Kiev relocating reserve forces to Zaporozhye
Russia forces Ukraine to get its reserve on the frontline after Moscow dealt losses to Kiev's supply lines.
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Ukrainian soldiers patrol, in Bakhmut, Thursday, Jan. 12, 2023 (AP Photo/LIBKOS)
Kiev is scrambling to relocate its reserve troops to a frontline near Zaporzhye to attack Russian troops after the latter disrupted a Ukrainian supply line, said Saturday Vladimir Rogov, a member of the Zaporozhye regional administration's main council.
"Now the reserve forces are being urgently relocated from the Zaprozhye-Krivoy Rog front, that is from the Dnipropetrovsk region, the Krivoy Rog region, and so on, to the Zaporzhye region closer to the line of contact to strike with heavy artillery and multiple launch rocket systems," Rogov said on Russian broadcaster Komsomolskaya Pravda.
🇷🇺🇺🇦 Battle of Orikhiv
— Rybar in English (@rybar_en) January 20, 2023
Situation as of end of January 20, 2023 pic.twitter.com/rr3GZXwOGX
Furthermore, the official revealed that the Russian military had taken full control of the Kamianske-Orikhiv highway, which served as a key channel in the transfer of Ukrainian troops, weapons, and munition.
According to Rogov, the Ukrainian armed forces were facing a shortage of artillery munitions due to disrupted logistic chains and weapons depots eliminated by the Russian troops.
This comes less than a week after Rogov reported that Ukrainian forces shelled Polohy, Zaporozhye, which killed four civilians and seriously wounded five others.
Ukraine's attacks have escalated in Zaparozhye, alongside the neighboring regions of Kherson, Donetsk People's Republic, and Lugansk People's Republic, which have seen an uptick in violence from Ukraine since their accession into Russia in September.
Meanwhile, Zaparozhye has been the subject of various missile strikes that targeted its vital Zaparozhye nuclear power plant, the biggest in Europe, which threatened a nuclear catastrophe on the continent.
The shelling prompted an intervention from the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, and that still did not curb Kiev's aggression against the region.
Moreover, just yesterday, the United States advised Ukraine to focus on more than just one front, hinting at Bakhmut, where a battle has been ongoing with Russia for over a month now.
A senior US official said on Friday, Ukraine should not solely focus on defending Bakhmut at all costs and should instead use the window it has been given to prepare a major counter-offensive against Russia.
Russian forces continue to advance in Bakhmut toward the densely populated areas of the city after they succeeded more than a month ago in tightening their siege on the Ukrainian forces present there, while they continue to bombard their positions with missiles and artillery.
The Russian Defense Ministry said earlier in the day that the Russian Armed Forces managed to take control of the village of Klishchiivka, located near Bakhmut, in the Donetsk People's Republic.
Western media have been speaking about the Battle of Bakhmut for over a month now, in which Kiev's allies fear that Russian control over it will be key to the collapse of the entire front in the hands of the Russian forces during the harsh winter, while Russian sources confirm that the Ukrainian forces and mercenaries are suffering heavy losses in lives and equipment.
Bakhmut has been an important transport hub for supplying the Ukrainian troops in the Donbass during the Ukraine war. A US official confirmed during a press briefing last Wednesday that the Russian army has made "gradual progress in the city of Bakhmut," located on the western outskirts of the DPR region.
