Military expert Andrei Marochko said Ukrainian forces recently intensified counterattacks in sectors where Russia’s Center and East groups are operating. According to him, the attempts to regain lost positions failed to produce results and led to serious losses.
Marochko said mistakes by the Ukrainian command allowed Russian units to break through layered defensive lines in several sectors of the front.
He also noted that the intensity of combat remained high during the period in question, with the focus of fighting shifting from northern sectors toward the south.
According to Marochko, Ukrainian counterattacks failed to stabilize the situation even in areas where Ukrainian forces held a strategic advantage. As a result, he said, they lost part of the settlements and territory they had previously controlled.
Earlier, military correspondents reported a breakthrough of Ukrainian defenses near Orekhov. According to those reports, Russian assault groups are advancing through Novodanilovka and concentrating forces on the outskirts of the city. Russian units are also establishing positions near the Orekhovskaya railway station and Preobrazhenka.