In Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine Capitalizes On Success With Renewed Counterattacks
As Russia's renewed armored assaults on Pokrovsk have yielded the same results experienced over the past two years, reports indicated that the Kremlin was shifting some units to south to Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk, which they believed to be softer targets.
It hasn't worked out that way. Not only have the Russian attacks borne little or no fruit, but the Ukrainians are successfully counterattacking - and retaking territory - from under-resourced Russian units. JL
Decimus reports in Daily Kos:
The names of the locales are eerily familiar, harkening back to the ill-fated Ukrainian Summer offensive of 2023 - Orikhiv, Mali Shcherbaky, Stepove. Mala Tokmachka, the jump off point of the 2023 Summer offensive is about 20km east of this new Ukrainian advance (which follows) Russia’s move to focus its efforts away from its failed bloodbath at Pokrovsk towards Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts in Southern Ukraine.
Déja vu all over again, you say?. Even the names of the locales are eerily familiar, harkening back to the ill-fated Ukrainian Summer offensive of 2023 … Orikhiv, Mali Shcherbaky, Stepove, etc. Mala Tokmachka, the actual jump off point of the 2023 Summer offensive is about 20km east of this new advance. Could a return to Robotyne be once again on the cards? Probably not, as the Russians may have beefed up their defenses there by now. But that is not stopping the Ukrainians from going at the Russians, again. Never say never.
Today, Ukrainian forces successfully liberated the village of Mali Shcherbaky in the Zaporizhzhia direction, raising the Ukrainian flag in the settlement.This operation, conducted by the 24th Separate Assault Battalion "Aidar" in coordination with the 33rd Separate Assault Regiment, marked a significant advance, with Ukrainian troops reportedly gaining up to 3.5 kilometers in the Orikhiv sector.The village has seen a back and forth battle for control, changing hands a couple of times before eventually falling into a contested grey zone early this past summer. This new Ukrainian advance also includes partial control over the nearby settlement of Stepove and the surrounding areas. President Zelenskyy announced the successful new advance:
AFU successfully advancing in Zaporizhzhia direction: Zelenskyy noted counteroffensive
According to the head of state, the Ukrainian Defense Forces continue active counter-offensive operations in the Dobropillia area of Pokrovsk district in Donetsk region and in the vicinity of Orikhiv of Polohy district in Zaporizhzhia. Our units have already advanced more than three kilometers in this area
Ukrainian forces liberate two villages in Zaporizhzhia region, advance 3.5 km
The Ukrainian Defense Forces conducted a counteroffensive operation, liberating the villages of Mali Shcherbaky, Shcherbaky, and partially Stepove in the Zaporizhzhia direction
It is worth noting that this Ukrainian advance is in its early stages but it comes at a time when some have been doubting whether Ukraine has the wherewithal in available troops to counter Russia’s sudden move to focus its efforts away from Pokrovsk towards Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts in Southern Ukraine. Is this Russian shift real or another of their many futile feints?. We shall see.
Despite massive and crippling casualties it’s been reported that the Russian Eastern Grouping of Forces along with their most important armored component, 90th Tank division, are pressing to the west toward the area’s most defensible rivers and other natural obstacles between the current front line andNovopavlivkain Dnipropetrovsk oblast:
Russia redeploys troops from southern Pokrovsk to expand its offensive toward Novopavlivka in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast
OSINT data show Russia’s entire 90th Tank Division, and elements of the 35th, 55th, 74th, and 137th Brigades now operating closer to Novopavlivka as fighting intensifies across the front.
The Russian movements into Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk come on the heels of recent developments in Russia where Stefan Korshak, Kyiv Post’s military correspondent reported that on October 9, 2025:
Russian Chief of the General Staff Valery Gerasimov (still alive, still has his job) told Russian leader Vladimir Putin the Russian army’s “new” offensive will focus on capturing the towns of Prymorske and Stepnohirsk in the Zaporizhzhia region, along with “fresh assaults” on Dnipropetrovsk. Putin nodded and said he approved.”
Gerasimov’s statement also ties in with Russia’s actions in recent weeks in which it is monkeying around with the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant(ZNPP) in a bid to decouple it from the Ukrainian national power grid and connect it to Russia through the occupied territories:
Russia Cuts Zaporizhzhia Plant From Ukraine’s Grid in Unprecedented Power Grab
Russia has deliberately disconnected the occupied Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) from Ukraine’s power grid to test its integration into the Russian network, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha said on October 12.
So by her counteroffensive actions today in the area close to the ZNPP in Zaporizhzhia,UKRAINE is clearly telling the Russians that Ukraine will not only stop the Russian advance into Dnipropetrovsk but also fight to liberate all of Zaporizhzhia oblast, including the ZNPP.
As a Partner and Co-Founder of Predictiv and PredictivAsia, Jon specializes in management performance and organizational effectiveness for both domestic and international clients. He is an editor and author whose works include Invisible Advantage: How Intangilbles are Driving Business Performance. Learn more...
0 comments:
Post a Comment