Ukraine goes on offensive in the south; inspectors head to nuke plant

Last week, the station temporarily lost power due to shelling and a forest fire near the plant caused by explosions. Although it is under Russian control, Ukrainian workers continue to operate it. There have not been any reports of radiation leaks and safety systems are working, according to Ukrainian officials.

The IAEA said its team “will assess the physical damage to the facilities, determine the functionality of the main and backup safety and security systems, and evaluate the working conditions of the control room staff.”

The war in Ukraine has been raging for more than six months and there are no signs of ceasefire talks any time soon. Indeed, with Ukraine's attempt at a counterattack in the south and continued fighting in the east, the war looks set to escalate further in the coming weeks before the approach of winter.

In recent days, Russia's ministry of defense has claimed its troops have inflicted large losses on Ukrainian forces as fighting rages over the eastern regions known as Donbas. Although Russia has not made significant advances in the east, the fighting has been gruesome and Russian forces have seized a few settlements.

After capturing the entirety of the Luhansk region in early July, Moscow is determined to seize all of neighboring Donetsk, the other region that makes up Donbas. Donbas is short for the Donets Coal Basin, a large mining and industrial area developed during the Soviet era.

Luhansk and Donetsk were the theater of an eight-year war between pro-Russian separatists and Ukrainian forces that erupted following the overthrow of former Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych during the so-called “Maidan Revolution” in late 2013 and early 2014.

Yanukovych fled the country after violent protests broke out over his decision to sign an economic deal with Russia instead of the European Union. Following his removal, a pro-Western government, backed by the United States, took power in Kyiv, sparking a civil war in Ukraine.

The newly-installed Ukrainian government saw Russia as a brutal imperial power determined to impose its authoritarian rule on Ukraine and destroy its chances of embracing the European Union, joining NATO and fostering Ukrainian culture.

The failure of ceasefire agreements and diplomacy, brokered by France and Germany, over the Donbas war laid the stage for Russian President Vladimir Putin to declare the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Putin declared Russia's security was threatened by NATO's expansion into Ukraine and the arming of Kyiv's forces.

Before the outbreak of war, Ukraine was a deeply divided multi-ethnic country with a dominant Ukrainian population eagerly pushing to join Western institutions and a much smaller Russian population that wanted to keep close ties to Russia.

Historically, Ukraine was divided geographically with western parts of the country falling under Polish, Lithuanian and Austro-Hungarian rulers and eastern parts becoming incorporated into the Russian empire by the 18th century. Ukraine became independent following the collapse of the Soviet Union.

With its strategic location deep inside former Soviet territory and on the Black Sea, Ukraine's huge expanses and vast industrial complexes have become pivotal territory in an explosive conflict over resources and global power between the United States and Russia. Since the outbreak of war, the rift between Moscow and Washington has become huge and threatens to escalate into a much larger war.

During the eight years of combat in Donbas, the front lines became heavily fortified and fighting there has become particularly awful. Tens of thousands of troops on both sides have been killed, according to military experts.

There are reports that Russia is also moving additional troops equipped with newer modern weapons and equipment toward Ukraine, potentially with the goal of mounting offensives. Reports say Moscow has formed a new battle group made up of paid volunteers, the 3rd Army Corps, and moved it toward the war zone.

The Institute for the Study of War, a Washington military think tank, said the Kremlin likely hopes the 3rd Army Corps will “renew offensive operations” in the east and south. But it doubted these volunteer forces – many of whom it described as “physically unfit and old” – will help Russia regain momentum. Along with many Western military experts, the institute's analysts say Russia's invasion has stalled.

“The fact that the 3rd Army Corps units are training on better gear and apparently being held back to deploy in more coherent combined arms groups suggests that the Russian military intends to commit them to offensive operations and hopes to regain momentum somewhere along the front line,” the institute said in a Saturday report.

But it added: “The 3rd Army Corps elements are unlikely to generate effective combat power, however. Better equipment does not necessarily make more effective forces when the personnel are not well-trained or disciplined, as many members of the 3rd Army Corps’ volunteer units are not.”

Reports of worn out and ill-equipped troops, desertions, cruel and reckless behavior by commanders and miserable front line conditions are coming in from both sides.

Courthouse News reporter Cain Burdeau is based in the European Union.

Follow @cainburdeau

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