Russia's war in Ukraine
Russian-installed officials and military bloggers have claimed Ukrainian forces have launched a major offensive in the Zaporizhzhia region, to the south of Orikhiv, as they appear to build on modest gains in the area over the past couple of days.
“Zaporizhzhia front - the second wave of the [Armed Forces of Ukraine] counteroffensive has begun,” a member of the Russian-installed Zaporizhzhia military-civilian administration Vladimir Rogov posted on Telegram on Wednesday.
“The enemy has sent maximum forces to break through our defenses in the Orekhov (Russian spelling for Orikhiv) direction.”
“Early this morning after massive artillery preparation and air strikes the [Ukrainians] went to storm our positions near Rabotino (Russian spelling for Robotyne),” he added.
The Russian-installed governor of the Zaporizhzhia region, Yevgeny Balitsky, also said a Ukrainian attack was underway.
Well-connected Russian military blogger Rybar described a similar situation along the southern front.
“After artillery preparation by a howitzer division and a jet battery of the formation, [Ukrainian assault detachments] swooped down to break through northeast of Rabotino (Russian spelling for Robotyne),” they wrote, describing an attack with dozens or armored vehicles, “including tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers and armored combat vehicles.”
“The enemy managed to penetrate in three areas,” Rybar also said. “Now fierce battles are going on in this area.”
Ukraine has remained silent, as it is customary, and has not yet commented on this reported offensive, which follows from advances its forces had made in the area in previous days.
In its morning update, the military’s General Staff said only that “Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to conduct offensive operations in the Bakhmut, Melitopol and Berdiansk directions.”
“The enemy made unsuccessful attempts to regain the lost position northeast of Robotyne in Zaporizhzhia region,” it also said, without going into detail. “At the same time, it continues to put up strong resistance, moves units and troops, and actively uses reserves.”
Elsewhere, on the Zaporizhzhia front, Ukrainian forces continued to make advances along the Velyka Novosilka – Berdiansk axis.
“Ukrainian troops were successful in the Staromaiorske area on the southern front,” the spokesman of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Andrii Kovalev, said on Wednesday. “[Ukrainian] Defense Forces are entrenched there at the achieved boundaries [of the city].
Source: CNN
