The occupying Russian authorities have declared Melitopol the so-called “capital” of the Russian-controlled part of the Zaporozhye region. This indicates the inability of the Russians to implement plans for further advancement.

This is stated in the daily intelligence review of the British Ministry of Defense. They recalled that the authorities of the Russian-controlled part of the Zaporozhye region published a decree declaring the occupied Melitopol a regional center.

Putin “annexed” the Zaporozhye region to Russia

The Russian-appointed gauleiter of the region, Yevgeny Balitsky, said that this was allegedly a temporary measure, “until the city of Zaporozhye is controlled by Russia.”

The Zaporozhye region is one of the four regions, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that he “attached” to the Russian Federation on September 30, 2022.

Yet Russia has never occupied Zaporozhye, a large industrial center with a population of 700,000, located about 35 kilometers from the front line.

The quiet proclamation of an alternative capital is likely a tacit admission by the Russian system that its forces are unlikely to be able to capture previously planned key facilities in the near future. – the report says.

Russians on the defensive in the South

• On the morning of March 19, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that Russian troops would continue to defend themselves in the Zaporozhye and Kherson directions.
• At the same time, Olgovskoe, Krasnoe, Gulyaipole, Malaya Tokmachka, Novodanilovka, Novoandreevka and Kamenskoye of Zaporozhye region suffered enemy shelling. The city of Kherson and Antonovka were shelled again.
• The Russians fear that the expected counter-offensive of the Defense Forces may go south. Therefore, in Zaporozhye, the invaders developed a plan for the escape of collaborators to the Crimea. Also, the Russians began defensive work in the Crimea itself.