A large column of russian military vehicles leaves Mariupol in the direction of Zaporizhzhia – Andriushchenko

A large column of russian military equipment is moving from Mariupol towards Zaporizhzhia region. This is reported by Petro Andriushchenko, the city mayor's adviser. According to him, 100 units of military vehicles were passing through the streets of Mariupol yesterday, and are currently moving towards Zaporizhzhia region: in particular, BMD-4 and armored personnel carriers.

In addition, Andriushchenko notes that a “large number of russian soldiers, who were transported by KAMAZ trucks”, including conscripts, arrived in the villages of Manhush and Mykilskyi districts of Donetsk region bordering the Zaporizhia region.

“They are settled mainly in school premises. The locals say that most of these occupiers are still quite young. Some in conversations say that they are serving under the contract.”

A military expert, Colonel Serhii Hrabsky, in an interview for The Insider, notes that the convoy may not be heading to Zaporizhzhia.

“The Zaporizhzhia direction is now stable. We do not observe anything there except quite intense shelling. A column of equipment moving from Mariupol can basically move anywhere. It is said to move towards Zaporizhzhia, but this does not mean that it is indeed going in that direction. It can simply be replenishment or rotation, etc. To date, we do not see any particular signs that the occupiers are trying to increase the presence of their forces. Even if they try to do it, it will take an enormous amount of time. About 50% of the contingent currently fighting against Ukraine is concentrated in the Donbas area.

Therefore, the equipment may move, but no major changes are expected so far. In terms of the number of people, there is now relative parity, in terms of equipment, of course, russia is still superior to Ukraine, but this still allows the Ukrainian troops to prevent any attempts by the russians to advance and take more advantageous positions. The situation is stable, there is an exchange of artillery blows. If I'm not mistaken, even HIMARS has not yet been used in that direction,” he emphasizes.

On July 9, Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine Iryna Vereshchuk called on residents of the occupied Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions to evacuate “by all possible means” on the air of a national telethon.

“No matter how difficult it is in the territory that is currently under the control of the Ukrainian government... still, in any case, staying in the territory of Kherson or Zaporizhzhia regions is many times worse and many times more dangerous,” she said.

According to her, the Ukrainian army is going to de-occupy these territories. “These are expected to be huge battles. I don't want to scare anyone, everyone already understands everything,” said Vereshchuk.

The First Deputy Chairman of the Kherson Regional Council, Yurii Sobolevskyi, also urged civilians to evacuate. According to him, those who remain should be ready for hostilities, seeking shelter, water and food.