U.S. General Mark Milley: Ukrainian Forces breach first line of Russian defense in Zaporizhzhia region
Ukrainian forces have, quite commendably, managed to break through the first line of Russian defence in the Zaporizhzhia region, said the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States, General Mark Milley, in an interview with Almamlakatv.
There are increasing signs that Ukrainian troops have partially breached the first line of Russian defence on the southern front in the Zaporizhzhia region and are advancing towards the strategically important city of Tokmak, reports CNN.
Some Russian war bloggers are painting "an unattractive picture for Moscow troops in certain sections of the southern front."
In particular, one of WarGonzo stated that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are advancing towards Novoprokopivka in the south (the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has already confirmed this), and have also launched a parallel offensive in the Verbove area in the east - under heavy artillery fire from both directions.
According to some of the "war correspondents", the Russian armed forces are expected to hold their positions for at least another month and a half in order to attempt to achieve success on another front and thereby change the situation on the battlefield.
In turn, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the United States, General Mark Milley, also stated that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have managed to breach the first line of defence that the Russians had been preparing for several months. At the same time, the general referred to the Ukrainian offensive, which has been ongoing for eight weeks, as "very slow", but acknowledged that there is "constant progress".
On August 24, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Valeriy Zaluzhny, informed U.S. officials that Ukrainian forces were on the verge of a breakthrough on the front.
As we know, the offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces has been ongoing since the beginning of June. During this time, over 240 square kilometres of territory in the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions have been liberated.