Day 332: January 21Over the last several days, the intensity of combat activities in the Zaporizhzhia direction has sharply increased. Before any actions took place, the closest Russian positions, where they maintained a permanent presence were in Piatykhatky, Konovalova, Nesterianka, Novopokrovka, Novokarlivka, and Luhivske.When it comes to the closest Ukrainian positions, they maintained a permanent presence in Kamianske, Stepove, Mali Scherbaky, Scherbaky, Novoandriivka, Novodanylivka, and Mala Tokmachka.This puts two settlements in the grey zone: Lobkove and Bilohiria. The reasons why no one stayed in these settlements are simple. When it comes to Lobkove, if we switch to the satellite view, we can see that compared to Piatykhatky, there is almost no cover – just some farm facilities – that is why the Russians did not maintain a permanent presence in this village. If we look at the topographic map, we can see that Lobkove is located in the lowlands. This makes it very hard for the Ukrainians to maintain a permanent presence because the Russians fully control it from Piatykhatky, while the closest Ukrainian positions are behind the hills. That is why the Ukrainians opted not to establish their positions there as well. Both parties likely had just several people operating on the opposite sides of the outskirts for reconnaissance purposes. And this is exactly the area where the Russians conducted their offensive actions during the first day, so it is no wonder that they were able to push a Ukrainian reconnaissance squad out of it. The goal of the Russians here was just to move their forces closer before they launched a bigger attack.The same situation happened to the east of Orikhiv, where the Russians took Bilohiria. If we look closer here, we can see that this is also a small village that is far away from the main Ukrainian base and surrounded by three Russian positions. That is why the Ukrainians did not maintain a permanent presence here. If we look at the topographic map, we can see that these positions are at the same elevation, meaning that the Ukrainians have it in direct fire control – that is why the Russians did not maintain a permanent presence here and used it as a buffer zone and some cover. After eliminating all the grey zones between Ukrainian and Russian positions, the Russians were ready to conduct offensive actions the next day. And on the second day, the Russians opened six lines of attack: from Lobkove to Stepove, from Bilohiria to Mala Tokmachka, and from the south to every settlement to the north. In order to achieve this goal, the Russians conducted a very broad attack, assaulting multiple Ukrainian positions simultaneously with the help of infantry, tanks, mortars, and artillery. By the end of the day, many Russian sources started claiming that the Ukrainians abandoned all settlements, so the Russians could take Orikhiv into a pocket. Ukrainian officials obviously denied it, but what is even more important is that the next day, Russian military-affiliated sources clarified the situation and said that these settlements were not under full Russian control. Some sources said that the settlements are contested, and other said that they are in the grey zone. So far, there is little evidence to support the claims of the Russian side.On the other hand, the Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian artillery defeated elements of the Russian 58th Combined Arms Army that attempted this attack. To support these claims, the Ukrainian General Staff published geolocated footage that showed Ukrainian artillery striking Russian forces south of Stepove and reported that Ukrainian forces eliminated three Russian tanks and about 30 servicemen. The only confirmed gains even by the Russian Ministry of Defense remains the village of Lobkove.