Military Expert: AFU Captured The Main Russian Foothold On The First Defence Line

The invaders are preparing a corridor for retreat.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated the village of Pyatikhatki in the Zaporizhzhia region, as well as seven other settlements. Charter97.org asked prominent Ukrainian military expert Oleksandr Kovalenko what strategic significance their release has:

– Pyatikhatki is a small village and it seems that it does not have much importance, but this is not quite true. The Russian occupation forces have always been considering Pyatikhatki as the main stronghold in the zone of their first defence line.

It is a quite fortified village, among other things, located directly on the 0812 highway. It is from this starting point that offensive operations can be launched in the direction of Vasiliyvka, a very important settlement, since Vasiliyvka is one of the peaks of the defence triangle of the Russian occupiers, namely Vasiliyvka-Tokmak-Melitopol.

I emphasize that the Armed Forces of Ukraine can be deployed along the 0812 highway either for offensive operations in the direction of Vasiliyvka, thereby shaking their defences in this triangle, or even better, not to go on a frontal assault at all, but thanks to Pyatikhatki bypass Vosiliyvka and encircle the entire Russian occupation troops there.

The village of Zherebyanki can also be used for this purpose. It is literally right next to Pyatikhatki. It’s possible to move to the south and move either in a western or eastern direction. Several possible paths are opened up for cutting the logistics and surroundings of Vasiliyvka.

It is worth noting that the highest land point is located near Pyatikhatki and Zherebyanki. That’s the dominant height from which you can cover with fire and control Vasiliyvka and all nearby villages.

Another important point is that the Russian command included Pyatikhatki in the list of base attack points to advance against Orekhiv. Pyatikhatki, Rabotine and Novofedorivka-Novopokrovka are the three main base settlements where forces and means were concentrated for a breakthrough on the city of Orekhiv, and from there, an offensive was launched in the direction of Zaporizhzhia. We can say that the risks of Russian offensive operations in the direction of Zaporizhzhia were prevented.

– What can you say about the tactics of the Russians in the Zaporizhzhia?

– Currently, they are trying to concentrate as many forces and means in the support zone as possible, while using the resources of the second and third lines. This is not entirely rational and acceptable, because the second defence line is the main one, and there should be a resource for holding it when the second line is already broken. They are already wasting their resources in the battles for the supply zone. In addition, they are massing, for example, troops from the left bank of the Kherson region in the Zaporizhzhia region, strengthening the second and third defence lines with manpower.

They are trying to form such a defensive parallelogram along the line of the main defensive triangle Vasiliyvka-Tokmak-Melitopol, and then diagonally to the northern regions of Crimea (Genichesk-Armiansk-Dzhankoy). The Russians leave behind such a rather wide corridor for retreat. I do not rule out that this is what they are now betting on.

– Do the Armed Forces of Ukraine respond effectively to the actions of the occupiers?

– To date, the Armed Forces of Ukraine have not even involved their main strike groups. There are units with limited functionality, they are designed specifically to call on enemy fire. Let's put it this way, these are units that carry out actions imitating an offensive, which makes the Russians use their main forces, while the main forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have not even entered the battle.

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