Ukrainian forces continue to hold all the dominant heights near Levadne in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and are attempting to restore their positions, Southern Defense Forces spokesperson Vladyslav Voloshyn said on air on Oct. 27.
The spokesperson said this in reaction to a recent report by the Ukrainian monitoring service DeepState, which claimed that Russian forces had captured the settlement.
The Ukrainian military warned that Russia is escalating its operations in southern Zaporizhzhia Oblast, just as it continues its drive in the Donbas region in Ukraine's east.
Voloshyn said he would not call Levadne a settlement but a simple "point in an open field" positioned in a lowland, which makes it difficult to defend.
The spokesperson acknowledged that Russian forces have focused great efforts in the sector, achieving "partial success" and driving a wedge into Ukrainian defenses. He did not say explicitly whether the entire Levadne was captured, as DeepState reported.
According to Voloshyn, Russia has intensified its operations in the area after capturing the Donetsk Oblast town of Vuhledar at the beginning of October.
Levadne is located near the administrative borders of Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk oblasts, around 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Vuhledar and 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of the city of Zaporizhzhia.
Dinara Khalilova
