AFU Reach Rear Of Russian Grouping, Encircling Rabotino

The enemy's defences in the south have been breached in two areas.

The AFU counteroffensive: the Ukrainian Defence Forces have approached the enemy's main line of defence in at least two areas of the southern front.

The AFU are conducting a powerful counteroffensive in several areas of the Zaporizhzhia front. In at least two of them, the AFU have already managed to approach the so-called "Surovikin lines".

Military analyst Dmitry Snegirev gave this information on the Freedom Channel. He notes that not all information about the developments can be voiced. However, despite what some experts say about the allegedly slow pace of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, the situation in the south is developing dynamically.

"In two sections of the southern front we have reached the so-called 'Surovikin line'. I mean the Vremevskoye offensive, where the heroic efforts of the fighters captured one of the key defensive points of the Russian army - Staromayorske - and effectively blocked Urozhayne. And accordingly, the second direction is Orekhovsky, where the defenders have actually reached the rear of the Russian group from the flanks, covering the settlement of Rabotino," the observer said.

According to the analyst's assessment, the AFU are continuing to advance deep into the Russian defences and have approached the "Surovikin line" near Verbove in the Polohovsky urban community of the Polohovsky district of the Zaporizhzhia region.

On the other hand, the temporarily occupied village of Urozhayne, in the Velykonovoselkivka settlement of the Volnovakha district of the Donetsk region, is in fact surrounded on three sides by the Defence Forces.

The enormous losses suffered by the Russian side in these areas are evidenced by the fact that units of the 247th Airborne Regiment, one of the elite units of the Russian Army, have been withdrawn from the battle line.

According to Dmitry, the next defensive line of the residents to be attacked by the AFU will probably be along the Remivka - Staromlynivka - Oktyabrske line. This is the enemy's second line of defence. We can say that the Ukrainian troops have broken through the enemy's defences in two directions. And then there is the main "Surovikin line" itself: Novozlatopol - Orlinske - Heroivka - Novopetrovske.

"It should be noted that the Russian defensive line was not named after General Surovikin by chance. He was the initiator of its construction. This line of defence is designed to cover the territory of the occupied Crimea and the coast of the Sea of Azov. It is a deep defensive system, and in some parts of the front it is 60 km wide. We are talking about fortified defensive lines, with crossfire and, above all, extensive minefields," Snegirev stresses.

According to the British intelligence, minefields in the South can be up to 15 kilometres wide. "Surovikin lines" also include engineered fortifications - ranging from anti-tank ditches to the so-called "dragon's teeth".

"It is very indicative that Russians themselves call "the Surovikin line" ironically "the Fabergé line". Apparently, referring to its cost - about $300 million. As practice shows, the corruption component worked at the time of its construction. Therefore, I believe that the main claims of the Russian security services to Surovikin are most likely the embezzlement of budget funds for the construction of so-called defence facilities," the expert stresses.

Thus, despite the criticism of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, which has been voiced in some media outlets in recent weeks, the AFU are demonstrating steady progress, the expert concluded.