Russia quietly proclaims Melitopol as center of occupied territories due to inability to seize Zaporizhzhia

The UK Defense Ministry wrote about this on Twitter. 

Experts recalled that on March 3, 2023, the Russian authorities in the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia region published a decree declaring occupied Melitopol the regional center. And the Russian-appointed 'head' of the region, Yevhen Balytskyi, said that this was a temporary measure until the city of Zaporizhzhia returned to Russian control.

In particular, the experts noted that Zaporizhzhia is one of the four regions that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin declared 'annexed' to the Russian Federation on September 30, 2022. It is noteworthy that Russia has never occupied Zaporizhzhia, a large industrial center with a population of 700,000 people, which is located about 35 km from the current frontline.

“The quiet declaration of an alternative capital is likely tacit acknowledgement within the Russian system that its forces are highly unlikely to seize previously planned major objectives in the near future,” the intelligence tweeted. 

Latest Defence Intelligence update on the situation in Ukraine - 19 March 2023.

Find out more about Defence Intelligence's use of language: https://t.co/6px8VoJGNP

???????? #StandWithUkraine ???????? pic.twitter.com/QlZt6nxLdx

— Ministry of Defence ???????? (@DefenceHQ) March 19, 2023