Russia lays mines in Huliaipole because it cannot hold the town
Russia's forces have been unable to entrench themselves in the town of Huliaipole, so they are trying to isolate the town through frequent assaults, heavy air strikes and extensive mining, including using drones.
Source: Vladyslav Voloshyn, spokesman for Defence Forces of Ukraine's South, in a comment to Ukrinform, a Ukrainian news agency
Details: Voloshyn said that Huliaipole has effectively become a "grey zone". Ukrainian units hold positions on the outskirts but neither side can secure a foothold in the central part of the town.
He added that clashes between assault groups take place constantly in the centre. Unable to seize the town, Russian forces have resorted to large-scale mining.
Quote: "The enemy cannot push us back and entrench itself in Huliaipole, so… the enemy's engineer units have received a large number of anti-personnel and anti-tank TM-72 mines to mine all roads, streets and gardens.
They cannot take it, so they decide to mine the part of Huliaipole they cannot capture."
More details: Voloshyn said that the situation on the Huliaipole front has remained tense for several weeks, with dozens of clashes every day in the town itself and nearby settlements.
Over the past 24 hours, a record number of air strikes was recorded on this front, 14 using 106 guided aerial bombs. The settlement of Zaliznychne suffers significant destruction, and Russian forces are "virtually levelling it to the ground", Voloshyn said.
Russian forces are also using drones intensively. Over the past 24 hours, 1,752 kamikaze drones were recorded, with at least 1,200 of them in the Huliaipole area.
Background:
- DeepState, a Ukrainian group of military analysts, reported on 15 January that Russian forces had occupied the village of Krasnohirske in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and have also advanced near the city of Huliaipole.
- DeepState reported on 16 January that Russian forces continued to assault Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia Oblast using small infantry groups, with fighting ongoing in the western part of the city.
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