The Russian command has set a deadline for its units: to get as close as possible to Zaporizhia by the end of the summer. To this end, the Russian army is trying to advance simultaneously on several sections of the front — in particular, on Orikhiv and Hulyaipil. However, the Defense Forces are controlling the situation and conducting active maneuver defense and repelling attacks by the Russian army.
Points of attention
- The Russian Army command has set a deadline for its units to advance towards Zaporizhia by the end of the summer, leading to active fighting in various areas like Orikhiv and Hulyaipil.
- The Ukrainian Defense Forces are demonstrating resilience and high morale in actively maneuvering defense and repelling attacks by the Russian army near Zaporizhia.
The Russian army is throwing all its forces into the occupation of the Zaporizhia region
This was announced by Vladyslav Voloshyn, spokesman for the Defense Forces of Southern Ukraine, and Ruslan Mykula, co-founder of the DeepState analytical project.
According to Vladislav Voloshyn, Russian troops continue to actively use weapons in the Zaporizhia direction.
They have not reduced the intensity of the use of weapons, especially FPV drones. In addition, there has been no decrease in artillery shelling, and the number of air strikes with guided aerial bombs has even increased slightly.
Vladyslav Voloshyn
Spokesperson of the Defense Forces of Southern Ukraine
One of the most active areas of the front in Zaporizhia remains the Stepnohirsk region. There, Russian troops are conducting assault operations and trying to throw in sabotage and reconnaissance groups:
Every day we record from two to five combat clashes. Here the occupiers are still trying to infiltrate or approach and gain a foothold on the southern outskirts of Stepnohirsk.
Despite this, the situation in the Stepnohirsk area has improved somewhat, says DeepState analyst Ruslan Mikula. However, the settlement is not fully under the control of the Defense Forces:
The Russian army controls a neighborhood that the military calls "Rhombus." It is located in the southern part of Stepnogorsk. There used to be a high-rise building there, but almost nothing remains of it — only ruins. However, Russians are present there.
The Defense Forces are also trying to regain control of previously lost positions near Primorske, Plavni, and Stepnohirsk on certain sections of the front. At the same time, Russian troops are trying to advance in the Shcherbaky and Maly Shcherbaky areas.
According to Ruslan Mykula, the clearing of the territory from Russian military personnel is ongoing in the Primorske and Plavni districts, but isolated groups of occupiers still remain there:
In Primorske, the Russian troops have finally lost the initiative. There are still infiltrated groups there, and a minor presence is recorded. But if we compare it with what the Russian Federation is publicly stating — that they almost control Malokaterynivka there, then the real situation in Primorske is very far from the reports that the Russian leadership on the ground transmits "upwards."
The most active section of the front currently remains the Hulyaipil sector, where at the beginning of the week Russian troops were engaged in up to 40–45 combat engagements per day:
According to Ukrainian intelligence, the Russian command has given its units the task of advancing towards Komyshuvakha and Zaporizhia. To do this, the occupiers are trying to attack north of Hulyaipol and bypass the city from the west to complicate the logistics of Ukrainian units. At the same time, according to Voloshyn, over the past two weeks, Russian troops have not had any significant successes.
In particular, this applies to Vozdvizhivka, which Russian propaganda has repeatedly called allegedly captured:
The enemy tries to enter, to take photos and videos, like in Vozdvizhivka. And then these groups actually die, because they go in one direction — without evacuation, without reinforcement and support groups. Therefore, all this is just an attempt to wishful thinking.
In the Oleksandrivka direction, Russian troops are trying to become more active, but in some areas, under pressure from the Armed Forces of Ukraine, they are forced to switch from assault operations to defensive ones, says Vladyslav Voloshyn:
In addition, they have brought in a certain amount of artillery to strengthen defensive actions. This suggests that the Ukrainian defense forces are also taking active actions here to return and restore control over some lost positions and settlements.
