Putin orders Russian troops to reach borders of Donetsk region by September 15
Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian troops to reach the administrative borders of the Donetsk region by September 15, said Deputy Head of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Oleksiy Gromov, at a briefing.
Gromov noted that Russia continues to hold the occupied areas of Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Mykolaiv regions. Also, the Russian troops are trying to create favorable conditions for further offensive.
"The Russian occupation forces are once again adjusting their plans and actions in accordance with Putin's order to reach the administrative borders of the Donetsk region by September 15," said Gromov .
According to him, the Russian Federation continues to regroup formations and military units of the Third Army Corps in the occupied territory. Presumably, the build-up troops is done to create conditions for the "resumption of the offensive in the Donetsk operational area."
Gromov also said that due to significant losses in personnel, the top command of the Russian Armed Forces decided to "disband the 31-1 separate airborne assault brigade and the 22nd separate special purpose brigade." According to him, "less than 20% of the personnel remained alive" in these brigades due to losses.
On the night of August 29, Ukrainian forces began a counteroffensive , which some military analysts call the largest response to the Russian invasion since the beginning of the war. The beginning of the offensive actions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was announced by the operational command "South". After that, then sources in the law enforcement agencies of Ukraine began to say that this statement was made too soon, and the counteroffensive did not begin. The Russian Ministry of Defense admitted that, on August 29, Ukrainian troops “attempted an offensive" in the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions.