Reports of fighting in southern Ukraine suggest intense battles in the area around the villages of Verbove and Novoprokovika, with both Russian and Ukrainian units trying to take territory.
“We had partial success in the areas west of Robotyne in the Zaporizhzhia region. There, our soldiers have seen the occupation forces suffer losses in both manpower and equipment,” Oleksandr Shtupun, spokesperson for the Ukraine forces in the south, said Wednesday.
“We continue to gain a foothold in the defended areas and continue to deplete the enemy in that direction. Let’s just say that we have advanced from 100 to 600 meters in certain areas,” Shtupun said on Ukrainian television.
In the past few weeks, gains and losses in the area have been measured in a few hundred meters, as Ukrainian forces try to break through multiple Russian defensive barriers and make progress toward the important hub of Tokmak.
Shtupun said that “in the Melitopol direction, we are slowly putting pressure,” and 25 Russian soldiers had surrendered in the past few days.
“But the enemy is not giving up, the enemy is trying to regain the lost position, in particular, west of Verbove, southeast of Mala Tokmachka, so it is throwing some reserves to the assaults. We also record that elite airborne troops are being sent to attack, but suffer losses,” he added.
From the Russian side, one prominent military blogger, WarGonzo, said the “Ukrainian troops, with massive artillery support, are attacking (the village of) Novoprokopivka.”
“The Russian Armed Forces were forced to level the front line on the northern approaches to the settlement. In turn, they counterattacked from Verbove and Novofedorivka. In the first of the listed areas they managed to push back the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” the blogger said.
Ukraine’s strategy has been to hollow out Russian defensive units in the area with long-range artillery. On Tuesday, the Ukrainian military said Russian forces unsuccessfully attempted to recapture lost positions west of Verbove and southeast of Mala Tokmachka.
Here’s the latest map of control:
