After liberating the city of Robotyne, Ukrainian troops targeted the next Russian redoubt on the same axis leading to Melitopol – the city of Novoprokopivka, which they are trying to flank with the help of two airborne units, Forbes reports.

So far, all indications are that these units – the 46th Airmobile Brigade and the 82nd Airborne Brigade – will not attempt a direct assault on Novoprokopivka, a village with a pre-war population of only 800.

Instead, both units moved east with the aim of liberating Verbove, another village in Zaporizhzhya Oblast, to bypass the Russian defenders of Novoprokopivka, which is crossed by the key T0408/0401 road leading further south to the towns of Tokmak and Melitopol.

Unconfirmed and rather dubious information in social networks suggests that here the Ukrainians have already broken through the line of Russian defense.

The best Ukrainian and Russian units are fighting in the south of Ukraine

Melitopol is about 75 kilometers from Robotyny, a village liberated by Ukrainians earlier this week after a month of heavy fighting. It is instructive in this regard that the Ukrainians managed to enter the village on August 22, but only a week later they announced the elimination of the last Russian defenders.

It is believed that Moscow, and not only Kyiv, threw some of its best units into battle here.

Forbes notes that the release of Robotîne could be a turning point for the Ukrainian offensive that began this summer, as evidenced by the concern caused in Moscow by the loss of this redoubt on the way to Melitopol.

The tactic of flanking the Russians worked in several key battles that took place after the start of the offensive, its acceptance and in the case of the attempt to liberate Novoprokopivka, which shows the experience gained by the Ukrainian forces in recent months.

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.

The Russian army will have to make a difficult decision to protect the road to Melitopol

Forbes notes that Ukrainian airborne brigades have launched reconnaissance attacks on Russian trenches near Verbovoi 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.

Forbes notes that if the Russian generals decide to move more elements of the Novoprokopiv garrison to Verbovoy, it could create an opportunity for other Ukrainian units around Robotyn, particularly the 47th and 65th Motorized Infantry Brigades, to do what the Airborne Forces chose to avoid: storm. Novoprokopivka from the south.

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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