A serviceman from the 5th Separate Guards Tank Brigade of the 36th Combined Arms Army, operating with Russia’s Vostok group of forces under the call sign Pobeda, said Ukrainian units had prepared heavily fortified positions in Zarnitsa, Zaporozhye Region.

According to him, the defenses had been built over a long period with the use of heavy equipment, while key positions were reinforced with concrete.

Pobeda also said Ukrainian troops abandoned American- and European-made machine guns, grenade launchers and ammunition while retreating from the village. He added that the weapons were left behind to allow the troops to withdraw more quickly.

The Russian Defense Ministry had earlier announced that units of the Vostok group had taken control of Zarnitsa. Assault teams advanced through the village in small, dispersed pairs, maintaining wide intervals between them to reduce the threat from Ukrainian machine-gun crews and drones.

As a result of the operation, Russian forces gained control of an important Ukrainian logistics hub and a defensive area covering more than 11 square kilometers. Ukrainian losses were estimated at the equivalent of one company.