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Russia reportedly transferring equipment, troops from Kherson Oblast to Zaporizhzhia front

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Russia reportedly transferring equipment, troops from Kherson Oblast to Zaporizhzhia front
Russian soldiers patrol a street in occupied Melitopol on May 1, 2022. (Getty Images)

Russia appears to be transferring equipment and troops from Kherson Oblast to the southeastern Zaporizhzhia front where a Ukrainian counteroffensive is underway, Ivan Fedorov, an exiled mayor of Melitopol, said on June 18.

Speaking on television, Fedorov said local residents in Melitopol, a city in Zaporizhzhia Oblast occupied by Russia since March 2022, witnessed Russian equipment and troops arriving from the directions of Nova Kakhovka and Kakhovka in occupied territories of Kherson Oblast. These cities suffered catastrophic floods after Russian forces blew up the major Kakhovka dam on June 6.

The Kyiv Independent could not verify Fedorov's claims regarding Russia's transfer of equipment and manpower to the Zaporizhzhia front.

Fedorov's claims come as Ukrainian forces continue to take the initiative on the battlefield roughly two weeks into the long-anticipated counteroffensive.

Russian proxy officials and military bloggers in Zaporizhzhia Oblast have reported large offensive operations by Ukrainian forces, equipped with Western-provided heavy weaponry.

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Asami Terajima

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Asami Terajima is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent covering Ukrainian military affairs and front-line developments. She is the co-author of the weekly War Notes newsletter. She previously worked as a business reporter for the Kyiv Post, focusing on international trade, infrastructure, investment, and energy. Originally from Japan, Terajima moved to Ukraine during childhood and completed her bachelor's degree in Business Administration in the U.S. She is the winner of the Thomson Reuters Foundation's Kurt Schork Award in International Journalism 2023 (Local Reporter category) and the George Weidenfeld Prize, awarded as part of Germany's Axel Springer Prize 2023. She was also featured on the Media Development Foundation's 2023 "25 under 25: Young and Bold" list of emerging media makers in Ukraine. She is among the finalists for the U.K.'s One World Media Award 2026 in the Print category and the French Bayeux Calvados-Normandy award 2025 for war correspondents in the Young Reporter category.

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