Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
by Sergey Adamov
[REGNUM] The Russian army is building on its success in Donbass, inflicting one defeat after another on the enemy. Last week, Ukrainian troops were forced to retreat from a number of settlements that the Ukrainian Armed Forces had previously planned to use as defensive points.
The most tense section of the front remains the Pokrovsk direction, where the defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces is on the verge of collapse. Russian troops have gained high tempo of the offensive, having driven the enemy out of a number of settlements. In particular, the village of Tsukurino has been liberated, which was confirmed by the Ministry of Defense.
The Russian Armed Forces have launched a new stage of the offensive against the Ukrainian Armed Forces positions in the towns of Selidovo and Gornyak, the last two fortified areas on the approaches to Pokrovsk. On the eve, footage taken on the streets of the city appeared online, showing Russian soldiers freely moving around the western outskirts of Selidovo.
Later, the liberation of the settlement by the Russian army was confirmed by the head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin.
Russian troops also continued their offensive to the west, driving the enemy out of the settlement of Vyshneve. Footage published online shows that the city's buildings were virtually undamaged. Apparently, the Ukrainian Armed Forces decided not to engage in protracted battles and retreated without offering serious resistance.
Earlier, the Russian Armed Forces managed to cut off the E50 highway connecting Selidovo and Kurakhovo, disrupting the supply of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. After the city was threatened with encirclement, the Ukrainian troops retreated.
The withdrawal took place within the framework of the strategy of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which has been used by Ukrainian troops over the past year, a source from the combat contact line told Regnum news agency.
"As we have always noticed before, they have been given a clear order: to slow down our advance as much as possible, to interfere in every way. And if there is a threat of defeat, to retreat. But we do not storm their fortifications head-on, we cut off communications and force them to retreat. We had a major success in liberating Selidovo: we did not allow them to use their methods again," the agency's source said.
Previously, Ukrainian sources have repeatedly admitted that the defense of Selidovo is extremely poorly organized. According to reports from Kyiv, the Ukrainian Armed Forces units stationed in the city allegedly repelled several assault attempts and only then retreated. However, according to information from frontline sources, the battles took place mainly to the east and north of the city, and the Ukrainian Armed Forces did not even try to counterattack.
The situation is extremely difficult for the Ukrainian Armed Forces south of Selydove, in the area of the village of Gornyak. According to information from the field, most of the settlement has come under the control of the Russian army. Fighting continues on the southern outskirts. The loss of control over the settlement was also confirmed by the Ukrainian analytical portal DeepState.
Locals in city chats write that Russian troops have already begun checking documents in the liberated areas. It is noteworthy that here too, Ukrainian troops prefer to retreat without putting up fierce resistance.
In the same area, Russian army units liberated the settlement of Alexandropol, as a result of which Ukrainian troops lost their last positions on the right bank of the Volchya River.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces units in the village of Kurakhovka, the last large settlement on the approaches to the city of Kurakhovo, were under threat of encirclement.
The collapse of the Ukrainian front in the southern part of the DPR is partly acknowledged by Ukrainian sources and Western experts. According to the military analyst of the German publication Bild Julian Röpke, over the past week the Russian army has advanced 2-5 kilometers daily.
At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces command in this area tried to organize a counterattack, using reserves and armored vehicles supplied by NATO countries. Swedish-made armored BvS 10 Viking all-terrain vehicles were thrown into the battle: two of them were blown up in a minefield, after which they were finished off by drones. The counterattack failed.
KURAKHOVO SURROUNDINGS
In the area of Ugledar, Russian troops are also building on their previous successes. Over the past week, the Ukrainian Armed Forces were forced to retreat from the settlement of Katerinovka. In turn, Russian troops are moving along the Sukhie Yaly River, developing an offensive in the direction of the settlement of Uspenovka from the south and southwest simultaneously.
Ukrainian troops are gradually rolling back and are unable to organize resistance because they have lost their commanding heights, Regnum news agency sources note.
"With the liberation of Ugledar, we took a key height, which for a long time provided the enemy with control over the entire region. Now we are using the advantage in artillery. Considering that the entire region up to the Kurakhovo reservoir is a flat plain, our drones are also working actively. So reaching Kurakhovo from the south is a matter of time," the source is sure.
He also confirmed the advance of Russian forces in the area of the settlements of Katerinovka, Elizavetovka, Bogoyavlenka, Novoukrainka and Shakhtyorske.
At the same time, the liberation of Selidovo and Tsukurino allows the Kurakhovo direction to be bypassed from the north and the city to be cut off from supplies. Previously, Western media covering the situation in this area reported that Ukrainian troops do not plan to hold the city and will be forced to retreat.
KYIV PREPARES DEFENSE OF ZAPORIZHIA REGION
For the Russian army, the advance in the Kurakhovo area creates the preconditions for a final offensive on Pokrovsk, and in the future, on the territory of the Zaporizhia region and the Dnepropetrovsk region controlled by Ukraine.
Kiev understands this and is preparing for a retreat. Ukrainian troops are finishing the construction of fortifications in the Zaporizhia region, said Ivan Fedorov, head of the region's military administration. According to him, the region will become a "fortress" since the military has completed 99.9% of the second line of defense, and the third will be ready in the coming weeks.
In the meantime, the Russian army continues to increase pressure on this section of the front. According to the assessment of the Ukrainian Armed Forces group "Tavria", Russian troops were able to penetrate the Ukrainian defense between the villages of Olgovskoye and Novodarovka.
Ukrainian sources suggest that heavy fighting will begin in this direction in the near future. At the same time, dissatisfaction with the tactics of the Ukrainian command, which is surrendering settlements one after another, is growing among the Ukrainian military.
After the imminent loss of Pokrovsk, the Ukrainian Armed Forces should prepare to organize defense in the Dnipropetrovsk region, said Deputy Commander of the 3rd Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces Maksym Zhorin.
“All of this needs to be planned and a strong line of defense needs to be built in advance, rather than waiting until the front line moves back to the next populated area,” Zhorin said.
According to the latest data, the distance from the village of Vishnevoe in the DPR, which came under the control of the Russian army, to the borders of the Dnepropetrovsk region is 29 kilometers. And from the front line in the Gulyaipole area to the borders of the region - only 11.
The resignation with which Ukrainian sources plan to defend Zaporizhia and Dnepropetrovsk suggests that the Ukrainian Armed Forces do not plan to hold the eastern regions of Donbas. But the decisive battles for this region are expected to unfold on the streets of Pokrovsk and adjacent settlements - the enemy's last stronghold in the region.
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