The Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine announced the successful conduct of an offensive operation by the special forces unit “Artan” in the city of Stepnogorsk, located in the Zaporizhia direction. The operation took place on May 18 with close coordination with other defense forces units.
This is reported by Finway
Details of the offensive in Stepnogorsk
According to HUR, during the coordinated attack, Ukrainian stormtroopers carried out a series of active offensive actions aimed at pushing the Russian Federation forces out of Stepnogorsk and stabilizing the situation in the city. It is known that the fighting took place in challenging urban conditions.
“During the operation, which occurred in close coordination with adjacent units, military intelligence special forces conducted a series of active offensive actions to drive the Russian occupiers out of the city and stabilize the situation in the settlement… As a result of the fighting in difficult urban conditions, the Russian occupiers were driven from fortified positions, and key locations in Stepnogorsk came under the control of the Security and Defense Forces of Ukraine,” the HUR statement reads.
The commander of the special unit “Artan,” Viktor Torkotyuk, noted that Russian forces may attempt to return to the city, but Ukrainian defenders are already prepared for potential repeated attacks from the enemy.
Context of the combat actions in the south
In early May, the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) expressed the opinion that Russia’s demands for territorial concessions do not correspond to the real situation on the front. ISW analysts emphasized that since the beginning of 2026, Ukrainian counterattacks in the south have forced Russian command to distribute troops between defending key directions, including the so-called “fortress belt,” and responding to the offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.