This Time At Orikhiv, Ukraine Cuts Off Another Russian Attack Salient

If it works, do it again. Operation Vivaldi proved out the Ukrainian strategy of allowing Russians forces to think they were advancing, creating a salient and then Ukraine's troops quickly move to slash into their flanks and cut them off. 

It worked in Lyman, it is working in Kharkhiv - and now it is working in Zaporizhzhia. The Russians  have not been able to protect their flanks effectively because they don't have enough troops to deliver the gains the Kremlin demands and also afford themselves protection. Eventually that might change. But for now, the Ukrainians are taking advantage. JL

Decimus reports in Daily Kos:

Ukraine is doing what it now does best … allow Russia to massively commit to an offensive, then start scissoring it apart, locking in the force that is already committed, close off their access such as bridges, then interdict their logistics in the rear as far away from the committed formations as possible: Recent reports indicate that this is in motion in the Orikhiv sector of Zaporizhzhia oblast where Ukrainian Forces destroyed bridges in the Huliaipole sector, disrupting Russian supply lines and hindering offensive aimed toward Orikhiv. The Russians have boxed themselves into this failing battle strategy because they are aware that they dare not create a single massive overwhelming thrust … for fear of the Ukrainians in turn executing a flanking maneuver. Again.

Operation Vivaldi put the kibosh on their Northern pincer towards the Ukrainian Fortress Belt. The Southern pincer at Kostiantynivka has stalled and the attempted end run of Dobropiliya 2.0 has also been stymied. And Winter on the flat open Eastern and Southern Ukrainian steppe is fast on its way. 

So what is a frazzled invader army to do? Why, throw more mobiki at another sector … one which it had tried earlier and failed. Perhaps the second time will be the charm? Not if ADAPTIVE INDOMITABLE UKRAINE has anything to say about it.

It’s a marvel seeing how Ukraine has learned to fight and defeat Russia’s scattered massed offensives intended to stretch Ukraine’s relatively limited man power on the 1,600km long battle trace. The Russian infiltrators get in. The Ukrainians seal and lock them in, cutting off their re-supply and reinforcements. Then dedicated “wolf squads” go in to hunt and eliminate/capture the “infils”. To ensure the isolation of the “infils’ and prevent their ability to mass and connect to other Russian units nearby, the Ukrainians send in their interdicting drone forces … to keep away and destroy supplies and reinforcements … several kilometers away in the Russian rear. Attempted encirclements of Ukrainian units by the Russians are thus quashed. The battles for Pokrovsk and Kupiansk provided Ukraine with valuable battlefield anti-infil lessons which are now being put to good use in places like Vovchansk in Kharkiv Oblast:

Ukraine Clears 10 Sq Km Near Vovchansk, Eliminating Three Russian Infiltration Groups, ISW Says

https://united24media.com/war-in-ukraine/ukraine-clears-10-sq-km-near-vovchansk-eliminating-three-russian-infiltration-groups-isw-says-23144 

Another key tactic in how Ukrainian forces are countering Russia’s massed offensives is to station sufficiently strong units a bit farther away in protected areas but close enough to jump into the fray and stymie the Russians until more robust forces can come in to strengthen and lock down the front. No need to congregate large Ukrainian formations on the line where a Russian FAB/KAB guided bomb can wipe them out. Spread out then when needed concentrate up close to the enemy where lobbing in a FAB/KAB would eliminate Russia’s own troops, too. We are about to see this play out on a larger tableau as Russia attempts another massed offensive in Zaporizhia.

Recent reports indicate that Russian forces have concentrated approximately 150,000 troops in roughly 120 assault groups near Orikhiv, primarily drawn from the Russian 58th Combined Arms Army for an intensified offensive in Zaporizhia Oblast. As has been the case lately, Russia is already claiming encirclement and even capture of the town but by all indications Orikhiv remains under Ukrainian control, with Ukrainian military officials denying Russian claims of street fighting inside the city: 

Russia Sets Eye on Zaporizhzhia’s Orikhiv With 150,000-Troop Formations

https://www.kyivpost.com/post/84217

More here:

Russia forms around 120 assault groups near Orikhiv – military

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4162717-russia-forms-around-120-assault-groups-near-orikhiv-military.html

But Ukraine is doing what it now does best … allow Russia to massively commit to an offensive, then steadily start scissoring it apart, starting with locking in the force that is already committed, close off their accesses such as bridges and then massively interdict their logistics and supply lines in the rear … as far and farther away from the committed formations as possible:

Recent reports indicate that this is already in motion in the Orikhiv sector. Ukrainian Defense Forces destroyed bridges near Polohy in the Huliaipole sector, significantly disrupting Russian military logistics and hindering offensive operations toward Orikhiv. It is important to note that Polohy has long been Russia’s primary logistics hub in central Zaporizhia(hello RO37!). The 7th Rapid Response Corps of the Air Assault Forces confirmed that airstrikes on September 21, 2026, targeted infrastructure used to transport Russian personnel and heavy equipment. The destruction of these crossings forced Russian units to rely on more vulnerable motorized vehicles where Ukrainian drones can attack and limit their ability to redeploy forces. 

The formation of the rapid response corps is likely one of the innovations Syrskyi might be remembered for. They obviate the need, as mentioned earlier, for Ukraine to concentrate large formations on the line, thereby saving lives from Russian guided bombs and artillery saturation:

Ukrainian forces destroy bridges near Polohy used by Russia for advance on Orikhiv

https://english.nv.ua/nation/defense-forces-conduct-airstrikes-against-russian-logistics-infrastructure-bridges-near-huliaypole-50643287.html

Knocking down the bridges funnels the Russian logistics and troop reinforcements into areas where they are more exposed in the flat open Zaporizhian landscape. Ukraine has now proven that this war is no longer just a matter of how many bodies Russia can throw at the Ukrainian defenses. Technological imperatives have now vitiated that once upon a time Russian advantage.

And so it is that Ukrinform reports today(October 17, 2026) that the Russians are pretty much sticking to their true and tested formula which is yet to yield much success since Pokrovsk … infiltrate, try to concentrate … only to be hammered by Ukrainian forces. Rinse repeat. Except now the Russian commanders have received orders that they have till the end of October 2026 to capture Orikhiv … the same place they already say they have captured. We shall see. How many rinse repeat cycles can Russia get out of a horde of 150,000 barely trained, déshabillé, and mal-nourished mobiki cut off from their supply lines? They will, as usual, just make it up as they go and claim successes where none exist. 

Anyone noticed lately the steady upward climb in the daily tally of Russians eliminated? Steadily getting closer and closer to exceeding Mykhailo Federov’s forecast of 50,000 per month:

Russian forces aim to capture Orikhiv by end of October, Ukrainian military says

Russian commanders have ordered their troops to capture Orikhiv, Preobrazhenka and Tavriiske in the Zaporizhzhia region by the end of October. However, Russian forces have been unable to establish a foothold in Orikhiv, and their reports claiming to have cleared the city of Ukrainian defenders are false.

“However, they are failing to do so because units of the Operation Task Force South detect them in time, track their movements and strike them both in the outskirts and within the city itself,” 

“These are fabricated reports. The shelling of the settlement by Russian forces is one indication of this. Just yesterday evening, October 16, the Russians dropped 16 guided aerial bombs on the city. It takes only critical thinking to understand that if the Russian claims about control of Orikhiv were accurate, their aircraft would not be dropping so many bombs on the city,” Shevchenko stressed.

https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/4175480-russian-forces-aim-to-capture-orikhiv-by-end-of-october-ukrainian-military-says.html

Putin may have called in his chips with Krasnov and Elon to get them to monkey around with Starlink and Starshield in the hopes of saving Russia’s petro-chemical industry(and its war-making money bin) but on the ground, along the battle trace, ADAPTIVE INDOMITABLE UKRAINE has now taken the measure of the Russian war machine. So far, just halfway into the month of October, on the Orikhiv front alone, this is the result:

… since the beginning of October, units of the Operation Task Force South have eliminated 2,760 Russian troops and destroyed 1,150 pieces of weapons and military equipment.

As reported by Ukrinform, on October 16, Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled seven Russian attempts to advance in the Orikhiv sector near Novoiakivlivka, Mala Tokmachka, Pavlivka, Stepnohirsk and Plavni.

Steady as she goes. The Russians have somehow boxed themselves into this failing drips and drabs battle strategy because they are keenly aware that they dare not greatly thin out any area on their side of the battle trace to create a single massive overwhelming thrust … for fear of the Ukrainians in turn executing a Schwarzkopf-style massive flanking maneuver(famously known as the “Left Hook” during Operation Desert Storm) … to get in their rear … and rout them. That would be a huge propaganda and political trouble for Putin.