Ukrainian troops broke through the first line of Russian defense near Zaporizhzhia — it took weeks of painstaking demining work. Now the commander of the "Tavria" troop group, Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, expects a faster breakthrough on the weaker, second line.
He stated this in an interview with The Guardian.
According to Tarnavsky, the Russian invaders spent 60% of their time and resources on building the first line of defense and only 20% each on the second and third. Currently, the defenders are advancing on both sides of the breakthrough and are entrenched in the conquered territories.
"In the center of the offensive, we are completing the destruction of enemy units that cover the withdrawal of Russian troops behind their second line of defense," he said.
Tarnavskyi emphasized that the counterattack was held back by a huge minefield built by the Russians. Behind him, Russian troops "simply stood and waited for the Ukrainian army", knocking out Ukrainian equipment.
"As soon as any equipment appeared there (on the first line of defense), the Russians immediately began to fire at it and destroy it. Therefore, demining was carried out only by infantry and only at night," he emphasized.
Now that the mine barrier has been overcome, the Russians are forced to maneuver and redeploy their forces. "The enemy is raising reserves not only from Ukraine, but also from Russia," said Tarnavskyi.
However, he is sure that sooner or later the Russians will run out of strength, which will allow the defenders to advance faster. Now that the minefield has been breached, the Russians have lost much of their advantage.
"The closer to victory, the harder it is. Why? Because, unfortunately, we are losing the strongest and the best. Therefore, now we have to concentrate on certain directions and bring the matter to an end. No matter how difficult it is for all of us," said Tarnavskyi.
- On August 23, fighters of the 47th separate mechanized brigade raised the flag of Ukraine in the village of Robotyne, Zaporizhzhia region. Already on August 28, the Ministry of Defense confirmed the release of Robotyny and reported that the Defense Forces are advancing towards Novoprokopivka and Ocheretuvaty of Polohy district.