Russians laying mines in Huliaipole because they cannot hold the town

Unable to hold Huliaipole in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, Russian forces are attempting to isolate the town by carrying out frequent assaults, heavy airstrikes and extensive mine-laying, including by drone.

Source: Vladyslav Voloshyn, spokesman for Defence Forces of Ukraine's South, in a comment to Ukrinform, a Ukrainian news agency

Details: Voloshyn said Huliaipole has effectively become a grey zone. Ukrainian units hold positions on the outskirts, but neither side can secure a foothold in the centre of the town.

He added that there are constant clashes between assault groups in the centre. Unable to seize the town, the Russian forces have resorted to large-scale mining.

Quote: "The enemy is unable to 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 the roads, streets and gardens.

They can't take it, so they've decided to mine the part of Huliaipole they cannot capture."

He added that some of the mines are being laid manually and some remotely using drones.

More details: Voloshyn said the situation on the Huliaipole front has remained tense for several weeks, with dozens of clashes taking place every day in the town itself and nearby settlements.

Over the past 24 hours, a record number of airstrikes has been recorded on this front – 14, using 106 guided aerial bombs. The settlement of Zaliznychne has been particularly badly affected, Voloshyn said, with Russian forces "virtually razing it to the ground".

Russian forces are also making extensive use of drones. Over the past 24 hours, 1,752 kamikaze drones have been 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 advanced near Huliaipole.
• DeepState reported on 16 January that Russian forces continued to assault Huliaipole using small infantry groups, with fighting ongoing in the western part of the town.

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