Russian military bloggers and other sources have said that the Ukrainians are going to surround the invading forces in Urozhany, a key stronghold of the Russian army in the south of Donetsk region, which protects the road to the port city of Mariupol.

“It seems that some kind of bulge has formed in the area of ​​Urozhainy – shelling is coming from all sides, as if the fate of the war depends on this unfortunate village… We are already tired of crawling along the bottom today. trenches, and how even in Urozhany, it’s hard to even imagine,” Oleksandr Khodakovsky wrote on his Telegram channel on Wednesday evening.

Khodakovsky is the commander of the “Vostok” battalion, created by pro-Russian separatists in Donbas in 2014, a few months after the illegal annexation of Crimea. Khodakovsky is one of the most famous separatist military commanders, Russian President Vladimir Putin appointed him the head of the National Guard of the Russian Federation (Rosgvardii) in the occupied Donetsk region in March of this year.

“There was information that the enemy managed to push us away from some positions and Urozhaine was partially encircled, but immediately after that, such chaos began that it is impossible to understand who is where now. Pray, Orthodox brothers, for our boys. May God protect them,” added Khodakovsky.

His message was translated by Dmytro, the founder of the War Translated website.

The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) notes that Ukraine continues its offensive along the border between Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions, making “slight advances” on August 9. ISW also cites several Russian military bloggers who report that Ukrainian forces have captured Russian positions north of Urozhany and have also advanced in other directions in the area.

The map released by ISW also shows the “bulge” or bulge in the front line that Khodakovsky referred to in his message, with Russian troops in danger of being surrounded.

Other sources claim that the Russian troops in the village gradually retreated to its center, the exact situation here is not entirely clear, as was also mentioned by the commander of the “Vostok” battalion.

Another map showing the estimated deployment of troops in this settlement:

The Ukrainian army has reportedly sent several of its best units to surround the village in the direction of Mariupol

The fact that Ukrainian troops are gaining ground can also be evidenced by the fact that Ukrainian troops are gaining ground in social networks.

Other footage on social networks shows an assault on Ukrainians by a captured BMP-3 armored car, and military analyst Rob Lee noted that the village will be defended by the 30th motorized infantry and 30th artillery brigades of the Russian army, as well as the pro-Russian separatist unit “Cascade” in Donetsk.

Forbes notes that on this part of the front, the most powerful Russian fortifications are located in the area of ​​Urozhainy and the village of Georgiivka, 16 kilometers to the south. Both redoubts must be captured by the Ukrainians if they are to launch a concerted offensive on the port city of Mariupol as part of their plans to cut off Russian forces in the south of the country and the land corridor to Crimea.

It is believed that the Ukrainian military has concentrated some of the best troops here, Forbes notes that 4 brigades of marines, an airborne regiment and a motorized infantry brigade were allocated to this line of attack.

According to information circulating on social networks, Ukrainian troops managed to pass the minefields around the village since Tuesday. The situation continues.

Follow the latest events of the 533rd day of the war in Ukraine LIVETEXT on HOTNEWS.RO.