The Russians slowed down a lot near Hulyaipole, they donʼt have the strength to attack Orikhiv

Since the end of last summer, the Russians have been trying to combine their offensives on Hulyaipole and Orikhiv in order to then advance towards Zaporizhzhia. To do this, they conducted large mechanized assaults. In some places, the Russians were able to realize their plan, but not in the Orikhiv direction — all offensive operations there ended in complete defeat.

This was stated in a comment to Babel by the head of the communications department of the 118th separate mechanized brigade, Captain Dmytro Pelykh.

However, the Russians continue to pressure Orikhiv, using a large number of drones and destroying it with guided aerial bombs. At the same time, Pelikh emphasizes that getting from Hulyaipole to Orikhiv is not such an easy task due to various factors.

According to him, the Russians no longer have enough people to constantly put pressure on Ukrainian positions. In addition, they are hindered by natural conditions, the main factor being the open steppe. Fields and small forest belts provide almost no cover, so it is very difficult to advance under the pressure of drones. This is precisely why the Russians failed to achieve anything in the Orikhiv direction last year — Ukrainian forces could see their columns from tens of kilometers away.

In addition, Ukrainian defensive lines are in place—anti-tank ditches, minefields, and fortified positions that are constantly being reinforced. This could be a serious obstacle for the Russians.

Another factor that will complicate the task for the Russians on this section of the front if they advance is the increase in their logistical routes. And for the Ukrainian troops, this means significantly easier destruction of all their logistics.

"Their pace has already slowed down a lot in the Hulyaipole area. Some military analysts note that the enemyʼs rate of advance in this direction has become the lowest in the last nine months. This was achieved thanks to successful counter-offensive operations by the Ukrainian Defense Forces. In some areas, the enemy has gone on the defensive. And this means that the Russians do not have enough forces and means for further offensive operations," Pelikh emphasized.

He noted that Orikhiv is a very difficult city to storm and even more difficult to hold, because it is located in a lowland.

"There are heights around it. We wonʼt let them control them, which means the city will be constantly being shot at and, again, logistics will be impossible to get to it. Therefore, crossing the cityʼs border is not the same as capturing it. The enemy will simply be stuck there, not even for months. He will die there in unlimited numbers for years. But even to get to it, the losses will be indecently high," says Pelikh.

When asked whether the units holding the defense just below Orikhiv could be under threat of encirclement due to a push from the side of Hulyaipole and partially from the side of Stepnohirsk, Pelykh replied that there were no signs of Orikhiv being surrounded yet.

"Theoretically, we can talk about the risk of a tactical ʼsackʼ, where our logistics could be under the enemyʼs fire control. But the Ukrainian Defense Forces will not allow this. To prevent this from happening, counterattacks are usually planned and carried out on the flanks of such a ʼsackʼ. From the experience of conducting combat operations during a full-scale Russian invasion, such attacks rarely turn into full-fledged cauldrons," he explained.

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