ISW notes signs that Ukrainian armored vehicles have overcome the last line of Russian defense in Zaporizhzhia region

In its daily report, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) emphasizes signs that Ukrainian armored vehicles have advanced beyond the last of three Russian defense lines in the Robotyne area.

Geolocated videos that appeared online on September 21 show Ukrainian armored vehicles already south of the last of the three layers of the so-called "Surovikin line" in Zaporizhzhia region. The footage shows the vehicles engaged in limited fighting west of Verbove and 18 kilometers southeast of Orikhiv, the nearest major population center under Ukrainian control.

It is unclear whether the Ukrainian army holds the territory beyond this last line of fortifications. But it does indicate that the Ukrainians have broken a sufficient gap in the first two lines to be able to move equipment through it, and have suppressed Russian artillery and anti-tank weapons in this area.