Battles surge in Novopavlivka sector as Russia presses toward Dnipropetrovsk — Ukrainian military

Viktor Trehubov, spokesperson for the Khortytsia operational-strategic group of troops, stated this ring the telethon.

According to Trehubov, 34 combat engagements were recorded in this direction over the past day, which is an "anomalously high" indicator, indicating attempts by Russian forces to advance to the administrative border of the Dnipropetrovsk region.

He emphasized that such activity of Russian troops is due to the desire to demonstrate partial achievement of their "political goals."

"As of now, they really want to show their presence there, but, let's be honest, we are not talking about a permanent military presence. They wanted to show it as of May 9, so that it would be timed to coincide with the holiday, but they failed then, they still fail. They are fighting very actively just to push the front and the demarcation line to the administrative borders simply to show that they have access to these administrative borders, that some of their political goal has been partially achieved," Trehubov explained. 

He added that despite the significant number of battles, the Russian troops have not yet succeeded in this direction.

"Therefore, as of now, there is very active resistance there, a large number of Russians are being destroyed, but the number of combat engagements in the Novopavlivka direction is anomalously high," he noted.

In addition to Novopavlivka, active hostilities are also ongoing in the Pokrovsk, Kupyansk, Toretsk, and Kharkiv directions. According to the spokesperson of the Khortytsia operational-strategic group of troops, in these areas of the front, Russian troops also seek to show "some presence."

• As of June 14, the Russian army advanced in the Donetsk region in the direction of Kostiantynivka and the border with Dnipropetrovsk region. At the same time, the Defense Forces repelled the Russians in one of the areas near the border with the Dnipropetrovsk region.