Russia-Ukraine conflict: UK says Ukraine counterattacks in Severodonetsk

The war in Ukraine is moving towards its fourth month, with Russian forces looking to control its eastern and southern territories. UK’s defense ministry said Ukrainian troops are launching their counteroffensive on Russians in Severodonetsk.

Reuters reports the UK’s defense ministry said Ukrainian troops are launching their counteroffensive in the contested city, which would derail the momentum that Russian forces previously gained in their offensive on the region.

“The use of proxy infantry forces for urban clearance operations is a Russian tactic previously observed in Syria, where Russia employed V Corps of the Syrian Army to assault urban areas,” the ministry said in a tweet, adding that the approach appears to indicate a desire to limit casualties that affected Russian forces.

The UK also said Monday that it will supply Ukraine with multiple-launch rocket systems that can hit targets up to 80 kilometers away. The move to supply Ukraine with the systems is coordinated with the US in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February.

Defense Secretary Ben Wallace said the UK’s support for Ukraine would change as Russia’s tactics change as he explained the country’s intention to send Ukraine the M270 multiple-launch systems.

“These highly capable multiple launch rocket systems will enable our Ukrainian friends to better protect themselves against the brutal use of long-range artillery, which Putin’s forces have used indiscriminately to flatten cities,” said Wallace in a statement.

This comes as last week, US President Joe Biden said Washington will be sending Ukraine the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems or HIMARS, after receiving assurances from Kyiv that it would not be used to hit targets inside Russian territory.

The US Defense Department said it would be supplying Ukraine with four M142 HIMARS systems as well as the Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System that had a range of over 64 kilometers.

The UK said Ukrainian troops would be trained to use the new launchers after it previously announced that it plans to train Ukrainian personnel to use armored vehicles.

Russian state media reported that a Russian general, Major General Roman Kutuzov, was killed in eastern Ukraine, adding to the number of high-ranking Russian officials who died in the ongoing war.