Ukraine announces the penetration of Russian defenses in Zaporizhzhia and the downing of 22 drones

 Ukrainian army announced - today, Sunday - that its forces had penetrated the first Russian defense line in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast (southeast), and at the same time, the Ukrainian Air Force said that it had shot down 22 Russian drones over the Odesa region.

General Oleksandr Tarnavsky, commander of the Ukrainian operational and strategic group of forces in the Tavria region, said that Russian forces began to retreat to the second, less fortified line of defense in the region.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed that his forces are advancing on the battle fronts, in response to some Western reports that indicated that American officials expressed their distress at the slowness of the counterattack that has continued since the fourth of last June, and even at the Ukrainian strategy, which they described as flawed.

Kyiv confirms that its forces are making progress in Zaporizhzhia, as well as in the vicinity of the city of Bakhmut in Donetsk Province (east), but in return, it acknowledges the progress of Russian forces in the Kubyansk axis in Kharkiv Province (northeast).

In other field developments, the Ukrainian Southern Region Command announced that its air defenses shot down 22 Russian Shahed 131 and 136 (Iranian-made) drones today, Sunday, out of a total of 25 drones that launched an attack targeting the southern region in Odesa Province.

A spokesman for the Southern Command said that the attack targeted the province's port infrastructure, including those located on the Danube River and used to export grains, noting that the attack lasted 3 and a half hours and resulted in two people being injured.

The Ukrainian army confirmed that the Russian bombing targeted civilian industrial sites, while the Russian army announced that it bombed with marches the port of Rene on the Danube River near the border with Romania, noting that the raids targeted fuel storage facilities used to supply Ukrainian forces.

On the other hand, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced that its forces shot down a Ukrainian march on Sunday that attempted to attack facilities in the Belgorod border district.

Ministry confirmed that Russian defenses shot down a Ukrainian MiG-29 fighter in Zaporizhzhia.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense said that the Intelligence Service and Special Forces were able to destroy a Russian monitoring and tracking station near the town of Svatov in Lugansk Province (east).

Reuters quoted the pro-Russian Crimean authorities as saying that traffic had returned to normal on the bridge after a short stop early on Sunday.

Crimean Bridge was subjected to several Ukrainian attacks, and the most recent attack last July caused major damage to the section on which cars travel, noting that it is also used to transport military equipment to the Russian army fighting in Ukraine.

Ukrainian army recently announced that it had carried out a special operation inside the Crimean Peninsula, and Ukraine says it places restoring the region among its priorities.