After Early Setback, Ukraine Now Making Steady Progress In Crucial Zaporizhzhia

Zaporizhzhia Oblast has long been the crucial axis of advance for Ukraine's counteroffensive. So it was especially disheartening in the first week of the campaign when Ukrainian armor were trapped and disabled there. 

But the most recent news reveals that Ukrainian forces are now 6 miles south of the town where they were ambushed (eg, further towards their ultimate objective) and continuing to advance. This means they are almost half way from the Kherson region, where they started, towards the Sea of Azov. JL 

Howard Altman reports in The Drive:

Kyiv’s forces gained about 10.2 square kilometers in the southern vectors over the last week and nearly 170 square kilometers since the counteroffensive began early last month. Ukrainian troops from the specially trained 47th Mechanized Brigade, backed by Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, penetrated the town of Robotyne, "as of July 10." It’s a small, but significant thrust after weeks of fighting. The town is about six miles south of Mala Tokmachka, the scene of a disastrous attempt by Ukraine to advance early in its campaign.

Pushing along several vectors in its counteroffensive, Ukrainian forces appear to be making continued progress in Zaporizhzhia Oblast.

Ukrainian Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said on her Telegram channel Monday that Kyiv’s forces gained about 10.2 square kilometers in the southern vectors over the last week and nearly 170 square kilometers since the counteroffensive began early last month.

She didn’t offer specifics about where, but the Russian Two Majors Telegram channel claimed Monday that a platoon of Ukrainian troops from the specially trained 47th Mechanized Brigade, backed by Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, penetrated about 400 meters near the town of Robotyne. The Institute for the Study of War offered a similar assessment Monday, saying "a Russian source and geolocated footage indicate that Ukrainian forces advanced closer to Robotyne as of July 10."

 

It’s a small, but significant thrust after weeks of fighting. The town is about six miles south of Mala Tokmachka, which was the scene of a disastrous attempt by Ukraine to advance early on in its campaign that became iconic as the result of damaged and destroyed Bradleys, a Leopard 2 tank and some anti-mining armored vehicles. There is more on that attack later in this story. On the eastern portion of the frontlines, Ukraine gained about 24 square kilometers in a week, Maliar said.

“In Bakhmut, our defenders have been keeping the entrances, exits and movement of the enemy through the city under fire control for several days,” she said. “This became possible due to the fact that in the process of advancing, our troops took control of the main commanding heights around Bakhmut.”

The Russians are "trapped," in Bakhmut, Col. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskiy, commander of the Ukrainain Ground Forces, said on his Telegram page Monday. "The city is under fire control of the Defense Forces." The Russians, he added, "are breaking out" of their positions as Ukraine advances.

 

It still seems that Ukraine is probing for spots to break through as it appears the bulk of their forces have yet to been seen on the battlefield. It will likely become more apparent in the coming days and weeks how that is shaping up as more imagery emerges despite Kyiv's efforts at maintaining operational security in a very difficult environment to do that.

Ukrainian sappers are now given the job of finding a way through have to deal with around 1,500 mines per square kilometer, according to the publication. That is before Russian artillery, drones, aviation and electronic warfare begin their work. 

“Sappers have become target number one,” says “Sleepless”, the company commander in charge of one such mission that turned deadly on June 27th. “It’s a hunt, pure and simple.”

However, the advance in Robotyne, if it holds, puts Ukraine one small step closer to Crimea.