Zelenskyy announces two reinforced military groupings in Donetsk Oblast

In a video address from Zaporizhzhya, Zelenskyy said he had discussed further steps on the battlefield with Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces Mykhailo Drapatyi, Ukraine’s General Staff and Defense Minister Yevhenii Khmara.

“First: our positions in Donetsk Oblast will be strengthened thanks to two reorganized groupings,” Zelenskyy said.

“The commanders will be Hero of Ukraine Denys Prokopenko, commander of the National Guard’s 1st Azov Corps, and Hero of Ukraine Andrii Biletskyi, commander of the 3rd Army Corps of the Eastern Operational Command. Today, I awarded Andrii the Gold Star of the Hero of Ukraine.”

Zelenskyy also heard a report from Air Assault Forces commander Gen. Oleh Apostol and thanked the branch for its strength.

The president and commander-in-chief also met commanders operating in the Zaporizhzhya sector. Zelenskyy pledged that Ukrainian troops there would receive more of the equipment and resources they need.

Zelenskyy also said Ukraine’s Defense Forces had conducted an important offensive operation in the Oleksandrivskyi sector from last year through the present.

He described the operation as successful and “one of the historic” operations carried out by Ukrainian forces.

The Institute for the Study of War reported on Aug. 24 that Russian forces had advanced east of Sloviansk in Donetsk Oblast as part of preparations for frontal assaults toward the city and Ukraine’s so-called fortress belt.