Ukrainian-Russian war. Day 545:

Ukrainian-Russian war. Day 545: Situation on Zaporizhia front: Recent video footage shows Ukrainian flag placed in the roof of the town council of Robotyne/Роботине, which was retaken today by the 47th Mechanized brigade. The battle has been one of the longest and toughest battles of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, which lasted 71 days. Map: [ ]During that period of time Russian troops have shown an incredible defensive capacity despite the numerical inferiority on this axis, as it was foreseeable that the population would be taken back by the Ukrainians relatively easily. However, once Ukrainian forces entered the town, it was only a matter of days before the Russians eventually withdrew. Indeed, the arrival of new reinforcements from the 7th Airborne Division allowed some positions to be regained by replacing the exhausted Russian troops, but the aim was only to allow a comfortable retreat to the southern defences and the town of Novoprokopivka/Новопрокопівка where further fighting was to take place. Consequently, the southern part of the locality remains a grey area subject to shelling, but one thing is certain, there are no more Russian soldiers in the locality. The recapture of Robotyne is a morale boost for Ukrainian troops who will most likely take advantage of it to try to breach the ever-closer first line of the main Russian defence, which will happen in the 3rd phase of the counter-offensive that is beginning and in which a larger number of troops will be involved. A significant victory is necessary if the Ukrainian army is to continue to receive foreign aid. However, the Russian army has been preparing its defences since the end of last year and has already demonstrated that Russian troops will put up stubborn resistance to every square kilometre in contention. Источник: Suriyakmaps