Russian forces have concentrated significant troops and equipment in the Huliaipole and Oleksandrivka directions, but Ukraine’s Defense Forces are conducting active maneuver defense operations and destroying Russian infiltration groups.
This was stated by Vladyslav Voloshyn, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Southern Defense Forces.
“In the Huliaipole and Oleksandrivka directions, the enemy has now concentrated a fairly large number of forces and assets… in fact, units from three enemy armies — the 5th, 29th, 36th, and even the 35th Army — are attempting assault operations to push Ukraine’s Defense Forces deeper into our defensive lines. Therefore, the situation is quite difficult,” Voloshyn said.
At the same time, he refuted claims from Russian sources about an alleged Ukrainian counteroffensive, explaining that the operations in question involve eliminating Russian groups that had infiltrated.
“In reality, it looks like this: it is the clearing of enemy groups that infiltrated deep into our defenses,” Voloshyn emphasized.
According to him, in Ternuvate, Kosivtseve, Prydorozhne, and Lukianivka, Russian groups carried out photo and video recording, but the Defense Forces cleared these settlements.
Voloshyn also added that Ukrainian units conduct active operations every day.
“We have indeed taken control of a certain number of areas in the gray zone, carrying out up to two dozen search-and-strike and reconnaissance-search operations daily, and destroying enemy infiltration groups,” the spokesperson assured.
He stressed that this is not a classic offensive.
“This is not a classic counteroffensive… we are conducting not positional, but active defense,” Voloshyn said.
According to the spokesperson, the Defense Forces are implementing maneuver defense.
“We conduct maneuver defense, and then destroy and push the enemy back as far as possible, not allowing them to gain a foothold in the positions they have occupied,” Voloshyn explained.
