| Submit your comments on this article |
| Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia |
| The offensive in Donbass and the trap in Volchansk. The Russian army is pushing the Ukrainian Armed Forces |
| 2024-06-05 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Sergey Adamov [REGNUM] Three main hot spots remain on the line of contact in the Northwestern Military District zone. In the Kharkov region - near the settlements of Liptsy and Volchansk, in the Zaporozhye region - near the village of Rabotino, and the heaviest fighting continues in the Donbass. Here, Russian troops are developing an offensive in several directions: west of Donetsk - from Avdeevka and south - from Marinka, as well as in the area of the city of Chasov Yar. The situation in Chasovoy Yar is complicated by the fact that the city is divided into two halves by the Seversky Donets - Donbass canal. Heavy urban fighting has continued for several weeks in the Canal neighborhood in the eastern part of the city, separated by a water barrier. Ukrainian troops were able to create several defense centers, but the Russian military is bypassing the enemy’s lines to the north, a source located directly in the combat zone told IA Regnum. According to him, separate assault units have advanced in the area of the settlement of Kalinovka and continue to move forward. “There are successes, but the situation is constantly changing. Some groups were able to advance, others retreated. Now the priority task is to cross the canal to the right bank, try to cut off the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ formations on the left bank and force them to retreat,” the agency’s interlocutor noted. The advance of the Russian army on the right bank of the canal will seriously complicate the situation for Ukrainian troops, since the Ukrainian Armed Forces formations operating in the Canal area will have to cross to the left. New defensive lines are already being prepared in this area. The command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has turned the workshops of the Chasovoyarsky refractory plant into strongholds and is supplying the railway station area and urban areas with equipment and manpower. Special forces units and neo-Nazi formations “Kraken” (an extremist organization whose activities are prohibited in the Russian Federation) were deployed to reinforce the garrison. This proves that Ukrainian troops will strive in every possible way to hold Chasov Yar. Its capture will allow Russian forces to enter operational space and advance on Druzhkovka and, in general, on the Slavyansko-Kramatorsk agglomeration - the last serious redoubt of the defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the north of the DPR. BREAKTHROUGH TO THE RESERVOIR In the Marinka area, the Russian Armed Forces were able to break through to the outskirts of the village of Karlovka. Ukrainian sources report that the defenses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have literally been crushed, and the retreating units are firing at their own. “The enemy’s defense is being methodically pushed through, and in their negotiations one can hear whining about our artillery and especially aviation. We try to prevent them from gaining a foothold in positions, especially when they retreat and try to gain a foothold in new positions. This is how we manage to move forward,” a source tells IA Regnum. The successes of the Center group in this direction were also reported by the Russian Ministry of Defense. “Units of the “Center” group of troops improved the tactical situation and defeated the formations of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the areas of the settlements Sokol, Evgenovka, Karlovka and Rozovka of the Donetsk People’s Republic,” the department noted. Taking control of Karlovka will be the most serious success of the Russian army in this direction after the liberation of Marinka. The village is located on the banks of the Karlovskoye Reservoir, part of the new defensive line of the Ukrainian army in the Donbass. The reservoir, the Volchya River and other water barriers create a natural boundary that the Ukrainian Armed Forces command plans to use in an attempt to stabilize the front. But the organization of defense is not going as quickly as we would like in Kyiv. “We can guess that reserves are being transferred to Donbass on a residual basis. A lot of forces are now being directed to Volchansk, in the border area. In general, it is a well-known story: when a new “media” trend arises, all efforts are thrown into it. And we can move forward - in particular, in Karlovka,” explains the interlocutor of IA Regnum. Another direction of the Russian offensive is the settlement of Praskovievka south of Marinka. Here, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been forced to withdraw from some positions in recent days. The liberation of Praskovievka will make it possible to reach the rear of the Ukrainian group in Ugledar, the center of defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in a vast area of flat terrain. DEFEAT AT THE CROSSING Fighting continues in the Kharkov region, primarily in the development of Volchansk. The city is divided into two approximately equal parts, individual buildings change hands several times a day. At the same time, the greatest losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are not suffered in the building itself, but on the approaches - when crossing the Volchya River, which flows through the city. Russian artillery and drones hit several engineering vehicles constructing river crossings. The armored vehicles that the Ukrainian Armed Forces tried to transfer to the border were also destroyed. In general, Volchansk turns into a trap for the enemy. Fresh formations, equipped with NATO equipment newly arriving at the front, are thrown into urban areas, where they suffer heavy losses. Experienced drone operators and the remaining aircraft of the Ukrainian Air Force, which are trying to carry out attacks on the border zone, were also transferred here. At the same time, the Ukrainian leadership continues to complain that the weapons promised by the United States are arriving at the front too slowly, artillery shells are running out, and the start of air deliveries is constantly being delayed. The Ukrainian Armed Forces do not have the resources to turn the situation around at the front. |
| Posted by:badanov |