“The enemy won’t let up”
Kiev admits difficult situation on the Eastern Front
09/06/2023 11:52 am
On the front in the east, Ukraine must increasingly prepare for defensive battles against Russian troops. The goal: to prevent the loss of positions. Things are looking better for Kiev in Zaporizhia. Russia also has to admit: Robotyne has fallen to Ukraine.
Unlike the counter-offensive in the south, the Ukrainian army says it is increasingly concentrating on defensive battles against the Russian invading troops on the front in the east. The situation along the eastern front line remains difficult and the main task is to ensure reliable defense and prevent the loss of positions, commander of the Ukrainian ground forces Olexandr Syrskyj told Telegram.
“The enemy is not abandoning its plans to reach the borders of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions,” Syrskyj continued. The main task of the Ukrainian army is to ensure reliable defense, prevent the loss of positions in the Kupyansk and Lymansk directions, and to successfully advance and reach the intended positions in the Bakhmut direction.
Apparently things are looking better for Ukraine in the Zaporizhia region. Here the Ukrainian forces continue to advance, like this Institute for the Study of War reported. Geolocated footage showed Ukrainian forces advancing northwest and south of Robotyne and northwest of Werbove. Ukrainian military sources also confirmed that Ukrainian forces had been successful in the Robotyne-Novoprokopivka direction south of Orikhiv, as well as successful offensive operations south of Bakhmut.
Russia, meanwhile, has for the first time admitted a withdrawal from the village of Robotyne in south-eastern Ukraine – more than a week after Ukraine announced that the village had been retaken. The Russian army gave up the settlement for tactical reasons, Yevgeny Balizki, the administrator of the occupied Zaporizhia region, who was appointed by Russia, told the media portal RBC. There is no point in staying in an open area if there is no way for troops to fully dig into defensive positions. At the end of August, Ukraine had already announced the recapture of Robotyne.