Ukrainian special forces announced that they discovered a Russian electronic warfare system in the occupied territory. “Our soldiers handed over the coordinates of the enemy’s EW to the artillery units, which destroyed the enemy complex,” the press release of the Ukrainian army says, citing CNN.

The message in Telegram states that the electronic warfare complex in the city of Pology was used both to disrupt the communications of the Ukrainian military and to “suppress mobile communications in the settlement.” In this way, they actually cut off the city’s inhabitants from communication with the outside world.

Special operations forces reported that they also destroyed the S-300 missile system that fired at a maternity hospital in the city of Vilniansk.

On Thursday, the Ukrainian military announced that part of the Russian troops are withdrawing from their positions in the occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia, and the Russians are preparing to evacuate the personnel of the occupation administrations in the region.

The General Staff of the Army stated that Russian units had left the settlements of Mykhailivka, Pology and Inzhenerne.

What the Russians say:

Yevhen Balytskyi, the head of the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia appointed by Russia, denied Ukraine’s accusations on Friday.

“For several days, the pro-Ukrainian press has been spreading false information that the city of Pology was captured by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. [Forțele Armate ale Ucrainei]that the administration and residents are being evacuated from Mykhailivka and Vasylivka, and that there is no electricity or water in the region,” he said.

He said that these are “fantasies of the Kyiv propaganda machine. … The borders of the Zaporizhia region are well protected, not a single meter of land has been given to the enemy,” he said.

But Balytskyi added that “our cities are bombed every day.”

ISW analysis:

In its commentary on the situation in Zaporizhzhia, the Institute for the Study of War said on Thursday that “Russian military movements in the Zaporizhzhia region may indicate that Russian troops are unable to protect critical areas amid increased Ukrainian strikes on Russian military concentrations and logistics . “.

“Russian forces are likely to withdraw personnel from positions closer to the front line in Zaporizhia Oblast to reduce the impact of increasingly intense Ukrainian strikes on concentrations of Russian manpower and equipment,” ISW said in a statement.

“The potential withdrawal from Pologiv is particularly noteworthy because the settlement is located at a critical crossroads, and it will likely be more difficult for Russian forces to defend Tokmak from potential Ukrainian operations without control of this intersection,” the institute added.