Imminent Liberation of Rabotino Will Nullify Only Propaganda Victory of Zelensky’s Counteroffensive

Russian troops have reportedly raised the Russian flag over the village of Rabotino in Zaporozhye region. If and when this information is confirmed by Russia’s Defense Ministry, it will constitute a catastrophic, personal defeat for President Zelensky, his commanders, and his NATO paymasters, says Russian military observer Anatoly Matviychuk.

Zaporozhye regional administration official Vladimir Rogov told Sputnik on Wednesday that Russian forces had raised the state flag over the northern outskirts of the village of Rabotino after forcing Ukrainian troops out of the area.

“Small pockets of enemy resistance in Rabotino still remain. Fighting continues. Our guys reached the northern outskirts of the village, to positions previously occupied by the enemy, and raised the Russian flag,” Rogov said.

According to the official, while the main part of Ukraine’s contingent of forces have abandoned the village, some remain in a bid to preserve at least a minimum presence, with the village carrying symbolic weight as virtually the only victory Ukrainian forces achieved during last summer’s counteroffensive, which cost Ukraine up to 166,000 troops dead and injured.

Ukrainian forces troops captured the village, maneuvering themselves into a bulge that Russian forces have subsequently been attacking from three sides. The fields outside the village have been nicknamed “Bradley Square”, marking the vast number of US-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicles which were destroyed there, with the area also home of numerous knocked out German-made Leopard 1 and Leopard 2 tanks.

Imminent Personal Defeat for Zelensky

The Ukrainian Army’s fanatical defense of Rabotino despite the advice of President Zelensky’s (now former) chief commander and his Kiev’s American backers is the result of the village’s symbolic significance for Ukraine’s president, becoming less a matter of the territory itself than “a defense of Zelensky’s prestige,” military analyst and Afghan War veteran Anatoly Matviychuk told Sputnik.

“Zelensky had to show that after Avdeyevka, he would never hand over Rabotino. This was, roughly speaking, a message for the West that ‘see, even without your weapons, I can still defend myself’. Therefore, more and more forces were rushed there, [pushed into] a rather bloody meat grinder. Today, the Russian flag flies over Rabotino. The MoD has not yet commented on this officially. Most likely, local battles are taking place, mopping up is underway, and the last strongholds are being knocked out,” Matviychuk said.

“After Avdeyevka, Rabotino became the main center of fighting on everyone’s lips. It was a symbol of the steadfastness of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and Zelensky personally. Rabotino’s fall will completely demoralize the Ukrainian Armed Forces,” the military observer believes.

Matviychuk predicts that when Rabotino’s fall is confirmed, Zelensky and his commanders may start to proclaim that this is a small village with limited operational value. “But we must remember when Zelensky spoke both at the United Nations and at NATO, he declared Rabotino a ‘symbol of defense and resilience’. Its fall will indicate that the Kiev regime is suffering defeat on all fronts,” he said.

It’s also telling, in the officer’s estimation, that the area around Rabotino has become littered with NATO heavy equipment, including Leopards, Bradleys, and M-113 troop transports – which Kiev’s sponsors presented as proof that with their help, Ukraine’s forces could push back the Russians.

“Today this myth has been completely dispelled, showing that Ukraine is not adequate even with the supply of Western arms. It cannot even simply defend itself, let alone resume a counteroffensive,” Matviychuk stressed.

For Russian forces, Rabotino’s liberation will have both symbolic and practical benefits, including a morale boost, and the takeover of the local railway line, depriving Kiev from reinforcing positions in the area, the observer added.

“Lastly, the successes near Rabotino, near Kupyansk, and most importantly, the successes in the Avdeyevka direction – Semyonovka and Mikhailovka, show that the entire front is beginning to move; it is crumbling,” Matviychuk said. If and when the village is taken, the not insignificant Russian forces tied up in the area will be able to be transferred to other fronts – including the Kharkov and Donetsk fronts.