Russia may launch assault in southern Zaporizhzhia region any day – Ukrainian spox

Russia is deploying trained assault groups to forward positions in the southern part of Zaporizhzhia region, preparing for an imminent offensive.

This was reported by Vladyslav Voloshyn, spokesperson for the Southern Defense Forces, in an interview with Reuters, according to Ukrinform.

"The assaults could begin very soon; we are not even talking about weeks. We expect it could happen any day now," Voloshyn stated.

According to Voloshyn, it remains unclear whether this will be a single large-scale offensive or a series of separate assaults. However, intelligence assessments indicate that Russian forces plan to use armored vehicles and a significant number of drones.

"They are preparing both armored units and lighter equipment — like buggies and motorcycles — for these assault operations," Voloshyn added.

The spokesperson noted that Russia has already conducted preliminary reconnaissance and increased airstrikes in the south by approximately 30-40% over the past two to three weeks, utilizing bombers and unguided aviation rockets.

As reported by Ukrinform, over the past 24 hours, the Russian invaders carried out 356 strikes on 10 settlements in Zaporizhzhia region, including 18 airstrikes.