After they lost vughledar (not sure about the spelling) things got extra bad for Ukraine, that city was a very strong fortification, on elevated ground that ensured a lot of surveillance of the surrounding areas and as consequence of the strength of that portion was a crucial point of the supply line for the battle front of two neighboring cities. Russia took almost a year to take the city down, and the consequence is quite dire to Ukraine for not only they lost such a valuable position, but Russia, naturally, now has control of a very strong defensive position that allows powerful support of an extensive area. If you look at the map, from vughledar so Zaporozhye Ukraine will have a hard time defending, and that is no small area.