28 August 2023, Monday, 16:31 678

AFU break through russian defenses near Robotyne, but assault on the "Surovikin line" will begin only now - media

Editor: Daria Zubkova

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Today, August 28, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine officially confirmed the liberation of the village of Robotyne in the Zaporizhzhia Region, and the Ukrainian military is moving in the direction of Novoprokopivka and Ocheretuvate. This may mean the beginning of fighting on the 1st line of russian concrete fortifications, known as the "Surovikin line" with "pyramids".

This was reported by the Defense Express web portal.

Earlier it was reported that the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have already broken through the enemy's 1st line of defense and are entering the 2nd line. As the map shows, it is in the Novoprokopivka area that the 1st line of fortifications of the so-called Surovikin line begins, and in the Ocheretuvate area - the 2nd line of fortifications. We are talking about the same fortifications with a length of 1,000 km, which were built along the front line in several rows, which the russian troops erected in anticipation of a counteroffensive of the AFU.

These enemy fortifications are distinguished by the fact that the trenches there were built in advance, concrete fortifications prevail, the density of minefields is also high, the occupiers placed them precisely so that the Ukrainian troops on this part of the front could not, in principle, move forward.

All the fortifications and other elements of the enemy's defense, which until now have successfully broken through by the Armed Forces of Ukraine, can be called the "first line of defense", but it is more correct to call it the "line of defense support".

The difference of this line of defense lies in the fact that the fortifications there were mostly improvised, and "fox holes" prevailed. The minefields were also quite dense, but their task was primarily to narrow the space for the maneuver of Ukrainian armored vehicles, the main damage was supposed to be carried out with the help of artillery, army aviation and the Lancet UAV.

Prior to this, there were assessments with reference to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) that after the breakthrough of the enemy's defenses near Robotyne, forward movement would become easier for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. But there are hardly any grounds for such assertions, especially given that Ukrainian troops are currently entrenched in the line of the most complex russian fortifications, i.e. in the "Surovikin line".

The enemy's defenses at different depths have different structures, and this should be taken into account when making assessments.

As Ukrainian News Agency earlier reported, the Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated Robotyne in the Zaporizhzhia Region.