Ukraine’s counteroffensive entered its third week with mixed results amid Russian air superiority and kilometer-long defense lines, particularly in the east and in the Zaporizhzhia region (southeast), where the fiercest fighting is concentrated and where Moscow has sent reinforcements, the EFE news agency commented on Monday, which quoted by Agerpres.

Ukraine’s current record is eight recaptured towns south of Donetsk and in Zaporizhzhia, the last one being Pyatikhatka, captured after a fierce battle, reported the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, General Valery Zaluzhny.

The Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Hanna Malyar, admitted that the situation “in the east is difficult”, as Russia is conducting an offensive in the direction of Liman (Donetsk) and Kup’yansk (Kharkiv), “trying to seize the initiative”.

To do this, the Russians “concentrated a significant number of units in the east, especially amphibious assault units,” Malyar noted, instead of Kyiv’s troops, which are trying to enter the occupied cities of Berdyansk and Melitopol to break the land corridor created along it. The Sea of ​​Azov – they pushed back the Russian troops in the direction of Zaporizhzhia for a distance of 7 kilometers and freed 113 square kilometers, she clarified.

The Russian Ministry of Defense has not acknowledged the loss of a single settlement and continues to state every day that it rejects Ukrainian attacks. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Ihor Konashenkov said on Monday that units of the “Vostok” (East) and “Pivden” (South) groups repelled three assaults in the south of the Donetsk region (East), two in Zaporizhzhia (South) and four in the area of ​​the city of Donetsk. as a result of which 440 enemy soldiers were lost, as well as weapons were destroyed.

The directions of the offensive of the Ukrainian army

However, the president of the Zaporizhia movement “Together with Russia” Volodymyr Rogov admitted the day before that he had lost operational control over the village of Pyatikhatky, and on Monday he said that the Ukrainian military “made another offensive in the direction of Orihiv”. “, one of the epicenters of hostilities in the southeast.

From Pyatikhatok, Ukrainians can drive to Vasylivka, where an important highway runs south to Melitopol, near the Sea of ​​Azov, an important logistics and supply center for Russian troops. From Orikhov, the Kyiv troops are trying to repel the enemy forces to the south, towards Tokmak, from where two highways start – to Melitopol and Berdyansk, respectively.

But the path to these strategic points in Zaporizhzhia will not be easy for the Ukrainian army. The interactive map, frequently updated by Brady Afrik of the American Enterprise Institute press office and open source intelligence (OSINT) analyst, shows a dense line of defense south of the area where the fighting is currently fiercest, particularly around the settlements of Vasylivka and Tokmak.

In October of last year, Russia began establishing an extended line of defense – starting in Crimea, passing through southern and eastern Ukraine and extending on the Russian side of the border to Belarus. Russian defenses consist of fortifications, trenches, anti-tank ditches, and mines, among other obstacles.

Kyiv has already acknowledged that the advance is difficult, as Russia has stepped up artillery and mortar fire, as well as aerial bombardment, and sent reinforcements to Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk to disrupt the Ukrainian advance.

Russia would gain a temporary advantage in the south

British intelligence reported on Monday that over the past ten days, Russia may have begun redeploying elements of the Left Bank Group of Forces from the Dnipro to “reinforce the Zaporizhia (southern) and Bakhmut directions” in Donbas.

London released images showing that more than 20 additional helicopters were stationed at Berdyansk airport, about 100 kilometers from the front line.

Britain believes that Russia may have gained a temporary advantage in the south, particularly thanks to attack helicopters that use long-range missiles against ground targets.

“Our troops are advancing. Position by position, step by step, we are moving forward,” President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in his daily speech on Sunday evening.

In addition, on Monday, President Zelensky convened the General Staff of the Supreme High Command with the participation of the military command and the head of military intelligence to analyze the operational situation at the front, supply the troops with ammunition, and forecast the enemy’s actions in the near future.

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