According to the OSINT project DeepState, troops from the brigade’s 1st Mechanized Battalion withdrew from a frontline area that had been surrounded on three sides.“The long saga of holding this difficult section has ended. All soldiers in position managed to withdraw safely, with only one minor injury reported,” the update said.Analysts note that fighting in this part of the front has eased over the past month and a half, as Russian forces shifted their focus to the highway and the area around Novopil. Earlier, however, the battles were intense, at times forcing Ukrainian mortar crews to fight with small arms.“Overall, the soldiers of the 31st Mechanized Brigade showed remarkable resilience, holding out far longer than expected,” the analysts said. “This is yet another feat of the Ukrainian infantry — one of the key factors keeping the front line stable.”On July 7, Russian forces captured two settlements in the Zaporizhzhia and Donetsk regions.