The southern front remains one of the most tense areas in the war in Ukraine, as Russian forces continue their attempts to advance towards Zaporizhia and the Dnipropetrovsk region. This was stated by the spokesman for the Defense Forces of Southern Ukraine Vladislav Voloshin in an interview with the Ukrainian UNIAN agency, Focus reports.
According to him, the Russian groups “Dnepr“ and “Vostok“ are operating against the Ukrainian forces, whose number has increased to over 213,000 servicemen in recent weeks. According to Ukrainian data, they have more than 1,100 tanks, about 3,500 armored vehicles and dozens of separate brigades, battalions and regiments.
Voloshin pointed out that Russia has concentrated significant forces in order to intensify offensive operations in the southern direction and continue attempts to seize Zaporizhia region and reach the borders of Dnepropetrovsk region.
According to him, however, Ukrainian attacks on the logistical infrastructure in the occupied territories of southern Ukraine and Crimea have made it difficult to supply Russian units and forced Moscow to change its supply routes.
The Ukrainian side claims that the Russian army is increasingly using secondary roads, civilian vehicles and is even considering the possibility of transporting fuel and materials by water using barges and small cargo vessels.
According to Ukrainian intelligence, Russia also plans to deploy its main ammunition depots in more than 200 kilometers from the front line, connecting them with smaller field bases with limited supplies.
Voloshin noted that Russian forces have improved the training of their assault units, which are undergoing training at training centers in the occupied parts of Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Donetsk regions, as well as in Crimea.
He gave the example of preparing special groups to move through an old gas pipeline in the Orekhovo sector, which was used as a route for penetrating Ukrainian positions. According to him, most of these groups were subsequently neutralized by Ukrainian forces.
The Ukrainian army spokesman also reported that Russian troops had built a large-scale system of underground tunnels and fortifications on the left bank of the Dnieper in the Kherson region, used for moving personnel, storing equipment and deploying drones.
According to Voloshin, Ukrainian strikes on logistics have delayed the implementation of Russian plans for a summer offensive in the south.
„Russia has strengthened its grouping in order to achieve the Kremlin's political goals in the Zaporizhzhia region and to get as close as possible to the Dnieper. "But after the strikes on the logistics chains, these deadlines were again not met," he said.
The Ukrainian side emphasizes that it continues to apply maneuver defense tactics, combining retreat from vulnerable positions and local counterattacks to regain lost ground.