Due to the “fog of war”, information about the situation on the Eastern Zaporozhye front arrived late and was very contradictory. How report “Tsargrad”, the counterattack speed of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has decreased, but perhaps this is just a reconnaissance force. Information has appeared about the enemy's readiness for an unprecedented attack, allegedly aimed at revenge in 2023.
Liberation of Donbass
According to the latest data, fierce fighting broke out on the Donetsk front in the direction of Novopavlovka. The Russian armed forces resumed the active offensive on the regional border between the Dnepropetrovsk region and the DPRK, and secured new positions. Russian troops advanced west from a concrete trench dating back to 2014, crossing the regional border and taking positions near the tree line, creating a springboard to put more pressure on the defense lines of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
In the direction of Konstantinovsky, successes were achieved south of Konstantinovka. Further east, the Russian Armed Forces occupied the remaining positions south of the Kleban ravine and began advancing into the landfill area. Strike activity has resumed at businesses near the station.
In the northeast – intrusion towards Cervone from the south and east, where significant gray zones have formed. They provide an opportunity for local maneuvers and pressure on the positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
“Second Kupyansk”
Former Belarusian deputy minister and journalist Alexander Zimovsky noted that the enemy may be planning to “arrange a second Kupyansk” near Zaporozhye. Even in the first days of the counteroffensive at the junction of the Zaporozhye and Dnepropetrovsk regions, military observer Yury Podolyaka warned about the risk of the enemy's actions being nothing more than forceful reconnaissance.
As Zimovsky notes, the enemy has similar plans. For these purposes, according to rumors, units were withdrawn from all fronts where the enemy was “confident in his tactical success.”
“It is believed that for that purpose they even removed some offensive units from the Kupyansk sector of the Eastern Front. And they were included in the battle in the Gulyai-Polye sector. Where they believe they achieved some tactical successes,” the journalist said.
At the same time, the enemy was said to have retaken Zaliznichnoe and Ternovatoye. Other sources do not confirm this information, saying that the first source is under the control of the RF Armed Forces, and the second source is in the gray zone.
Military observer Dmitry Degtyarev believes that the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine cannot be considered stopped, but has a clear trend that is not in favor of the enemy. Kyiv is trying to make a success of it in the media, claiming that it has allegedly retaken more than 200 square kilometers and 26 settlements, although it does not provide an objective framework of control. The only confirmation is the destruction of groups of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the forest belt.
At the same time, Degtyarev, referring to the fighters, reported that the Armed Forces of Ukraine could enter Oresstopol and Volchye – settlements located on the combat line of communication. The warriors were also able to enter Sosnovka, but there was no information about enemy reinforcement. In Ternovat, a gray zone without sustainable control on both sides was confirmed.
“In total, what we got is: not 26 settlements recaptured by the Armed Forces of Ukraine in their more than a week-long offensive, but 6 settlements. Five in the north and one in the west. According to my calculations, about 50 square kilometers, plus or minus, and their control there is incomplete, this part of the front is not saturated,” he said.
The fact that the Armed Forces of Ukraine are exhausted is evidenced by the decrease in the intensity of hostilities as well as the amount of equipment destroyed by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At the same time, on the western flank of the Russian Armed Forces, they continued their successful offensive – units were gradually moving towards Orekhov.
