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By Brendan Cole
Senior Reporter
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Ukraine has said its forces have pushed further into Russian defensive positions as maps showing its counteroffensive in the south of the country have outlined where Kyiv may have next in its sights.
Kyiv said on Monday that its forces had liberated Robotyne, around 11 miles south of the frontline town of Orikhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region, which lies on an important road towards the Russian-occupied transport hub of Tokmak. Robotyne reportedly was a key point that anchored Russia's defense line and was said to have been captured by Ukrainian forces after six days of heavy fighting.
Ukraine's progress in the counteroffensive it launched around June 4 to retake occupied Russian territory has been slow.
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But Ukraine Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar hailed successes on Monday, saying that following the recapture of Robotyne Ukrainian troops are moving southeast of this settlement and advancing towards Novoprokopivka and Ocheretuvato "despite fierce enemy resistance."
But there are hints that the settlement of Verbove around 12 miles to the east of Robotyne could be the next target for Ukraine's forces. The General Staff of the Ukrainian Army said that its troops had achieved success in battles near the settlement which matches a map produced by the pro-Ukrainian eastern European news outlet Visegrad showing Kyiv's forces moving in that direction.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on Monday that satellite imagery and Russian claims "likely indicate that Ukrainian forces advanced near Verbove."
One of its maps, which it produces daily to detail the situation on the ground, cited Russian sources and thermal data as indicating that "Ukrainian forces had advanced towards Verbove as of August 27."
The ISW said that Russia had transferred an elite air unit to Robotyne, likely from the Luhansk oblast as part of a redeployment of its elite units in front-line regions where Ukrainian troops are concentrated. The think tank said that means that Russia lacked the "elite infantry" units it once relied on to conduct large-scale offensives and indicated that their capacity is likely diminishing.
Maliar said Ukrainian forces are also advancing in eastern Donetsk Oblast near Bakhmut where around 17 square miles have been liberated since the start of the summer counteroffensive.
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Newsweek reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry via email for comment.
The reported gains at Robotyne and recent Ukrainian advancements in the south and east suggest that Ukraine's summer counteroffensive has been "orchestrated carefully," said Mark Temnycky, a nonresident fellow at the Atlantic Council's Eurasia Center.
"It also opens the door for the Ukrainians to make further advancements in the south," he told Newsweek. "Based on recent advancements, it is believed that Ukraine's current objective is to cut the land bridge to Crimea. There is also belief that Ukraine is trying to split Russian forces in two, so that they are cut off in southern and eastern Ukraine."
It comes as the Mission of Ukraine's President in Crimea, a Ukrainian authority, reported that the Moscow-installed government in the occupied peninsula is preparing to mobilize locals into the Russian Army.
The Ukrainian authority said that mobilization points are being set up in Crimean cities, with one already active in the central city of Alushta, and that Moscow plans to mobilize up to 30,000 people and call up 10,000 previously conscripted soldiers.
The mission also said that the Russian military enlistment office in Sevastopol is briefing its staff on how to give out summonses to residents in coordination with police or the Russian National Guard, Rosgvardia.
Update 8/29/23, 11:42 a.m. ET: This article has been updated with comment from Mark Temnycky.
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