Ukrainian Armed Forces break through the first line of defense of the Russian Armed Forces in Zaporizhzhia, – command
Russian troops began to bring their reserves to the southern direction from other temporarily occupied regions, such as Kherson and Lyman. In particular, the enemy has redeployed some of the military from the territory of Russia.
In Zaporizhzhya region, the Armed Forces of Ukraine broke through the enemy’s first line of defense. This was reported by the commander of the Tavria operational and strategic grouping of troops, Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavsky, in an interview with The Guardian.
“In the center of the offensive, we are completing the destruction of enemy units covering the retreat of Russian troops behind the second line of defense,” said Oleksandr Tarnavskyi.
He noted that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are between the first and second lines of defense of the Russian Armed Forces in Zaporizhzhia region, in particular, Ukrainian soldiers are strengthening their control over the territories they de-occupied during the recent battles.
According to Tarnavsky, the Russian military devoted most of its time and resources to building the first line of defense (60%), while only 20% were left for the second and third lines, as they did not expect Ukrainian soldiers to break through the defense.
The Ukrainian counteroffensive was slowed down by a minefield, but infantry sappers were able to clear the assault route on foot. The commander said that at that time the enemy “was just standing there waiting for the Ukrainian army.” However, the Russian Armed Forces have now begun to pull up their reserves from Kherson, Liman and Russia.
“Sooner or later, the Russians will run out of all their best soldiers. This will give us an impetus to attack more and faster,” he emphasized.
He added that the enemy lost a significant part of its advantage when Ukrainian soldiers broke through the first line, because “there is a very big difference between the first and second line of defense.” In particular, the second one is not built as well, but it has mines that are not located in a single defensive cordon, but in fragments.
As a reminder, on September 2, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that Ukrainian soldiers were continuing their offensive in the Melitopol sector, consolidating their positions and carrying out counter-battery operations. Within 24 hours, missile troops and artillery destroyed 5 areas of concentration of personnel, weapons and military equipment of the Russian Armed Forces.
