In the 84th week of the war, after Kiev broke through the first of Russia’s three lines of defense on the Southern Front, after a month of energetic advances by Ukrainian forces, Russian and Ukrainian forces It hardly moved on the battlefield.
Still, Ukraine has proven it can hold its own against Russian counterattacks, and has even made some progress.
Russian troops appear to have lost a kilometer-long (0.6 mile) trench west of the village of Verbove, which is the front line of the main force of Ukrainian forces breaking through Russian defenses in southeastern Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhya region.
Occupation official Vladimir Rogov said at least four companies of Ukrainian troops launched an attack on the trenches on September 26 with the support of armored fighting vehicles.
Location footage released by Russian intelligence sources the next day confirmed that Ukraine was holding the raided position.
Verbove is located on the eastern side of the U-shaped salient towards the Russian-occupied territory in western Zaporizhzhia. Ukrainian forces also launched an attack on Thursday on Russian military positions north of the town of Robotyn on the eastern side of the salient. Russian military units said the attack was repulsed by insufficient armor support.
Ukraine also fought for and appears to have held onto the trench system south of Robotine against Russian attempts to retake it on Sunday.
Ukrainian soldiers who analyzed the footage described the system as “a base of interconnected systems of trenches, firing systems, and trenches between Robotyn and Novoprokopyvka,” and that it was located next to the Ukrainian border on the east side of the salient. He explained that he was the target of
The system was interconnected by tunnels, and Russia prioritized its own defense, soldiers told the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.
Ukrainian shock troops have occupied Russian trenches and used them for their own benefit, but their ability to achieve a breakthrough through slow attack tactics, using platoon-sized units to capture Russian positions one by one , the report states. Review by Russian independent newspaper Meduza.
These tactics allowed retreating Russian forces to continue rebuilding their defenses, forcing Ukrainian forces to continue moving slowly.
Meduza said this reality has left Ukrainian forces trapped in the triangle between Robotyn, Novoprokopyvka and Verbove, and he expects rain could further delay their operations. said.
The head of the British military, Admiral Tony Radakin, said on the US podcast “War on the Rocks” that Russia’s defenses turned out to be stronger than the West had expected and that there was no way Ukraine could achieve a breakthrough. He expressed his belief that he predicted that there would be a long battle ahead after the failure. Summer counterattack in progress.
He also said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has lost control of the war he started and that Ukraine will ultimately win. Radakin has previously said he believes Russia has lost half of its combat capabilities in Ukraine.
war in russia
Ukraine said it had successfully continued long-range attacks on Russian territory.
On Friday, a Ukrainian drone dropped two bombs on an electrical substation in the Russian village of Belaya near the Ukrainian border, setting it on fire. Kursk Oblast Governor Roman Starovoit reported the attack on Telegram. He said, “One of the transformers caught fire. Five villages and one hospital lost power. Fire brigade rushed to the scene.”
Ukraine’s military intelligence agency said on Sunday that a drone struck the Smolensk factory where the Russian-made Kh-59 missile, which has a range of 280 kilometers (175 miles), was manufactured, disrupting its production. “Three of the four drones hit their targets and caused significant damage to production facilities,” military intelligence said.
Russia has consistently used Kh-59 cruise missiles to attack infrastructure and civilian targets in Ukraine.
“When taking specific actions against objects of the defense-industrial complex, our only goal is to slow down the production of Russian weapons,” the military intelligence chief said. Kirill Budanov He told Nevada TV.
he said attack on russia border Anti-Putin Russian militias continue to operate, recently claiming the lives of border guards and Federal Security Service (FSB) personnel.
Ukraine is also focused on developing a defense industry that produces missiles, air drones, and surface naval drones capable of long-range strikes against Russian targets.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy on Saturday announced the launch of a new defense industry program partially funded by confiscated Russian assets.
Representatives from several countries attended the first meeting of what he called the Defense Industry Forum, through which Ukraine plans to tap into international expertise, funding and technology.
“Manufacturers of weapons and military equipment from all over the world can join that Declaration of Principles and demonstrate their readiness to build together with Ukraine the arsenal of the free world,” President Zelensky said. “This fund will be replenished from dividends from defense assets and profits from the sale of confiscated Russian assets.”
Marie-Agnès Struck-Zimmermann, head of the German Bundestag’s defense committee, called for the immediate delivery of Taurus missiles to Ukraine following the US decision to supply the Army’s tactical missile system with a range of 300 km (186 miles). I asked for it. or ATACMS, late September.
The German-made Taurus is a stealth cruise missile with a range of 500 km (310 miles). Germany has consistently followed the United States in supplying new military technology to Ukraine.
Strzok Zimmerman said the attack on Crimea using Taurus missiles was legal because the Russian military was supplied through Crimean territory. “International law allows Ukraine to attack military targets and territory.” [of Russia] “It doesn’t matter where the guns are made or who supplies them,” she was quoted as saying.
There was also the possibility of bad news on the rearmament front.
Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said the impending U.S. government shutdown “could impact” the training of Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilots. Military personnel will continue to conduct the program, but civilian interpreters contracted by the government may not, she said.
Far-right Republicans in the US Congress are refusing to provide funding to the US government if the spending bill also includes aid to Ukraine. Congress has been funding the government through mid-November as a stopgap measure to help Republican House Speaker Kevin McCarthy lose his job.
The European Union, which provided Ukraine with 77 billion euros ($81 billion) in financial and military aid during the war, may also be facing fatigue. Former Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico won parliamentary elections in central Europe on Saturday on a platform of pro-Russian policies.
