100,000 soldiers gathered
The Russians put the Ukrainians on the defensive at Kobyansk
07/17/2023 10:46 PM
According to Ukraine, Russia’s armed forces gather around 100,000 men in northeastern Ukraine near Kobyansk and Lyman. Defenders are finding it increasingly difficult to hold their positions. The invaders are also intensifying their efforts in the hotly contested Bakhmut city area.
The Ukrainian military reported massive Russian offensives in the east of the country. Army Commander Colonel Oleksandr Serskij said the situation is difficult. In the Kobyansk region of the Kharkiv region, the Russian army launched an offensive to break through the Ukrainian lines.
Military information cannot be independently verified. But the night situation report prepared by the General Staff in Kiev also mentioned the front near Kobyansk as the focal point of the fighting. The report stated that the Ukrainian forces withstood the attack. A press officer of the Ukrainian army spoke on television of the alleged 100,000 men Russia had massed in the Kobyansk and Liman sectors of the front.
Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Malgar also reported on Telegram about attacks by large Russian units in the Kobyansk sector. And I wrote that the enemy had been on the offensive there, in the Kharkiv region, for two days. “We are defending ourselves. Heavy fighting is going on, and the positions of both sides are changing dynamically several times a day.” Malgar had already admitted on Sunday that Ukraine was on the defensive in this area.
Meanwhile, on Sunday, the deputy minister spoke of “gradual” progress near the besieged town of Bakhmut. Now Colonel-General Serskegee is also reporting from the Bakhmut front: the Russian army is sending more troops, especially the airborne, to the city. Their mission is to stop the reconquest of places around Bakhmut by Ukraine. Ukrainian forces evacuated Bakhmut after months of fighting. However, in their main attack, they again advanced north and south of the city.