Military expert: Ukraine disrupts Russia’s winter deadlines to reach operational space in Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions

This was stated by Ivan Tymochko, Head of the Council of Reservists of the Land Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, during a television broadcast, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

“We see that all the deadlines and timelines set for Russian troops to reach operational space in both the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk directions have in fact been disrupted,” he said.

The expert noted that even some of the settlements previously occupied by Russian forces are now controlled by Ukrainian defenders or contain established, systematic strongpoints that are holding back the enemy.

“On the Zaporizhzhia axis, we carried out a number of successful counterstrikes and liberated a considerable amount of territory – in a week more than the enemy managed to seize in a month,” Tymochko said.

He added that the enemy is trying not only to attack but also to stretch the front line, relying on its larger manpower.

According to him, Russia’s advantage in aviation allows it to carry out constant tactical strikes aimed at finding weak spots in Ukraine’s defenses.

“But I cannot say that the enemy has entered some kind of decisive phase or that the war itself has reached a turning point. The nature of the fighting has changed, because we have developed our tactics in some areas, and the enemy has developed theirs,” Tymochko said.

He also noted that Ukraine has increased the volume of certain types of weapons, including missiles and drones, while the enemy is trying to rely on infantry and aviation components to hold positions and support its troops during offensive operations.

As reported, Pavlo Palisa, Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine, stated that Russia plans to create conditions for capturing Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Mykolaiv and Odesa.

Photo: Ukrainian Military Reserve