Russian occupation authorities on Friday reported a “sharp increase in intensity” of fighting in the Zaporijia region, in southern Ukraine, where clashes are taking place “across the front line”.
“In the direction of Zaporijia, the intensity of hostilities increased sharply”said Vladimir Rogov, a leader of the Zaporijia regional occupation authority installed by Moscow, in a message published on the Telegram platform.
“If we look at the frontline as a whole, there is fighting everywhere right now”said the same representative in statements to the Russian news agency Ria Novosti.
“This Has Never Happened Before”he added.
The line of contact between the Ukrainian and Russian armies in the Zaporijia region has stabilized for several months and without major fighting, unlike the Donetsk (east) and Kherson (south) regions.
The Russian army had previously announced the capture of the city of Lobkove, located near the Dnieper River, about 60 kilometers southeast of Zaporijia, the capital of the region of the same name.
Rogov, for his part, indicated that the now reported situation “does not yet mean an attack on Orikhiv [a principal cidade nas proximidades]but heavy fighting is taking place in the area”.
“The highlights [em redor] were taken, which determines the control of fire on Orikhiv and other locations”he pointed it out.
According to the latest Ukrainian army bulletin, “more than 20 locations” were hit by Russian “tank, mortar and artillery fire” on Thursday.
Last Friday, the Russian army also announced control of Klichtchiivka, a town south of Bakhmut (east), which has become the epicenter of the fighting.
Klichtchiivka, with a pre-war population of about 500, is less than ten kilometers southwest of Bakhmut, the city that has been the target of the Russian offensive in the region for several months.
Its capture, and a few days after Moscow announced control of Soledar (northeast of Bakhmut) – which Kiev continues to deny – seems to indicate that Russia is now trying to encircle the great city, having attempted a frontal assault since the East.
Since last summer, the Russian army, supported by local Russian-speaking separatist militias and mercenaries from the Wagner paramilitary group, has been trying to occupy Bakhmut, but so far without success. The city is now heavily destroyed and has almost no civilian population.
According to Ukrainians and Russians, the battle for Bakhmut has been particularly bloody, with heavy casualties on both sides, but no reference to the number of dead and wounded.
The Russian military offensive on Ukrainian territory, launched on February 24 last year, plunged Europe into what is considered the most serious security crisis since World War II (1939-1945).
Source: DN
