by Sergey Adamov
[REGNUM] The Russian Armed Forces continue their successful offensive in the area of ​​the special military operation. Fierce fighting continues along the entire line of contact amid rumors of a possible ceasefire.
The main success of the past week was the liberation of the city of Sudzha and most of the territory of the Kursk region, previously occupied by the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, in other areas the enemy is suffering heavy defeats, often without even trying to stabilize the front line.
After the liberation of Sudzha and the surrounding settlements, units of the Sever group of the Russian Armed Forces focused on defeating the remnants of the enemy's scattered formations in the border area. Ukrainian soldiers who managed to break through to their territory criticize the command for the miscalculations made when planning the retreat from the Kursk region.
According to the Russian Defense Ministry, over the past 24 hours alone, the enemy's losses in the Kursk direction amounted to more than 280 people. At the same time, the enemy continues to hold several settlements located directly on the border. The contact line runs through the villages of Gogolevka, Oleshnya, and Guevo.
According to information from the field, part of Gogolevka and Guevo has been liberated, and fighting continues literally for every house. Similar reports are coming from the area of ​​the Gornal farm. At the same time, the enemy does not abandon plans to hold at least part of the Kursk region and is transferring reserves to the region.
In the Guevo area, the Ukrainian Armed Forces command brought into battle border guards from the 7th Lviv detachment, transferred from the border with Poland. Over the past few years, the unit has specialized in catching draft dodgers trying to flee to Europe. Having entered into battle with units of the Russian army, the border guards could not stand it and abandoned their positions, fleeing to the territory of the Sumy region.
When retreating, Ukrainian troops often abandon armored vehicles produced by NATO countries.
The day before, two serviceable M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles abandoned by their crews became a trophy for the Russian military. The enemy did not even try to destroy the armored vehicles during their retreat. According to analysts studying open source materials, since the beginning of March, the enemy has lost at least 25 armored vehicles in the border area — more than in the past few months.
The Russian military is actively using kamikaze drones, including those controlled by fiber optic cable. In comments to Western media, the Ukrainian military confirms heavy losses during the retreat from the Kursk region. A large number of damaged military equipment has created full-fledged traffic jams on the few highways. In response, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are shelling the liberated territories of the Kursk region, including the city of Sudzha.
At the same time, the command of the Ukrainian army continues to transfer additional forces not only to the Kursk region, but also to other parts of the border.
In an effort to change the situation in this section of the front to its advantage, the enemy attempted to break through to the territory of the Krasnoyarsk district of the Belgorod region from the territory of the Sumy region. According to data from the field, during the day, units of the Ukrainian army tried to cross the border of the Belgorod region in the areas of the settlements of Grafovka and Prilesye. However, this section of the border was covered in advance by additional forces, so all attempts to break through were repelled.
Before the next attempt, the enemy launched a drone strike on the border areas, but this did not bring the desired result. A combined artillery and air strike was launched against the retreating units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Ukrainian sources report heavy losses.
It is assumed that the enemy will not make any new attempts to break through into the territory of the Kursk and Belgorod regions in the near future, but will concentrate on strengthening its own border territories.
THE ZAPORIZHZHYA FRONT HAS COME INTO MOTION
After a year of relative calm, hostilities resumed in the Zaporozhye direction.
The Russian Armed Forces have broken through the enemy's front line west of Orekhovo in the area of ​​the settlements of Stepovoe, Shcherbaki and Malye Shcherbaki. The success in this section of the front was confirmed by the Russian Defense Ministry. "As a result of active and decisive actions, the settlement of Stepovoe in the Zaporizhia region was liberated," the ministry's statement said.
A number of Ukrainian sources confirm that there has been an intensification of military operations in the Zaporizhzhya direction. Some sources report that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have lost not only Stepnoye, but also Shcherbaky and Malye Shcherbaky. The success of the offensive was achieved, among other things, due to a miscalculation by the Ukrainian group's command.
Over the past months, Kiev has been consistently weakening the Zaporizhzhya and Kherson directions, transferring all available units to Donbass and Kursk Oblast. As a result, significant sections of the contact line were left almost without cover, a frontline source for IA Regnum reports.
"The landscape in our area is flat and steppe. Whoever controls the populated areas holds the initiative. The enemy is afraid to use armored vehicles because there is nowhere to hide them. When we began the offensive, the VSAS troops abandoned some of their positions and retreated. The fighting is still going on, but the initiative is already ours," the agency's source says.
According to our interlocutor, military actions continue in the area of ​​the settlements of Shcherbaki and Malye Shcherbaki. Successful offensive in this direction will allow Russian troops to reach the strategically important road T0803 Orekhov - Zaporozhye in the future.
Control over the route will allow cutting off the enemy's supply route in Orekhovo, a strategically important settlement on this section of the front. In the future, the Orekhovo bridgehead can be used for an offensive directly on Zaporozhye.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces Command is aware of the gravity of the current situation and is transferring some of its forces to this area, including units withdrawn from the Kursk region. It is strategically important for Kyiv to maintain the "status quo" in the Zaporizhzhya direction until the spring rains and muddy roads begin, so as not to allow Russian troops to fix the front line in a position that is advantageous to them.
RETREAT OF THE UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES IN DONBASS
Simultaneously with the offensive in the Zaporizhia direction, Russian troops resumed military operations in the area of ​​Velyka Novosyolka in the east of the DPR. There are reports of military operations in the area of ​​the settlements of Skudnoe, Dneproenergia and Burlatskoe.
Lieutenant General Serhiy Nayev, commander of the tactical group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces "Velyka Novosilka", reported that in the direction entrusted to him, Ukrainian troops retreated to a number of "disadvantageous positions". Nayev did not specify in which area exactly Ukrainian troops were forced to retreat, but explained his order by "the need to preserve the lives and health of personnel".
According to information from the field, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are facing the same problems in the Novosyolka direction as in the Zaporizhzhya direction. After losing Velyka Novosyolka, the enemy is forced to hastily build defense lines in the bare steppe under the dominance of Russian aviation and artillery. In the near future, Kiev may sacrifice its positions in this direction, sources of the Regnum news agency report.
"There is reason to believe that they will retreat to the territory of the Dnipropetrovsk region. Reserve lines of defense are currently being created there. This does not mean that they will flee without a fight. They are currently fortifying the village of Komar, this is the last more or less large settlement under their control after the loss of Constantinople and Velyka Novosyolka. But if we press, they will retreat to fortified lines," the agency's source suggests.
For the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the situation along the entire front line continues to rapidly deteriorate. In an effort to patch up holes in one direction, the enemy allows Russian troops to break through in two new ones.