The line of contact remains dynamic, and it is premature to speak of any Russian advance in the Huliaipole sector. Meanwhile, the enemy is gathering Wagnerites for assaults near the village of Malynivka in the Zaporizhzhia region.
This was stated on television by the spokesperson for the Southern Defense Forces, Vladyslav Voloshyn.
“The line of contact, the front line – it is quite dynamic, and saying that the enemy has advanced somewhere is premature, as sometimes we don’t hold a positional defense but rather conduct a maneuverable one, occasionally allowing the enemy into so-called fire traps, including in Malynivka. The enemy has not dislodged us or advanced there, because they haven’t taken those positions — they’ve merely destroyed them and are trying to enter. But the Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to eliminate the enemy,” Voloshyn said, adding that such a situation has persisted for about a week.
According to him, Malynivka is a small section of the front where the enemy is trying to carry out assault operations.
According to the spokesperson, in this area the enemy units have received new FPV drones with thermal night vision devices to conduct combat operations at night. At the same time, he assured that the Defense Forces are aware of this and are ready to actively counter it.
In response to a question about whether this indicates the enemy’s intention to further advance in the Zaporizhzhia sector, Voloshyn said:
“This shows that the enemy has not ceased active assault operations there. And although these assaults are carried out by small infantry groups, they are attempting to do so with high intensity so that the Defense Forces cannot quickly bring up reserves or reinforcements to effectively counter them. The enemy is constantly trying to increase the tempo and number of these assaults.”
The spokesperson also emphasized that, according to intelligence data, the enemy is indeed receiving reinforcements in the Zaporizhzhia sector, including a newly formed unit currently being redeployed.
“Recently, their leader Putin announced an additional mobilization of 30,000 troops, and they have now formed several new units. One of them, created by the Southern Military District in Chechnya, in Khankala, is currently being transported to our sector in several echelons. However, this is not so much a force for large-scale offensives or operations — it is meant to support assault actions by small infantry groups,” Voloshyn noted.
Ukrainian intelligence also reported that the enemy is forming a small unit of former Wagner fighters to storm Ukrainian positions in the Malynivka area.
“They are gathering them (the Wagnerites) from all units present in the south, because, as is well known, they are still being used in further assault operations as a form of ‘rehabilitation,’” Voloshyn stressed.
