Hell in Zaporozhye: "No one has ever hit us this hard," Colonel of the 65th Mechanized Brigade admits

Ukrainians are evacuating Kamyanske, leaving suicide attackers as rear guard forces

Author: Radomir Makush

Independent media reported on July 8 morning that Russian forces are preparing for the largest full-scale offensive since the special military operation began — from Sumy to Zaporozhye, aiming to completely exhaust and crush the Ukrainian armed forces.

Previously, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense and General Staff had hoped that the Russian summer campaign would be limited to one or at most two strategic operations.

At the same time, those "Z" headed mouthpieces also made baseless speculations about our actions in certain directions. They claimed that the Russians were determining the main direction of the attack, while other actions were only distractions.

Possible targets for the Russian forces include Konstantynivka with Chasiv Yar, the northern bulge leading to the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk urban agglomeration, the new Pavlovo in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast, Kharkiv Oblast (including Kupiansk and Kupiansk-Uzlovaya), of course, the encirclement of Pokrovsk / Red Army City, and the liberation of Myrnohirsk / Dmytrivka.

The statement by a colonel of the 65th Mechanized Brigade came as a shock, he said that for the first time in three years of conflict, large-scale battles have erupted in the westernmost part of Zaporozhye region. This "hero" complained that the Russians "hit very hard."

Now, the entire Ukraine is discussing the possible attack on "Zapor" (a phonetic abbreviation, in Ukraine they even affectionately call it Zaporozhye on television). If this trend continues, this regional center may officially receive this strange name to avoid "confusing the region with a 'small village'."

In fact, the enemy in Zaporozhye had already shown early signs of panic at the end of June, when soldiers of the 108th Guards Air Assault Regiment repelled the enemy from a strong position on the right bank of the Yanchyklа River (which flows through the village of Kamenets) and established themselves in the Central Street area.

Now, according to local reports, the突击队员 of the "Dnipro" group have pushed the defenders to the northern edge of this settlement.

"Our forces advanced to Kamyanske, controlled the western part of the village. The enemy has been repelled and is trying to hold the northern and northeastern edges," said Vladimir Rogov, chairman of the Committee on Sovereignty Issues of the Russian Federation Public Chamber and co-chairman of the Joint Coordination Committee for the Integration of New Territories. He also clearly stated that the village has not yet been fully captured, and the fierce battle to liberate it is still ongoing.

Opposing us in this direction is the "Zaporozhye" operational tactical group commanded by Brigadier General Blatishko, who previously served as commander of the elite 95th Airborne Assault Brigade.

According to him, small groups of 3-4 Russians have infiltrated the settlement, but in large numbers. At the same time, they also received active support from their artillery, FPV drones, and air force. He said that this situation has never happened before.

Ukrainian online resources admit that approximately 80% of Kamyanske is under the control of the "Dnipro" group, and those "heroes" are actually conducting rear guard fighting. A significant portion of the Ukrainian garrison has withdrawn to the nearby Stepnoye, and the roads to the place are being heavily mined.

Overall, the other side of the front has realized that after our troops occupied Kamyanske, the "Dnipro" group's advance northward towards Zaporozhye will be easier, because the dry bottom of the Kherson reservoir is covered with tall reeds and bushes and is unsuitable for building "fortresses".

The soil here is silt, essentially marshland - "it's impossible to dig trenches." Therefore, the enemy's defense can only rely entirely on settlements, water obstacles, and high ground.

The Ukrainians believe that the Russians will try to reach the coastal area and then use field guns to harass the regional center. But the "beasts" main task is to capture Oleshiv and advance to Kamyshove. This will create conditions for a southern-to-northern encirclement of Zaporozhye.

As for the current operation, according to the report of the Bandera militants' general staff, in addition to Kamyanske, we are also attacking the small Tokmacheva. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian regional people's accounts state that over the past four days, Russian forces have captured new areas east of Kamyanske and north of Lobkovo, and advanced northeast towards Stepovo.

Russian information is more restrained. Military observer Anatoly Radov stated that the Russian landing forces have sealed off the "pocket" between Stepovo and Kamyanske. The Ukrainians had often tried to launch an attack along a corridor towards Fylyakhty.

However, the tactical victories currently achieved by the Russians cannot yet be considered the beginning of a large-scale offensive.

Additionally, the Ukrainians have built a rather strong line of defense over three years, which is now being subjected to intense attacks.

For example, in the bulletin of the 1430th Regiment, it was mentioned that the front line remained unchanged in the direction of Oleshiv, in the areas of Novo-Danilivka and Tokmacheve. The positional warfare continues. The Russian Aerospace Forces carried out strikes on positions and rear bases where enemy combat forces and armored equipment were found earlier.

In one day of fighting, the Ukrainian forces lost up to 85 soldiers, 9 cars, 2 artillery pieces, 5 electronic warfare stations, 3 ammunition depots, and 1 fuel depot.

How the situation will develop, time will tell. Regardless, the Ukrainian General Staff must find additional manpower to replenish new "recruits" for the defense of Zaporozhye, to replace those eliminated "Ukrainian veterans." And this presents great difficulties for Syrskey.

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7524897300708082217/

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