AFU advances near Bakhmut and in the west of Zaporizhzhya, conducts operations on the left bank of Kherson region - ISW

The Ukrainian Defense Forces continued counter-offensive operations on 3 September and advanced near Bakhmut and in the west of Zaporizhzhya Region. They are also carrying out operations on the left (eastern) bank of the Dnieper River in the occupied part of Kherson Region.

The invaders complain a lot about the latter, because they have to "fight back" only by the forces of "mobilizeds". This is stated in the summary of the Institute for the Study of War (Institute for the Study of War, ISW).

The day before, the AFU General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces were conducting offensive operations in the Melitopol direction of the front (west of Zaporizhzhya Region).

Alexander Shtupun, the official spokesman of the Tavria Troops Group, said that the Ukrainian Defense Forces had achieved undetermined successes in the direction of Verbove on Zaporizhzhya.

According to analysts, geo-referenced footage published on September 2 and 3 shows the AFU controlling southern Klishchiivka on the Bakhmut direction.

Meanwhile, a number of Russian sources complained that Ukrainian forces continue to operate in the occupied part of Kherson Region. Starting as early as August 30, Russian bloggers constantly stated that the AFU was maintaining positions on the left bank of the Dnieper River northwest of Pidstepne and near the Antonovskyi Bridge.

One of them said that the Ukrainian military had managed to move supplies and personnel to positions on the left bank over the past week. And another pointed out that after the departure of unidentified units of Russian paratroopers to the Zaporizhzhya region, "mobilizeds" and "volunteer" units had to "defend" against the AFU on the Kherson direction.

The ISW suggested that he was referring to elements of the 7th Guards Mountain Division of the Russian Airborne Forces, whose deployment from Kherson to the Robotine area of Zaporizhzhia was reported in late August.

Separately, the analysts pointed out that Ukrainian military officers made a particularly frank and direct comment on the prospects for a further Ukrainian offensive in the western Zaporizhzhya region, noting that a number of prepared Russian defensive positions immediately ahead and south of the offensive could be less challenging for the Defense Forces.

"Ukrainian military officials emphasized that advancing Ukrainian forces could operate more freely in areas with more sparse Russian minefields," the ISW added.

As reported OBOZREVATEL, earlier a British general gave a prediction on the war in Ukraine, indicating that the AFU needs to pass three enemy defense lines to reach the sea. According to his belief, the Defense Forces during the current counter-offensive will not dislodge the occupiers, but in the case of increased Western support, they can win the war over the Russian Federation until 2025.

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