New threat in Zaporizhzhia: Russia commits 120,000 troops to advance
Photo: Russia deployed about 120,000 troops to advance in Zaporizhzhia region (Getty Images)
The situation near Stepnohirsk, southeast of Zaporizhzhia, has recently worsened. The Russian army has deployed roughly 120,000 troops in its push across the Zaporizhzhia region, reported in the RBC-Ukraine article "Russian pincer advances at Pokrovsk and grinding campaign in Zaporizhzhia: Сomprehensive frontline analysis."
Currently, Russian forces are attempting to advance along the former Kakhovka Reservoir riverbed, which in the past two years has been overgrown with tall grass. This terrain allows the enemy to hide in the “green zone” and periodically attack Ukrainian positions with small sabotage-and-reconnaissance groups.
Stepnohirsk is strategically important because it opens the route toward Zaporizhzhia. Russian troops are attempting to push toward the regional capital, but given how long it has taken them to occupy much smaller settlements, they may face even greater difficulties here.
Heavy fighting is also ongoing near Huliaipole.
According to military expert and Ukrainian Armed Forces colonel Vladyslav Seleznov, Russian troops are periodically trying to break into the town’s eastern outskirts while using glide bombs and artillery.
With these weapons, the enemy continues its typical tactic of destroying towns before attempting to seize them.
"Russia acts quite rationally, it seems to me. Before taking a settlement, they first destroy it. This has always been the case, starting with the war in Chechnya. That's how the enemy operates today as well. Every intact building becomes a firing point that enables effective resistance," Seleznov noted.
East of Huliaipole and within the town runs the Haichur River, which experts say could become a serious obstacle for Russian forces if they continue advancing.
Frontline situation
According to Ukraine’s General Staff, between December 7 and 8, 164 combat clashes were recorded along the frontline. Russian forces are attacking in 11 directions, with the heaviest fighting near Pokrovsk.
In the Huliaipole sector, Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled 20 Russian assaults near the settlements of Rybne, Radisne, Varvarivka, Dobropillia, Zelene, and Huliaipole.
Overall, Russian troops continue intensive offensives in both the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions.
Read RBC-Ukraine’s full report for more on what’s happening in Pokrovsk, the bridgeheads Russia is attempting to form, and why the situation in Zaporizhzhia has become increasingly dangerous.
