of this.
This is, of course,
the Russian side of the border.
This is where so many assets
were being sent into Ukraine
at the beginning of the war from Russia.
What do you see happening?
So what you see here,
Brianna, is you're going after places
that look like
they might be supply depots.
You also have areas in forested areas
where people would hide tanks,
artillery emplacements, things like this.
A lot of this.
These are villages near Belgorod.
And in this particular case,
you see
areas where there is movement forward
along routes like this one right here.
And they can try to interdict that.
The Ukrainians
going to try to stop movement on this
by doing
some calculated moves in this area,
using their drones and other assets
to go in
and really make it rough for the Russians
in this area.
It is really interesting
to see this battlefield expand
and to learn why it is.
Thank you, Colonel, for taking
us through that. You bet it.