Southern Defense Forces confirm withdrawal from Novovasylivske, Zaporizhia region

Units of the Southern Defense Forces withdrew from the village of Novovasylivske, Polohiv district, Zaporizhia region, east of Huliaipole.

"Due to the regrouping of combat formations, a change in the configuration of the combat contact line, and in order to save the lives of servicemen, our units were withdrawn from the settlement of Novovasylivske to more advantageous positions for defense. Measures are underway to block the enemy's advance and inflict combined fire damage on it," the Southern Defense Forces said on the Telegram channel on Saturday.

It is reported that over the past day, almost 40 combat clashes took place in Oleksandrivsk and Huliaipole directions of the frontline. "The enemy does not stop storming our positions and attempts to infiltrate deep into the Ukrainian defense. Over the past day, more than 350 attacks using more than 1,500 ammunition have been recorded. Enemy losses amounted to almost 300 personnel and 58 units of munitions, including tanks, armored vehicles, artillery systems of various types, and light motor vehicles," the force said.

At the same time, the OSINT project DeepState has been marking Novovasylivske as occupied for more than a week.

As reported, DeepState stated in the report on the occupation of Pavlivka, neighboring Novovasylivske, by Russian troops on November 6, but the Southern Defense Forces then denied this information and reported that "fierce fighting continues in Pavlivka area, one of our heroic brigades is holding the defense there." The American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in its daily reports marked Pavlivka on the border between the zone of Russian occupation and the 'gray zone' of uncertain control, while the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine indicated that it was under the control of Ukrainian units.

Currently, Pavlivka and Novovasylivske are shown as occupied on the maps of all three sources.

On November 11, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrsky, stated that the Russian army had increased its activity in Zaporizhia region. It was using thick fog to infiltrate Ukrainian positions. According to him, the situation in the Oleksandrivsk and Huliaipole directions had significantly deteriorated, where the enemy, taking advantage of its numerical superiority in forces and means, advanced forward in fierce battles and captured three settlements.

Previously, Spokesman for the Southern Defense Forces Vladyslav Voloshyn in a comment to Interfax-Ukraine reported that the Ukrainian military had withdrawn from positions near the settlements of Novouspenivske, Nove, Okhotnyche, Uspenivka, Novomykolaivka in Zaporizhia region (the latter two are also neighboring Novovasylivske).

On November 12, the Southern Defense Forces of Ukraine reported that in order to preserve the lives of personnel, Ukrainian units had moved to more advantageous positions in Rivnopillia region of Zaporizhia region, which is located between Novovasylivske and Huliaipole.