“They’ve almost taken Huliaipole”: the Russian army is stretching the front line to overload Ukraine’s defenses

Russian forces are advancing actively on the Huliaipole axis and are finishing fighting for the city itself.

This was written by Ukrainian military expert Kostiantyn Mashovets on his Telegram channel.

According to him, in recent days Russian units have managed to cross the Haichur River at several points, enter the city from different directions, and entrench themselves in its northern and central parts.

Assault groups are already operating west of Huliaipole, toward Zheleznodorozhne and Staroukrainka. Mashovets says the opponent is close to establishing control over the entire city.

At the same time, north of Huliaipole, Russian forces also crossed the Haichur, entered the village of Dobropillia, and took control of Danylivka, or most of it. This creates conditions for further pressure toward the Zaporizhzhia–Donetsk highway and for expanding the offensive to neighboring sections of the front.

On part of this axis, Ukrainian forces have managed to slow the advance somewhat, but in the Huliaipole area the situation remains critical.

Mashovets assesses that the Russian command deliberately stretched the offensive across a broad front to overload Ukraine’s defenses and concentrate the main forces on the direction of the main strike. This calculation, he says, worked: in one area the advance was slowed, but in another the defense was breached.

Looking ahead, the main threat, in the expert’s view, is further advances to the west and northwest of Huliaipole. Combined with pressure along the Dnipro, this could threaten Ukrainian logistics in the Orikhiv area and create preconditions for reaching the approaches to Orikhiv from several directions.

Mashovets emphasizes that this plan is being implemented slowly and with heavy losses, but the advance continues. The outcome will depend on whether Ukraine can stabilize its defenses specifically on the Huliaipole axis.

Earlier, media reported that the Russian army had appeared in the settlement of Zheleznodorozhne, located west of Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia region.