Ukrainian military expect a Russian offensive in Zaporizhzhia region – CNN

Ukrainian troops in Zaporizhzhia region expect that Russian forces will launch an offensive in this direction.

This was reported by Serhiy Skibchuk, communications officer of the 65th Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, in an interview with U.S. television channel CNN.

The brigade, which is holding the defense near Orikhiv, notes that the enemy is concentrating forces and redeploying troops from Russia’s Kursk region toward Zaporizhzhia.

“The Russians are preparing for escalation here, that’s certain,” the officer said.

Soldiers of the unit say they lack the resources for effective defense, especially electronic warfare (EW) systems and long-range weapons.

“Technologically, we are in a situation where the strike range is expanding almost every month. Now it’s already up to 30 kilometers. And we don’t have enough of these systems along the entire front,” Skibchuk commented.

On the front line, troops emphasize that without modern EW systems and long-range weapons, it will be much harder to stop a possible enemy offensive.

The soldiers report that heavy fighting is taking place in their sector, causing significant losses. Yevhen, a 32-year-old squad commander, said that out of his six men, one was killed, two were wounded, and another two suffered concussions. In one battle, his group was under fire the entire night, from 8 p.m. until 5 a.m., “without a chance to even get up or crawl forward.”

In anticipation of a Russian offensive, continuous anti-drone netting is being stretched along all frontline roads, since UAV strikes have become the main threat in this war.