Russia has reinforced its military contingent and intensified its bombings in anticipation of an assault on the southern front, where positions have remained largely unchanged in recent months, a Ukrainian military spokesperson assured Tuesday.
A Russian offensive in the southern region of Zaporizhia would pose a challenge for the Ukrainian army, already struggling on the eastern front and which is still engaged in an incursion into the Russian region of Kursk, on the northern border.
“Assault operations”
“The Russians have been preparing for some time, for several weeks, to carry out assault operations in several directions, in particular in the direction of Zaporizhia”Vladyslav Volochyn, spokesperson for the Ukrainian army in the southern sector, told AFP. He specified that the Russian army was strengthening its troops, particularly in the sectors of Vremivka, Gulyaïpole and Robotyné.
“Every day, it carries out aerial and technical reconnaissance there, and restocks with ammunition. For several weeks, the enemy has been preparing to use armored vehicles”he continued.
Mr Voloshyn refused to give the number of Russian soldiers gathered in this sector of the front, but he said small groups were already launching several attacks every day. He assured that Ukrainian forces have strengthened their defense lines and are ready to repel a large-scale assault.
Last summer, Ukrainian forces launched a large-scale offensive to reconquer the Zaporizhia and Kherson regions in the south of the country, but failed to make significant advances.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently warned that Russia has prepared a force of some 50,000 soldiers, which he said includes several thousand North Korean troops, in order to reconquer areas of the Russian Kursk region still occupied by the Ukraine.
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