The Ukrainian army is reported to have succeeded in breaching the second line of defense near Verbove, in the Zaporizhia region.
If confirmed, this will be a great achievement of the counter-offensive, which has started for several months but with slow growth.
The second line of Russian defense, otherwise known as the "Surovikin" line because it was ordered to be built by General Sergey Surovikin, whose fate has been unclear for several weeks. Surovikin or "General Armageddon" is considered a friend of Yevgeny Prigozhin, and it is suspected that he has already been dismissed and is being held under arrest.
This line of defense consists of thickets, wide channels that prevent the passage of combat vehicles, concrete blocks called "dragon's teeth" as well as large areas of minefields.
The second line is also considered the strongest, and some experts have predicted that if it is breached by the Ukrainian military, it could lead to the collapse of much of Russia's defenses on the war front.
A few tens of kilometers behind this line, there is a third line of defense built by the Russians.