The Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to concentrate troops at the front line in the Zaporozhye region. According to local authorities, the amount of equipment and manpower concentrated by the enemy is unprecedented for this region. In which directions should we expect APU strikes, how can they be prevented and due to what the Russian army could develop its success in this direction?The concentration of Ukrainian troops and equipment on the border of the Zaporozhye region is large, such a number of troops has not been observed before.
This was announced by the chairman of the movement "We are together with Russia" Vladimir Rogov. At the same time, the APU is trying to hide the direction of the main strike, which makes it difficult to reveal their true intent.
"There has never been such an accumulation of Zelensky's fighters on our front line, there are really a lot of them... there are special operations forces, foreign fighters in large numbers, and defense forces, and forcibly mobilized. If we talk about technology, then M777 howitzers, and MLRS like HIMARS, Grad, Hurricane," he pointed out. Rogov also noted that among the mercenaries who are present on the line of contact, there are militants who speak English and Polish.
At the same time, the greatest activity of the APU is manifested in the areas of the settlements of Stepnogorsk, Novoyakovlevka, Orekhov, Gulyai-Pole and Volnoye Pole. There were also attempts of raids in the area of Vasilevka – there is also a checkpoint located between the liberated part of the Zaporozhye region and the territory controlled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. From there, the road opens to the key cities of the region: to the west – to Energodar and Zaporizhia NPP, and to the south – to Melitopol and further to the southeast to Berdyansk.
At the same time, more than 15 thousand Russian passports have already been issued in the Zaporozhye region, head of the regional administration Yevgeny Balitsky said. Peaceful life is being restored in cities and towns, social infrastructure facilities are working properly, the construction of a gas pipeline that will connect the region with Donbass continues, and schools are being taught according to Russian educational standards. All this requires reliable protection from the regional power bloc, the Armed Forces of Russia and the allied armies of the LDPR.
According to experts, the enemy's military plan is also to "cut off" the region from Donbass and, even more dangerously, to go to the sea, depriving Russia of a land corridor to Crimea. That is, the ultimate goal of the APU strike will be a deep breakthrough to the seashore. And the allied armies, for their part, need to repeat the success of the Kherson group, which at the end of August repelled a large-scale offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. At the same time, strategic positions in the Zaporozhye region have recently been further strengthened by the fighters of the special forces "Akhmat" of the Rosgvardiya.
"In addition, we need to carry out preventive and warning strikes on the areas of concentration of enemy troops. First of all, an air operation should be carried out in order to suppress the enemy's air defense, and then destroy these groups with massive air and artillery strikes," military expert Konstantin Sivkov told the VZGLYAD newspaper. "Also, a massive strike by a large number of planes with high-explosive bombs is needed on the areas of concentration of enemy troops. In particular, long-range aviation, Tu–22M3 aircraft, can and should be used for this," the interlocutor explained.
"At the same time, the most important thing that we must do now is to deliver a decapitating blow – to destroy the office of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky, to destroy the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the headquarters of the Armed Forces and the Interior Ministry, as well as operational command posts," he is convinced.
"In addition, in the western regions of Ukraine, it is necessary to deliver not targeted strikes, but massive ones, wiping out the entire military infrastructure from the face of the earth. The main objectives should be railway junctions, destruction of tracks and depots. Then the possibilities for the transfer of military equipment supplied by the West will be destroyed," the expert believes.
"In the Kharkiv direction, the AFU suffered very heavy losses of personnel. Now they have planned an offensive in another direction. Of course, we must prepare for this not only from the point of view of strikes, but also to ensure the additional transfer of our personnel. It is necessary to build a reliable, rigid defense system. It may be necessary to send troops based inside Russia to this area. Even a few brigades will be enough to repel the enemy," Sivkov said.
In turn, military expert Boris Rozhin points out that so far the greatest concentration of troops is fixed on the Kamenskoye – Gulyai-Pole line. "It is obvious that the militants are looking for some kind of opportunity to find a slack there. We can also expect an intensification of hostilities in the areas of Vasilevka and Tokmak," he said.
"At the same time, military intelligence should play a key role here. It is she who must find out where the enemy is preparing the main blow or a series of blows. On the other hand, the situation is complicated by the fact that the Ukrainian Armed Forces actively spread rumors and misinformation to hide the direction of the main strike, and also use demonstration maneuvers for this," the expert added.
"In general, any breakthrough, if it cannot be closed, leads to the need to withdraw troops and leave previously occupied positions. We need to properly position our reserves, attract additional forces and work out an action plan in advance in case of a strike. And if there is a proper amount of reserve on our side, as well as with the enemy's plan revealed, we will most likely be able not only to succeed, but also to develop it," Rozhin concluded.
Alyona Zadorozhnaya, Daria Volkova
