Concern after Ukrainian advance
Russia appears to be strengthening defensive positions near Tokmak
September 17, 2023, 12:47 p.m
Russian-occupied Tokmak is around 16 kilometers from the front. But fears of a Ukrainian breakthrough are reportedly growing. According to British intelligence, the Russians are strengthening defensive positions. Meanwhile, there are more deaths in eastern Ukraine.
In view of Ukrainian successes in the counter-offensive in the south of the country, Russia has strengthened the defensive positions of the occupied city of Tokmak in the Zaporizhzhia region, according to British assessments. The Ministry of Defense in London said in its intelligence update that anti-tank systems were built and new trenches were dug around the strategically important location, which is around 16 kilometers from the front.
“Tokmak is preparing to become the linchpin of Russia’s second main line of defense,” it said. “Improvements to the city’s defenses are likely an indication of Russia’s growing concerns about Ukrainian tactical breakthroughs through the main first line of defense further north.”
A few days earlier, the exiled mayor of Melitopol, Ivan Fyodorov, said that Russian troops were trying to strengthen the “deep rear” of their defenses on the southern front line, even as they claimed that Ukraine’s counteroffensive had failed.
Dead in Donetsk
Five people were killed and one injured in the eastern Ukrainian region of Donetsk as a result of Ukrainian shelling, according to Russian occupation authorities. Five people were killed in the Kirov and Kuibyshevskji districts, and a woman was injured in Svetlodarsk, wrote Russian-appointed regional governor Denis Pushilin on Telegram.
The Russians had previously complained about drone attacks on Crimea, Moscow and a region. According to them, almost all drones were intercepted. According to the Russian authorities also received Oil depot in southwest Russia burst into flames after a Ukrainian drone attack. There were no casualties and all emergency systems at the facility were running, the governor of the Oryol region, Andrei Klychkov, wrote on Telegram.
Ukraine: Drone attacks on Odessa prevented
Meanwhile, Russia attacked southern Ukraine again overnight with drones and cruise missiles. “All six drones were destroyed, four over the Mykolaiv region, two over the Odessa region,” the Ukrainian South Command reported on Telegram. At the same time, she admitted that although five CH-101/CH-555 cruise missiles were intercepted, some other agricultural objects in the Odessa region were hit. The military did not say the exact number of hits.
The military governor of Odessa, Oleh Kiper, also confirmed the impacts on Telegram this morning. According to him, granaries, among other things, were hit in the Berezivka district. Fortunately, there were no deaths or injuries, he said.