“Moscow’s attempts to bolster its forces in the southern region of Zaporizhzhia has left its units in the Bakhmut area of Donetsk more vulnerable, according to Britain’s Ministry of Defense on Wednesday.
“Recent redeployments of Russian airborne forces from Bakhmut to Zaporizhzhia in southern Ukraine have likely weakened Russia’s defenses around Bakhmut,” the ministry said in an intelligence update on X, formerly Twitter.”
“Russian losses in the southern Zaporizhzhia region of Ukraine have increased significantly as Ukraine’s counteroffensive makes gains, according to an analysis from the Institute for the Study of War, released late on Tuesday.
Ukraine has reported a number of advances in the last week in the south and east, with the recapture of two villages — Andriivka and Klishchiivka — just south of Bakhmut in Donetsk. It’s a notable victory, although Russian officials say the settlements are still being contested.
The ISW noted in its analysis that “Russian and Ukrainian sources credited superior Ukrainian combat coordination, more precise artillery fire, and stronger electronic warfare systems for recent Ukrainian advances south of Bakhmut amid continued discussions of significant Russian losses in the area.”
After recent reports of a Ukrainian breakthrough in one of three main layers of Russian defenses in southern Ukraine, the country’s armed forces appear to be building on gains. The ISW noted that “Russian losses have reportedly significantly increased in western Zaporizhzhia Oblast [region] in recent days, and the Russian military likely struggles with a lack of available combat-effective units that the Russian command is willing to laterally redeploy to this sector of the front.””