Russia building forces in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, military says
Russia is building up its forces in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, adding at least 2,000 more troops there within the last few weeks, Dmytro Lykhovii, a spokesperson for Ukraine's Tavria group of forces, said on national television on July 23.
At the same time, there is no indication yet that Russia is preparing for another offensive in the area, Lykhovii said.
While Russia has amassed some 90,000 troops in the area, intelligence suggests that a significant change in the nature of hostilities in the oblast would be unlikely, he added.
Russia has continued to strike civilian targets across Zaporizhzhia Oblast, but the front lines have not changed substantially in recent months. Russia's Defense Ministry claimed that it had captured the embattled village of Robotyne in May, but Lykhovii denied that Ukrainian troops had lost ground in the area.
Ukrainian forces have kept up long-range strikes on Russian troops in the area, destroying two air defense systems in recent days, Lykhovii said.
To the north in Kharkiv Oblast, Russia has deployed fresh troops for likely forthcoming offensive operations, Nazar Voloshyn, the spokesperson of the Khortytsia group of forces, said earlier in July.
Russia launched its latest offensive in Kharkiv Oblast on May 10, but the assault quickly stalled. Around 20,000 Russian troops were killed during the failed push in the northeastern region, President Volodymyr Zelensky said earlier in July.
To the east in Donetsk Oblast, Russia has had some military successes in the past weeks.
Earlier in July, Ukrainian troops withdrew from the Kanal neighborhood of the embattled town of Chasiv Yar, as well as from the village of Urozhaine near the administrative borders of Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Francis Farrell
