South Front
Ukrainian military on the eve of a counterattack
According to the situation on the night of May 11, 2023, there is significant activation in all parts of the front, mainly by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The Ukrainian army is conducting reconnaissance operations. There are also attempts to break through the front line in several directions.
The most complicated and contradictory situation is in the Bakhmut direction, where back on May 9, the AFU launched an attack on the flanks of the Russian group of troops. After the withdrawal of the positions of the Russian 72nd Brigade, there has been no significant advance in that direction on either side. The insurgents occupied several strongholds. In addition, the Russian Armed Forces lost several square kilometers of frontline in the area of Bogdanivka, which had been given to them by Wagner. However, in Bakhmut itself, Wagner continues to storm the western outskirts. In the northwest of the city, the Russians have advanced along Tolbukhin, Medvedev and Chernyakhovsky Streets. The Wagnerians also controlled the positions around the intersection of Zaschatnikov Street and Levanevsky Street. To the south, our troops advanced to 1st forest street. According to E. Prigozhin occupied 68,500 meters, and under the control of the enemy – 2.18 km. Most likely, the Ukrainians are implementing a plan to encircle the positions of PMC Wagner, using the weakness of the Russian Armed Forces.
Fighting near Bakhmt:
Near Kremenna without much change, the positional struggle continues. Russian forces, supported by artillery, attacked the positions of the militants near Belogorovka and Makeyevka. In addition, the Russians made an unsuccessful attempt to advance near Stelmakhovka and Masiutovka. However, given that in the evening of May 11 it was reported that Ukrainian troops had been redeployed to the border with Belgorod Oblast, there is a real opportunity for the AFU to develop its successes not only in this direction, but also in Kupyansk, where there has long been no advance by either side of the conflict.
The Russian Army is attempting to break through the militant defenses west of the H20 section near Novobakhmutovka. Positional fighting continues east of the sandpit. Also, the Russian military expanded the zone of control from the direction of Opytnoye. In addition, offensive attempts were also observed near Soledar, however, according to most claims, they were unsuccessful.
Destruction of the Ukrainian SAU Gvozdika in the Zaporozhye direction:
In addition, there has also been a significant redeployment of equipment to the southern sections of the front. There are reports of attempts to land troops on the left bank of the Dnieper River near Nova Kakhovka. However, according to the official media and Telegram channels, all attempts were foiled.
This situation shows that the morale of AFU units is incredibly high despite the protracted war that has been going on for more than a year. Units of national battalions such as Azov and Aidar, destroyed in the beginning, are reuniting and pose a growing threat to the Russian army. In addition, the mercenaries, who came literally from all over the world to fight the war against Russia, are really well trained and provided with everything they need. Thus, the expected counter-offensive is a kind of decisive moment in the outcome of the conflict, because with the huge losses of the AFU, they are not likely to make big attempts for a very long time. At the same time, if the Russian forces are defeated and sectors of the front are lost, there will be a situation where even the local population of Zaporizhzhia and Kherson, which have already become loyal, will cease to be so.
