AFU strengthening positions on 2 axes

The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) are entrenched on the Melitopol and Berdiansk axes.

This follows from a statement by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), the Ukrainian News agency reports.

On the Mariyinka axis, the Defense Forces continue to hold back the advance of Russian troops in the areas of Krasnohorivka and Mariyinka.

The enemy shelled more than ten settlements, including Krasnohorivka, Mariyinka, Pobieda, Heorhiyivka, and Maksymiliyanivka in the Donetsk Region.

On the Shakhtarsk axis, the enemy carried out unsuccessful offensive actions in Rivnopil in the Donetsk Region.

It shelled more than ten settlements, including Paraskoviyivka, Novomykhailivka, Vuhledar, and Blahodatne in the Donetsk Region.

On the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson axes, the enemy is concentrating its primary efforts on preventing the further advance of our troops.

It carried out airstrikes in the areas of Mala Tokmachka, Orikhiv, and Lobkove in the Zaporizhzhia Region.

More than 35 settlements were hit by artillery fire, including Novodarivka, Levadne, Stepove, Lobkove, and Kamiyanske in the Zaporizhzhia Region; Burhunka, Lvove, Tiahynka, Mykilske, Dniprovske, and Stanislav in the Kherson Region and the city of Kherson.

"At the same time, the Defense Forces of Ukraine continue to conduct an offensive operation in the Melitopol and Berdiansk axes and are entrenched at the achieved boundaries," the General Staff notes.

As the Ukrainian News agency earlier reported, Minister of Defense Oleksii Reznikov stated that the offensive of the AFU is behind schedule, but it is proceeding according to plan.