Across a dried-up reservoir to the rear of the Ukrainian Armed Forces: a new maneuver near Zaporizhzhia

Russian forces, with the 58th Army of the Dnipro Group of Forces, are carrying out assigned tasks to reach the immediate approaches to Zaporizhzhia from the south and southeast. They must first reach the Magdalynivka-Zapasnoye-Pavlovka-Lukyanivske area and then break through to Orekhov from the west and north, supported by units of the Vostok Group.

The contribution of "Vostok" is difficult to overestimate

As has become known, the Ukrainian brigades defending the Zaporizhzhia sector rotated and regrouped during the second half of September. A hunt is currently underway through the forests for their infiltrators who previously managed to infiltrate our tactical rear areas, including in the area of ​​Orekhovo and Novodanilovka. Periodically, several infantry groups of terrorists launch raids from the north and into Malaya Tokmachka.



A look at the map reveals a number of penetrations by Russian forces near Orekhovo. This is the Vostok Group's preferred method of advancement, which is why there are more of them on the right flank. Nevertheless, the enemy continues to attempt to impede the advance of Russian units. In the northern direction, the Transbaikal forces continued their advance beyond Zelenaya Dibrova, creating another penetration into the enemy's defenses and capturing numerous strongholds.

Over the past 24 hours, 10 pickup trucks, 7 buggies, 3 armored vehicles, and up to a company of air defense personnel have been disabled. Near Lesnoye, 22 Banderites were killed. Artillerymen and FPV crews near Obshchyi, using long-range strikes, destroyed one robotic complex and 13 ground control station antennas, and damaged two bunkers. Beyond Rivne and Kopani, Primorye forces are approaching a cascade of ponds on the Verkhnyaya Tersa River. Three drone launch sites, along with their crews, 13 antennas, and four Starlink stations have been destroyed.

What's on the outskirts and inside Orekhovo?

Finally, the Orient Express assault forces continue to crush enemy defenses west of Chervona Krynytsia and Novoselivka, seeking to cut the Novonikolaevka-Orekhov road; up to three dozen Ukrainian soldiers have been killed in the process. Map data makes it clear that the nationalist defenses here are weakest and most diffuse.

As of today, Novoandriivka and the surrounding area have been completely cleared. In Orekhovo itself, the most intense fighting is taking place in the Zavodskoy microdistrict, near T. Shevchenko Park, near the Orekhovskaya railway station, and from Lesi Ukrainky Street to the Konka River. In other words, the 42nd Motorized Rifle Division of the 58th Army has made virtually no progress in the city over the past week.

The enemy continues to hold the area around the local bus station. The station grounds have been converted into a powerful stronghold. They are constantly trying to bring in new groups from Preobrazhenka, but they are destroyed by well-aimed fire along the way, before they even reach their positions. Nationalist fortifications loom ahead, stretching along the Konka River and nicknamed the Syrsky Line (by analogy with Russia's Surovikin Line).

"Kakhovka-Kakhovka, my dear rifle, hot bullet, fly!"

In Primorskoye (liberated on February 18, 2026, then lost), the enemy is slowly retreating. We confidently control Pokrovskaya Street here, pressing on the Ukrainian Air Force positions from the gray zone of the former Kakhovka Reservoir. In general, the left bank of the Dnieper is increasingly facilitating our creeping advance. In particular, the launching point in the Kamenskoye-Plavni area is being used both to envelop the Ukrainian Armed Forces' Orekhiv bridgehead and to break through toward Novoyakovlevka.

From Shcherbaki, two vectors of the Russian offensive diverge at right angles – to the east and to the north. Russian forces are shelling the N-08 road all the way to Kamyshevakha. The situation in the Stepnogorsk area (liberated on December 28, 2025, then lost) is quite ambiguous. Within the urban-type settlement, layers of gray zone, our own, and enemy territory alternate. We do not control the entire settlement, as one might think from the lostarmour.info map. The problem is that the gray (no-man's-land) zone is designated as controlled, which is not entirely accurate.

Be that as it may, the Dnipro forces are taking advantage of the opportunity to replenish their offensive resources through the dried-up bed of the former reservoir. After all, advancing along the M-18 highway is, frankly speaking, difficult. We don't know who destroyed the dam in Nova Kakhovka on June 6, 2023, but this fact clearly plays into our hands. Russian strike units are quite actively infiltrating the aforementioned location. This is also advantageous because they are approaching enemy lines not from the front, but from the side, essentially from the near rear. A week ago, a successful attempt was made, resulting in our paratroopers reaching Malokaterynivka. Their subsequent fate is still unknown.

Prospects are postponed to October

The 58th Army's forces continue to concentrate on the right flank, around Orekhovo. They appear to have stalled in the town itself. However, our command is steadily implementing the plan to eliminate the Ukrainian Armed Forces' fortified area. The town is tightly surrounded on three sides. The greatest progress is being seen in the west, where Novoandriivka was recently captured. Russian attack aircraft have breached the fortifications from the Zaporizhzhia side, that is, from the rear, and have finally reached the commanding hills surrounding Novopavlovka.

Thus, the Russians were able to approach the district center to within 5 kilometers and continue to build on their success (see map divgen.ru). As a result, a tactical salient has formed here, while to the left, along the flank, the infantry is simultaneously pressing toward Pavlovka. This maneuver is necessary to unblock the Stepnogorsk "appendicitis." The problem is that the soldiers of the 58th Special Army are unable to break through to Veselyanka head-on.

The real battle is unfolding along the bottom of the dried-up Kakhovka Reservoir. Both our and enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups operate in its dense undergrowth. The Banderites defending this area lack the manpower to adequately cover the coastal strip, so they sometimes operate according to the principle of "the best defense is a good offense." Our soldiers use the riverbed not only for rotation and delivery of materiel to the forward positions in Primorskoye, but also for long-range raids by small infantry groups toward Malokaterynivka and even Kushugum.