Tarnavsky: Ukrainian troops break through the first line of defense in the Zaporizhzhia region

Ukrainian troops have decisively broken through Russia’s first line of defense in the Zaporizhzhia region and expect a quick breakthrough of the weaker second line.

Brigadier General Oleksandr Tarnavsky reported this in an interview with The Guardian.

According to Tarnavsky, Russia devoted 60% of its time and resources to the construction of the first line of defense and only 20% each to the second and third lines, as the Russians did not expect Ukrainian troops to break through the first line.

“We are now between the first and second defense lines,” the Brigadier General shared in an interview with Obozrevatel.

According to him, Ukrainian forces are now advancing on both sides of the breakthrough and are gaining ground on the liberated territory.

“In the center of the offensive, we are completing the destruction of enemy units covering the retreat of Russian troops behind their second line of defense,” Tarnavsky said.

Tarnavsky noted that the Russians are redeploying troops to the area of combat.

“The enemy is pulling up reserves not only from Ukraine but also from Russia. But sooner or later, the Russians will run out of all their best soldiers. This will give us a momentum to attack more and faster,” the Brigadier General noted.

Tarnavsky rejected Western media’s criticism of the slow counteroffensive, saying he prefers to judge the work after it is completed. He also thanked the allies for their military assistance.

“I think the Russians believed that Ukrainians would not break through this line of defense. They had been preparing for over a year. They did everything to ensure that this area was well prepared,” Tarnavsky said.

Despite the fact that the Russians had erected a strong concrete defense line and mined the approaches to it, the Defense Forces of Ukraine gradually removed the mine barriers.

Infantry units were working at night to painstakingly clear the corridor through the mines, advancing meter by meter in the darkness. After losing some of the minefields, the Russians lost some of their advantage.

Mine clearance was only possible at night; during the day, the Russians immediately opened fire against any engineering equipment.

When asked about the slow breakthrough of Russian defenses in the eastern offensives, he pointed out that they have other goals and added that Ukraine is preparing other surprise offensives to wear down Russian forces.

“To succeed in one direction, you always need to mislead the enemy. The main goal of the [offensive near] the village of Velyka Novosilka was different,” Tarnavsky said.

He refused to give a timeframe for reaching major targets, such as Melitopol or the Azov Sea coast but said the fighting would continue.

“If we stop the offensive, the enemy will gather new forces and strengthen. We will reach the borders of Ukraine in 1991… We do not want to see our children and even grandchildren fighting against the Russians, and who could stop them? Only ourselves,” the brigadier general said.

Tarnavsky is the commander of the Tavria Operational and Strategic Group of Troops, named after the historical region that included Crimea.

“The closer we get to victory, the harder it is. Why? Because, unfortunately, we are losing our strongest and best. So now, we have to concentrate on certain areas and see the job through. No matter how hard it is for all of us,” the commander concluded.