capture of Robotyne paves way for offensive into Crimea, kyiv says

The capture of the town of Robotyne, claimed by Kiev this week, opens the way for the Ukrainian offensive towards the occupied south of Ukraine and Crimea annexed by Russia, said the head of Ukrainian diplomacy, according to a speech published on Wednesday August 30. “Being entrenched on the flanks of Robotyne, we open the way to (the southern towns of) Tokmak, then finally to Melitopol and the (administrative) border of Crimea“, said Tuesday August 29 Dmytro Kouleba, in front of French diplomats during a speech in Paris.

According to him, the battle of Robotyne was particularly long and arduous, because it is a “of the most difficult sectors of the front“listing Russian planes, helicopters and drones”who dominate the skyor very dense minefields. For him, this town of a few hundred pre-war inhabitants is “strategically important“.

Robotyne is on a route going south towards Tokmak (30,000 pre-war inhabitants) and Melitopol (150,000 pre-war inhabitants) before reaching Crimea. Tokmak and Melitopol are among the main towns in the occupied part of the Zaporizhia region, cities taken by Russia in the first weeks of the invasion in early 2022.

First unit decimated

One of the objectives of the Ukrainian counter-offensive launched last June is to sever the unity of the territories occupied by the Russian army and which constitute a land bridge, bordering the Sea of ​​Azov, connecting annexed Crimea and Russia . This area is essential to the logistics of Russian supplies.

Dmytro Kouleba told French diplomats, during a trip to Paris, that a first unit responsible for taking Robotyne had been decimated. Subsequently, a group of 31 men was formed to launch targeted operations on Russian positions, which involved crawling for hours through minefields and then holding positions until reinforcements arrived.

Read alsoWhy is the Sea of ​​Azov so dear to Putin?

“A mass grave for the armed forces of Ukraine”

The capture of the locality comes after nearly three months of counter-offensive which have so far only resulted in limited progress in terms of km2, so much so that in the West voices were raised to question Ukraine’s ability to achieve its goals.

With Robotyne, the Ukrainians hope to be able to drive a wedge into the formidable Russian defense lines, made up of anti-tank traps, minefields and trenches. The Russian army has so far not announced its withdrawal from Robotyne, however, citing heavy fighting in the area and around the nearby town of Verbove.

“The Robotyne-Verbove gray zone will become a mass grave for the Armed Forces of Ukraine“, proclaimed on Telegram the head of the Russian occupation for the Zaporizhia region, Yevgeny Balitsky.