"Situation very difficult"

Ukraine expects major attack near Zaporizhia

(Bild: APA/AFP/Genya SAVILOV)

Ukraine's military leadership is expecting a major Russian attack towards the city of Zaporizhia in the near future. According to experts, the situation in the region is difficult for the Ukrainian army.

According to Kiev, Russian troops are preparing for an imminent attack on the city of Zaporizhia. This advance is intended, among other things, to cut the supply lines to the eastern defensive sections around the Donbas, explained Vladislav Voloshin, the military representative responsible for the region, on Saturday.

Heavy air and missile attacks
"The fact that the situation there is very difficult is shown by the fact that both the so-called counter-battery war and the shelling of our positions as well as the attacks on our lines are continuing," he said. Counter-battery warfare refers to artillery fire on recognized enemy artillery positions. There are also heavy air and rocket attacks on this section of the front south of Zaporizhia. "The situation there is quite turbulent."

Russian units have recently captured further villages and settlements around the Donbas in eastern Ukraine. Moscow annexed the occupied territories in Ukraine in violation of international law and integrated them into Russia's territory, but does not fully control these regions within its administrative borders.

In the Zaporizhzhya region, Russian troops have occupied the south of the region with the nuclear power plant of the same name, but not the city itself.