“On the southern front, we have a tactical advantage”: expert explains the situation in the Zaporizhzhia direction

Military expert Oleg Starikov spoke about the situation on the front line, particularly on the southern front, where the Armed Forces of Ukraine have the upper hand and are taking control of the enemy’s logistics, according to Politeka.

He discussed this on his channel.

According to the expert, it can no longer be said that Russian forces have an advantage along the entire line of contact. That is no longer the case — they now hold the advantage on most directions, but not all of them, as even Putin has acknowledged. The reason, he explains, is that within the framework of mobile defense and the accumulation of resources and reserves, the Armed Forces of Ukraine identified a weak point in the enemy’s defenses and struck there — specifically in the Zaporizhzhia direction.

“Our General Staff, together with tactical intelligence, analyzed the situation and realized that there were real gaps and vulnerabilities there. They concentrated their forces, struck near Stepnohirsk, and pushed the enemy back. At first, it was still possible to say that fighting was taking place on the outskirts, but now the enemy has been pushed back. Pressure is being applied to their logistics. And if those logistics are truly brought under control, the enemy’s southern flank will face a genuine tactical crisis, which in the future, if not contained, could escalate into an operational-tactical crisis,” Oleg Starikov says.

It is obvious, he argues, that an operation is currently underway aimed at pushing the enemy back and advancing toward the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant from the southern flank. This, the expert explains, means that Ukraine’s top military-political leadership, along with Western partners and the United States, believe that the escalation phase of the war will only intensify in 2026, which is why the Armed Forces of Ukraine are trying to push the enemy back now.

“Kostiantynivka, the northern flank — that’s a strategic deadlock. The war continues there, but there are no major changes. But in the south, in Zaporizhzhia, we do have a tactical advantage — a real tactical advantage,” Oleg Starikov claims.