MELITOPOL, March 25. /TASS/. Russian troops broke through Ukrainian army defenses northwest of Verbovoye in the Zaporozhye area and advanced by 2 km, Vladimir Rogov, chairman of the We Are Together with Russia public movement, told TASS on Monday.
"Our troops have breached the Ukrainian army’s defenses northwest of Verbovoye and advanced by two kilometers. They have seized at least five strongholds. Moreover, the enemy has suffered heavy manpower casualties," he said.
This is not the sole success by Russian troops in the Zaporozhye direction, Rogov stressed.
"Some success has been achieved northwest of Rabotino. In Rabotino, [Russian forces] have improved their forward edge positions. They have also advanced a little near Staromayorskoye," he added.
Russia’s Defense Ministry reported in late February that Russian forces had gained foothold in the settlement of Rabotino in their offensive operation. The Ukrainian military has been unsuccessfully trying to regain its lost lines by bringing reinforcements from other directions to that area.
Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on March 22 that units of Russia’s Battlegroup East had liberated the community of Mirnoye in the Zaporozhye Region and improved their frontline positions in the south Donetsk direction.