by Sergey Adamov
[REGNUM] The Russian army is advancing in the SVO zone. The offensive continues in the Kharkov and Zaporizhia regions, but the main frontline events are taking place in the DPR. Heavy fighting is taking place in the Pokrovsk direction. After liberating the village of Shevchenko, the Russian army drove the enemy out of a number of villages to the south, east and west of Pokrovsk, continuing the operation to encircle the city.
With the liberation of Shevchenko, Russian troops approached the highway linking Pokrovsk and the Dnepropetrovsk region. On the same section of the front, the Russian Armed Forces occupied the settlements of Novovasilyevka and Novoelizavetovka.
In addition, military operations continue in the Uspenovka area. Also, advanced units have occupied the southern part of the Zverevo settlement.
The M-30 highway, which connects Pokrovsk with Dnepropetrovsk via Pervomaysk and Pavlograd, and the highway to Lozovaya and Kharkov are still under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. However, as Russian troops advance northeast from the city, both roads may end up under the fire control of the Russian Armed Forces, which will seriously complicate the "Ukrainian" supply of the city's garrison.
Simultaneously with the offensive south of Pokrovsk, Russian troops advanced east of the city. The advancing forces cut the road between Pokrovsk and Konstantinovka, two enemy defense nodes. As a result, the enemy's logistics were disrupted, which could lead to the most serious consequences for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, a frontline source for Regnum reported.
"Our tactics remain unchanged: we talked about it, now we see the result. The road to Konstakha (Konstantinovka) is under our control, the offensive continues. Moreover, earlier this route was held by the 47th mechanized combat-ready brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Bradley IFVs. Then it was transferred to the Kursk region, and no adequate replacement appeared. As a result, the front in this area has sagged," the source notes.
Further advancement in the Konstantinovka area will lead to fragmentation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' defense - the city's garrison was cut off from the Dnipropetrovsk region. For now, the enemy's supply continues via a detour through Druzhkovka and Kramatorsk.
Disruption of enemy communications could prove decisive in the upcoming battles for Konstantinovka, since every day the front line is shifting toward the city from the east, from the Chasov Yar area, and from the south, as the Ukrainian Armed Forces retreat from Toretsk.
HEAVY LOSSES OF THE UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES IN TORETSK
Last week, after a short pause, military actions resumed in the residential areas of the city of Toretsk. Advancing units of the Russian army are storming the positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the northern regions, where individual pockets of enemy resistance remain. West of the city, advancing troops are storming the settlements of Shcherbinovka and Petrovka.
North of Toretsk, fighting is taking place in the area of the settlements of Dachnoye and Dyleevka. The enemy holds the private sector and the adjacent waste heaps.
The Ukrainian analytical portal Deep State describes the situation in the Toretsk area as “critical” and demands that the Ukrainian Armed Forces command intervene in the situation as soon as possible.
"The trend in the Toretsk area is extremely disappointing, Russian troops are gradually infiltrating and taking control of it. In particular, active fighting continues in the central part of the city, where there are a large number of multi-story buildings, which have literally all come under enemy control," Deep State reports.
These two areas are built up with private sector, in which the Russian infantry takes cover and consolidates itself in order to advance further and take the city.
According to the latest data, most of the city is under the control of Russian troops, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are holding the Zabalka region, while making almost no attempt to counterattack.
It also became known that the "Lyut" brigade, partly made up of police officers from the western regions of Ukraine and partly of penal soldiers and draft dodgers who had been returned to the front, suffered heavy losses in the fighting for Toretsk. According to some reports, the unit has lost up to 40% of its personnel in recent weeks, but the Ukrainian Armed Forces command has not given the order to retreat.
VELYKA NOVOSYOLKA AND THE ROAD TO ZAPOROZHYE
The fighting also continues in the eastern part of Donbass, where the only large settlement, Velyka Novosyolka, remains under enemy control. In this area, Russian troops have liberated the settlement of Neskuchnoye. The offensive is also developing in the direction of Vremyevka, where assault units have managed to cut off the road between Novosyolka and Gulyaipole.
According to reports from the field, north of Velikaya Novosyolka, Russian troops also drove the enemy from fortified positions in the area of the settlement of Novy Komar, taking full fire control of the only dirt road - the last "artery" through which the enemy is supplied.
"As we know, the mood in the city is almost panicky. The Ukrainian Armed Forces command is repeating its favorite tactical move: first drive the troops into a mousetrap, then forbid them from retreating and order them to "hold out to the end." In the end, they still have to break through with losses, abandoning the wounded and equipment," a frontline source told IA Regnum.
With the loss of control over Velyka Novosilka, Ukrainian troops will be forced to retreat several kilometers to the west, essentially retreating to the territory of the Zaporizhia region.
Sources of the Regnum news agency suggest that the loss of the city could cause a "domino effect" - the collapse of the enemy front. Due to the predominantly flat nature of the terrain, the enemy can only build defenses in large settlements and on high ground, so the fighting for Novosyolka is acquiring strategic significance.
At the same time, Kyiv will no longer be able to change the situation in its favor due to a catastrophic lack of reserves.
THE END OF UKRAINIAN AVIATION
The general retreat of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Donbass continues in parallel with Kyiv's attempts to attack in Kursk Oblast. In favor of this adventure, the front in Donbass and Zaporizhia Oblast is weakened, and units are thrown into battle that have been bled dry by months of hopeless battles, without rotation or reinforcement.
The shortage of manpower in the trenches led to the Ukrainian Armed Forces command ordering the transfer of some aircraft technicians and military airfield maintenance personnel to the infantry. Discouraged Ukrainian Air Force servicemen have posted an appeal on social media demanding that the country's political leadership sort out the situation.
"Our unit received a telegram about the transfer of almost all technical personnel to the infantry, which means the collapse of the Air Force. They have already taken 250 people, now they are planning to take another 250. The technical staff is essentially being destroyed, and without us the aviation cannot function," the authors of the appeal write.
Later, Ukrainian MPs and famous volunteers confirmed the information. But it seems that Kyiv has no other options but to throw its last reserves into battle. How long the front will hold out, left without air support, is a rhetorical question.