The Institute for the Study of War believes that the Ukrainian advance into Zaporizhia could be taking its toll on Russian defenses.
Ukrainian forces continued counteroffensive operations in the western Zaporizhia region and have advanced to the east of Robotyne, the Institute for the Study of War says in its latest statement.
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The research center is specifically referring to geolocated images indicating that Ukrainian forces have advanced northeast of Robotyne and have likely made further advances in the surrounding areas, given weeks of constant Ukrainian activity in the wooded areas northeast of the settlement.
Russian military bloggers claimed that small groups of Ukrainian infantry supported by armored vehicles continued assaults north and northeast of Robotyne, and in the direction of Verbove, adding that Ukrainian vehicles can move more freely in the area because Ukrainian forces are clearing the minefields.
Robotyne is located 10 km south of Orikhiv and about 80 km from Melitopol, a city that Russian troops are using as an important logistics center for the occupied territories of southern Ukraine.
Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces have committed their “main reserves” to counter-offensive operations here in the western Zaporizhia region, based on scattered observations by Ukrainian units equipped with Western materiel.
But the Institute for the Study of War says that Russian sources appear to be incorrectly presenting the Ukrainian reserves as a large unitary contingent that Ukraine would commit to fighting together.
A few days ago, the US-based institute said: “Ukrainian counter-offensive operations appear to be forcing the Russian military to redeploy Russian forces in the western Zaporizhia region, indicating that the Ukrainian effort there may be significantly degrading Russian defenses.”
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