Counteroffensive. The Ukrainian army broke the “Surowikin line”

The armed forces of Ukraine broke through the so-called the Surovikin Line near the village of Werbowe in the Zaporozhye region, where the counter-offensive is being conducted.

For the first time, the Ukrainians managed to break through the largest network of fortifications that the Russian army has built in occupied southern Ukraine since World War II.

The war correspondent of the German daily Bild, Julian Roepcke, reported that the Ukrainian army had broken through the main Russian defenses, the “Surovikina Line”, and was approaching the village of Werbowe in the Zaporizhia region. According to him, this means that the “dragon’s teeth,” or anti-tank barriers, only held back the Ukrainian soldiers for about a day.

“Serovicin Line”. What is that?

Named after General Sergei Surovikin, a former commander of Russian troops who fought in Ukraine, the “Surowikin Line” was established on the left bank of the Dnieper, where Russian troops retreated after Kherson’s surrender last year. It is an extensive network of fortifications, cribs, ditches, trenches and minefields designed to hold back Ukrainian forces.

“Dragon’s teeth” have the shape of a pyramid and are made of reinforced concrete. The height of one groove is from 90 to 120 cm. Such fortifications were used extensively during World War II to stop the advance of enemy equipment and infantry.

The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on Wednesday confirmed the “success” towards Novodanilovka – Novoprokopovka and Mała Tokmachka – Werbowe and informed that Ukrainian soldiers are “reinforcing at the borders reached”.

Counteroffensive. Ukrainians on their way to Melitopol

Earlier, Ukrainian forces recaptured Urozaine and then Robotyne – two villages in the Zaporizhia region en route to the main target – Melitopol. Restoring this will give the Ukrainians a chance to cut the “land bridge” connecting Russia to Crimea.

To break through the defenses of the Russians in Zaporozhye, they were sent to fight 82nd Air Raid Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, two thousand. soldiers and equipped with British Challenger tanks and Marder and Stryker infantry fighting vehicles.

For Moscow, war is a ‘special military operation’

Russia calls its actions against Ukraine not a war, but a “special military operation” and demands from Kiev “demilitarization and denazification” of the country, as well as the recognition of Crimea, which was annexed in 2014, as Russian.

After a failed attempt to capture Kiev early in the war, Russian forces focused on gaining full control of the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, which together make up the region known as the Donbass. Part of it was already controlled by Moscow-backed separatists before Vladimir Putin ordered his troops to attack all of Ukraine.

Although a full-scale war has been going on for a year and a half, so far there are no signs from the Kremlin or Kiev that the conflict will end any time soon. At the same time, there are increasing media reports of behind-the-scenes pressure from the West on Ukraine to begin negotiations with Moscow.

Source: Do Rzeczy

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