The move was announced by Ukraine’s Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar on Tuesday night, Britain’s The Guardian newspaper reported.
Malyar said Kyiv’s troops had begun to evacuate civilians, but were still coming under fire from Russian soldiers.
For Ukraine, capturing Robotyne is a potentially significant step towards taking the nearby town of Orikhiv, and then the Russian-held road and rail hub of Tokmak, The Guardian reported.
Seizing Tokmak would be a milestone in Ukraine’s march southwards through Zaporizhzhia towards the Sea of Azov, according to the UK newspaper.
Meanwhile, the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that Ukraine’s advance into the Robotyne area “brings Ukrainian forces closer to launching operations against second lines of defense that may be relatively weaker than the first Russian defensive line in the area.”
The US think tank said on Tuesday that “Russian forces appear concerned about recent Ukrainian advances” in the border area between the eastern Donetsk region and Zaporizhzhia, as well as in the western part of Zaporizhzhia.
According to the ISW, “Russian forces have notably sped up the expansion of defensive fortifications near Chervonoselivka, 38km southwest of Velyka Novosilka and 27km from the current frontline,” in Zaporizhzhia province, over the last month.
The US think tank quoted Ukrainian Colonel Petro Chernyk as saying that “all conditions are set” for Ukrainian forces to enter the Northern Azov region and “demolish“ Russian positions in southern Ukraine and occupied Crimea.
Russia launches drone attack on Ukrainian grain facilities
Russia attacked Ukraine’s ports in the southern Odesa region and on the Danube river overnight into Wednesday, setting fire to at least one grain-storage facility, the Reuters news agency reported.
The Ukrainian army said on the Telegram social messaging app: "The enemy hit grain storage facilities and a production and transhipment complex in the Danube region. A fire broke out in the warehouses and was quickly contained. Firefighters continue to work."
The attack on the Odesa region lasted three hours and Ukraine’s air defences brought down nine Russian unmanned aerial vehicles, governor Oleh Kiper said.
He added: "Unfortunately, there were hits to the production and transhipment complexes where a fire broke out ... The damage includes grain storage facilities.“
Russia’s main targets were the Ukrainian ports on the Danube, the biggest of which are Izmail and Reni, according to Reuters.
The Danube ports are now the main route out for Ukrainian grain, after Russia last month pulled out of the United Nations-backed Black Sea Grain Initiative that provided safe passage for Ukraine’s grain exports via the Black Sea, The Guardian reported.
Russia’s attack on Izmail earlier this month sent global food prices higher, according to news outlets.
Ukraine said later on Wednesday it had shot down 11 of 20 drones launched by Russia overnight, Reuters reported.
Russia says it downed three drones in Moscow region
A UAV struck a building under construction in downtown Moscow on Wednesday morning, and two more drones were destroyed over the western part of Moscow region, the Russian capital’s mayor said.
The incident came a short while after flights were suspended at Moscow’s airports, The Guardian reported, citing Russian state media.
Russia’s defence ministry said: “At night, air defence forces thwarted another attempt by the Kyiv regime to carry out a terrorist attack by three aircraft-type unmanned aerial vehicles on the city of Moscow.”
There were no casualties, according to officials.
The strike marked the sixth successive night of aerial attacks on Russia’s Moscow region, according to news outlets.
Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, launching the largest military campaign in Europe since World War II.
Wednesday is day 546 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, ISW, Reuters, The Guardian
