In the Oleksandrivka sector, units of the Air Assault Forces have already liberated 11 settlements from which all civilians have been evacuated.

This was reported in an interview with Ukrinform by the commander of the Air Assault Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Hero of Ukraine Major General Oleh Apostol.

“We have already liberated not nine, but 11 settlements [in the Oleksandrivka direction]. We did not announce this earlier to avoid endangering people. This was achieved thanks to the operation's silence and secrecy. It was the same with the Kursk and Dobropillia operations. The enemy didn’t know where we would strike. As they say, happiness is best kept quiet,” Apostol noted.

According to him, success was also aided by the fact that the enemy misled its own command. Its infiltration tactics yield some success, but not at the operational and strategic level. When Air Assault Forces units move in, they simply wipe out the enemy, because the enemy may be deeply entrenched but lack any support.

The commander emphasized that the Air Assault Forces have a well-established command structure and fully coordinated, effective cooperation, which yields results on the battlefield. The servicemen are well-trained; they trust their unit commanders, and the commanders are confident in their actions. Each unit performs its duties without being distracted by other matters. Additionally, there is full support from the Commander-in-Chief and the General Staff, particularly in terms of adjustments and assistance.

“The enemy is now counterattacking in the Oleksandrivka sector. The area is completely covered with drones—both ours and theirs. If we see that they’ve dug in along certain lines, we’ll make adjustments very carefully and judiciously. We have no right to throw people into the meat grinder, as the enemy does, and we won’t do it. When we realize something isn’t working, we stop or shift to another sector. That’s exactly what happened in the Dobropillia sector, where we defeated the marines [of the Russian army], but then the situation changed. “Certain measures we planned for the Oleksandrivka sector aren’t yielding immediate success, but if we carry out the entire set of actions, there will be a result,” Apostol added.

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The commander also noted that the liberated settlements are in ruins because the enemy initially advanced there, and then the Armed Forces of Ukraine counterattacked. In the future, they will be uninhabitable. No civilians were encountered there at all.

As reported by Ukrinform, the Ukrainian Defense Forces have already liberated 480 square kilometers of territory in the Oleksandrivka sector.

Photo: AFU General Staff