Russian troops mining previously cleared areas in Zaporizhzhia war zone

09.10.2023 09:00

Ukrinform

Russian invasion forces are intensifying the mining efforts near the villages of Robotyne and Verbove, and are trying to bind Ukrainian troops in areas of the front farther from the western part of Zaporizhzhia region.

That’s according to an update by the Institute for the Study of War think tank, Ukrinform reports.

Russian milbloggers claim Russian troops are now remining previously cleared areas on the Robotyne-Verbove line (10 km south - 18 km southeast of Orikhiv) in order to achieve tactical surprise.

A prominent Kremlin-affiliated milblogger claimed that Russian forces intensified tactical offensive operations in several areas of the front beyond Zaporizhia Oblast in order to stretch Ukrainian defenses and divide Ukrainian attention.

Colonel Oleksandr Shtupun, the spokesman for the Tavria group of forces, said the Russians are trying to fix Ukrainian forces in the Avdiivka and Marinka directions and prevent them from deploying reserves to the Zaporizhzhia direction.

Ukrainian troops continue counteroffensive operations near Bakhmut and slightly advanced in the west of the Zaporizhzhia region on October 8.

Geolocation footage released on October 8 shows Ukrainian forces have made limited progress north of Novoprokopivka (14 km south of Orikhiv), and the Russian military claimed that Ukrainian forces have also advanced near Kopan (10 km southwest of Orikhiv).