Over the past three to four days, Russian forces have stepped up pressure on Ukrainian positions in the eastern part of the Zaporozhye region. Military sources reported on March 15 that Russian units managed to expand the territory under their control near the settlement of Zaliznychne.

Russian troops advanced roughly three kilometers west of their previously held positions near the village. As a result, they reached the eastern outskirts of Gulyaypolskoye, a settlement located on both banks of the Zherebets River.

The shift on the front line has pushed Ukrainian units farther away from the city of Gulyaypole. Earlier, Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Aleksandr Syrsky had pledged that the city would be retaken. Current reports indicate that Ukrainian troops are now withdrawing toward the western outskirts of Gulyaypolskoye.

The settlement lies about 20 kilometers from the city of Orekhov. In addition, one of the supply routes used to support the Ukrainian garrison defending Orekhov runs roughly 11 kilometers away. The road approaches the area from the village of Novomikhaylovka, located north of the city.

At the same time, military sources acknowledge that the overall pace of the Russian advance in this sector has slowed compared with the winter months. One of the factors cited is the arrival of spring. While armored vehicles were able to move across open fields and even cross frozen bodies of water in February, the region’s black soil has now become difficult terrain even for tracked equipment. Ukrainian forces, according to the same sources, are attempting to exploit these conditions as part of their defensive strategy.