Ukrainian officials say a steady flow of Russian military equipment continues to move west from Mariupol to other areas of southern Ukraine, where Ukrainian forces are on the offensive. The claim is supported by recent geo-tagged video of Russian armored vehicles moving in areas of southern Ukraine. We continue to record the movement of military equipment through Mariupol,” Petro Andryushenko, an adviser to the mayor of occupied Mariupol, said on Sunday. Andryushenko, who is not in Mariupol, said “a large convoy of up to 100 units of military equipment passed through the city to the Zaporizhia region” on Saturday. The column included infantry fighting vehicles. “In addition, a large number of Russian soldiers, brought in on KAMAZ trucks, settled in the villages of Nikolske and Manhush districts” – two districts west of Mariupol. Last week, CNN geolocated a large Russian military convoy heading west near the city of Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhia region. Photos posted to a local Mariupol community group on July 15 also appeared to show Russian military vehicles driving through the city on the way to Berdyansk. Some independent analysts believe the Russians are moving forces west to support Russian forces on the defensive in Kherson after being attacked by Ukrainian long-range weapons. On Sunday, Ivan Fedorov, the mayor of Melitopol, said there had been several explosions south of the city (in Yakimyvka – where Ukrainian saboteurs blew up a railway bridge in April.) He gave no explanation, but Russian bases in the area have been hit by Ukrainian artillery range at least three times this month. Fedorov said Russian forces were increasing pressure on the civilian population in Melitopol, cordoning off neighborhoods and conducting interrogations. People in the temporarily occupied territories are living in such a hell today. And of course, the [Russians] they will use the data they collect for their fake statistics and fake referendums,” Federov said. Fedorov added that about 500 people were trapped at the Russian-controlled Vasilivka checkpoint, the last remaining crossing point for civilians arriving in Ukrainian-controlled territory. In Kherson, where Russian command posts and ammunition dumps have been attacked in recent weeks, the Southern Ukraine Operational Command said “units of the Russian occupation forces (have) massively changed their deployment points, trying to hide behind the civilian population.” He claimed that Russian forces have abandoned some bases for fear of further strikes and have chosen “new deployment sites in densely populated residential areas, hoping that the Ukrainian defense forces will not carry out strikes that could pose a threat to local residents.”
