Ukrainian forces make local gains in Zaporizhzhia Oblast
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has reported that Ukrainian forces achieved certain localised successes during counterattacks to the southwest and southeast of Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, according to geolocation data from 10 June.
Source: the ISW
Details: The ISW has noted that despite the fact that geolocation footage indicates localised successes of the Ukrainian Defence Forces southwest and southeast of Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Russian military commanders continue to claim that their troops in the area are successfully defending against Ukrainian offensive attempts.
The analysts have said that Russian troops in Zaporizhzhia Oblast continue to defend themselves against Ukrainian attacks in accordance with sound tactical defence doctrine.
Quote: "ISW previously assessed that Russian forces responded to the start of Ukrainian counteroffensive operations in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast following established Russian doctrine, which calls for a first echelon of troops to repel or slow attacking forces with minefields, fortifications, and strongpoints, and a second echelon of forces to counterattack against any enemy breakthrough.
Russian reporting of Ukrainian assaults in southern Ukraine in recent days suggests a pattern in which Ukrainian forces conduct limited breakthroughs and temporarily occupy new positions before Russian forces later recapture or push Ukrainian forces out of those positions.
This tactical pattern indicates that Russian forces have likely maintained doctrinally sound defensive operations in southern Ukraine."
More details: The ISW has said that Ukrainian forces are currently attempting an extremely difficult tactical operation – a frontal assault on prepared defensive positions, which is complicated by the lack of air superiority.
The Institute has also noted that the initial assaults by Ukrainian forces should not be extrapolated to predict all Ukrainian operations.
"Ukrainian forces are unsurprisingly taking casualties in initial attacks against some of the best-prepared Russian forces in Ukraine. However, initial attacks – and particularly selected footage that Russian sources are intentionally disseminating and highlighting – are not representative of all Ukrainian operations. The Russian military remains dangerous and Ukrainian forces certainly face a hard fight, but Ukraine has not yet committed the vast majority of its counteroffensive forces and Russian defenses are not uniformly strong along all sectors of the front line," the ISW added.
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