The head of Ukrainian military intelligence, Kyrylo Budanov, visited Zaporizhia region at a time when the Russian army is intensifying its attempts to capture the city of Gulyaipole in the southeast of the country, BTA reports.
According to Ukrainian military spokesman Vladislav Voloshin, quoted by Ukrinform, Russian forces are trying to reach the central part of Gulyaipole. He specified that fierce fighting is taking place both in the city itself and for control of key logistical routes to it. According to Voloshin, Russian units are trying to gain a foothold on the outskirts and make a breakthrough to the center of the settlement.
Against this background, the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense reported that Kirill Budanov visited the forward positions of the special unit of the GUR "Timur" in the Zaporizhia region.
Earlier today, the Russian Ministry of Defense stated, quoted by TASS, that Russian forces had destroyed Ukrainian underground fortifications, a command post and servicemen in the Gulyaipole region.
The city is among the main targets of Russian actions in the Zaporizhia region - one of the four Ukrainian regions that Moscow has declared annexed, but over which it does not have full control.
Meanwhile, the most intense fighting continues around the cities of Pokrovsk and Kupyansk in Donetsk and Kharkiv regions. Russia claims to have taken control of them, while the Ukrainian side denies these claims.
In its morning briefing, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported a total of 151 combat clashes over the previous day, with the strongest Russian pressure in the Pokrovsk area. Earlier, Ukraine also reported the withdrawal of its troops from Seversk, while at the same time stating that it retains fire control over the city in the northern part of Donetsk region.