The video and other information that appeared on social networks show that the Ukrainian army has entered the approaches to the city of Verbove in the Zaporizhzhia region, from where it is trying to bypass the Russian garrison that protects the road to Melitopol – Kyiv’s main task. offensive.

Ukrainian soldiersPhoto: Juan BARRETO / AFP / Profimedia

A video of the shelling of Verbovoy appeared on Russian social networks, on which, as they claim, it is possible to see how the Grad rocket launchers are firing at the Ukrainian attackers.

But, as Bild journalist Julian Ropke, one of the observers of the war in Ukraine, points out, this indicates that Ukrainian troops have captured most of the village, as the Russians are shelling it with missiles.

Most likely, the video actually shows a village being bombed by the Ukrainians:

Satellite images also confirm that battles are taking place on the outskirts of the city and that there are traces of shelling:

Ukrainian troops on this part of the front managed to quickly advance 2.7 kilometers after liberating the village of Robotyne earlier this week, bypassing the “dragon’s teeth” installed by the Russian army to slow down the advance of armored vehicles.

In its latest assessment, the Institute for the Study of War also notes that Ukrainian troops have reached the outskirts of Verbovoy.

An interactive map published by the administrators of the OSINTTechincal page shows the progress of the Ukrainians on this part of the front:

Why the village of Verbove is important for the Ukrainian offensive

The new information about the advance of Ukrainian troops here came a day after Forbes noted that after the release of Robotyny, the Ukrainian command targeted the next Russian redoubt on the axis leading to Melitopol: the town of Novoprokopivka.

However, at the moment, all signs indicate that the Ukrainian units tasked with capturing Novoprokopivka, the 46th Airmobile Brigade and the 82nd Airborne Brigade, will not storm the village, which had only 800 inhabitants before the start of the war, but that they are trying to bypass the Russian garrison, capturing Verbove, another village to the east.

Map of the location of two settlements:

This tactic was successfully used by the Ukrainian marines in Urozhany, another village that the Russian army turned into a redoubt. Ukraine officially announced the liberation of this village on August 16, but it is located on the axis leading to the port city of Mariupol, about 90 kilometers east of Robotyny.

On Wednesday, Forbes noted that the Ukrainian Airborne Forces have begun conducting reconnaissance strikes on the Russian trenches near Vervovoy and are steadily advancing. This settlement, which would allow bypassing the Russian garrison in Novoprokopivka, is defended by a motorized infantry regiment, a brigade of Russian special forces and 3 reserve battalions.

For comparison, the Russians stationed seven regiments of their southern Ukrainian forces in Novoprokopivka.

The Russian command faces a difficult choice

If the Russian generals decide to shift more of the garrison from Novoprokopivka to Verbovoy, it could create an opportunity for other Ukrainian units around Robotyny, including the 47th and 65th Motorized Infantry Brigades, to do what the paratroopers chose to avoid: storm Novoprokopivka from the north.

In this regard, it is not excluded that the efforts of the Airborne Forces around Vervovoy represent the main blow on the way to Melitopol, or that it is a diversionary operation to support the main offensive, which will take place further west.

If no decision is made on this matter, the option chosen by the Russians may be reached: to remain with the entire garrison in Novoprokopivka, hoping that Verbove will hold out, or to transfer the units here and hope that the other place will not become. it was too weakened in case of a frontal Ukrainian offensive.

This is a choice that the Russian military command will probably not want to make in order to protect the road to Melitopol, which is considered the main objective of the Ukrainian offensive.

His release or siege would cut Russian forces in southern Ukraine in half and also eliminate the land corridor to Crimea.

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