Ukrainian forces liberate village of Robotyne, advancing further on southern front

The Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated the village of Robotyne in the Tokmak community in the southeastern Zaporizhzhya region from the Russian occupiers, Deputy Minister of Defense Hanna Maliar announced on the air of the telethon.

"As for the southern front, our offensive actions continue. You know that Robotyne was liberated. Our troops are already moving further southeast of Robotyne and south of Mala Tokmachka," she said.

Maliar clarified that Ukrainian servicemen are advancing toward Novodanilivka — Novoprokopivka and Mala Tokmachka — Ocheretuvate.

The deputy minister emphasized that the Ukrainian troops were advancing, despite the fierce resistance of the Russians, "continuously mining" the occupied territories and building concrete fortifications.

"The enemy is throwing all its forces in these directions. The occupiers are suffering huge losses, but they are still trying to concentrate their forces there so as not to surrender the positions they have already occupied," Maliar added.

On August 22, soldiers of the 47th separate mechanized brigade entered the village of Robotyne. Later, they reported that they had successfully evacuated civilians from this settlement under heavy fire from the Russian occupiers. The next day it became known that fighters hoisted the flag of Ukraine in Robotyne. 

According to military experts, Robotyne is the main obstacle on the way to Russian forces' second line of defense. The village is one of the key strongholds of the Russians on the stretch between controlled Orikhiv and occupied Tokmak, which they turned into a fortress on the way to another important junction — Melitopol.

What we know about Ukraine's counteroffensive

According to Institute for the Study of War (ISW) analysts, heavy fighting continues along the entire front line. Ukrainian soldiers are conducting offensive operations on the Melitopol front, where they have achieved uncertain success.

Meanwhile, the Russian troops suffered significant losses due to insufficient support on the islands of the Dnieper Delta in the Kherson region. The Ukrainian Defense Forces also continued to forcefully destroy the Russian invaders in the Zaporizhzhia and the Kherson directions.

According to the Minister of Defense of Ukraine, Oleksii Reznikov, the Ukrainian armed forces are digging up five mines for every square meter planted by the Russians. According to the minister, Ukraine has qualified sappers and modern equipment. Still, they are extremely insufficient for the front, which stretches for hundreds of kilometers in the east and south of Ukraine.