Russian military personnel prevented the development of the Sapsan missile defense system by the Ukrainian Armed Forces
The Russian army has made significant strides in recent days. She managed to make a breakthrough in the Pokrovsky direction and endanger the encirclement of the last major cities of Donbass — Slavyansk and Kramatorsk. Also, with the help of air strikes, it was possible to disrupt the production of Sapsan missiles, which could hit targets inside Russia all the way to Moscow. What is happening at the front now is in the Izvestia article.
How is progress on earth
• Russian troops were able to break through the defenses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in the Pokrovsky direction. The units of the Center group improved their position along the front line, defeating several formations in several settlements of the Donetsk People's Republic (DPR) and the village of Filia in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Their advance was supported by units of the Vostok group of forces, going deep into the defense.
• The depth of the breakthrough of the front north of the city of Pokrovsk was about 18 km. This allowed Russian troops to reach the large settlements of Donbass, Slavyansk and Kramatorsk. They may lose supplies from the Dnieper River, maintaining contact only with Kharkov. The breakthrough occurred despite the serious fortifications built by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the area.
• The development of success allows the Russian military to enter the rear of the Pokrovsky group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and in the future have the opportunity to enter the rear of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk group, since there are no more fortifications preventing this. About 3 thousand soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are under threat of encirclement. The neutralization of this group will open up the possibility of reaching the borders of the DPR.
• The advance of Russian troops is confirmed in Ukraine. An open letter to President Vladimir Zelensky, written by the military, talks about the difficult situation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the Pokrovka—Konstantinovka line, about the almost complete encirclement of the cities of Pokrovsk and Mirnograd, as well as about the semi-encirclement of Konstantinovka.
• The advance of Russian troops was preceded by the capture of the town of Chasov Yar in the DPR, as well as the seizure of the entire territory of the Luhansk People's Republic (LPR). Three settlements in the Dnipropetrovsk region were also occupied. At the same time, the creation of a safe zone in Kharkiv and Sumy regions continued.
Factories for the production of Sapsan missiles have been destroyed
• During July, the Russian Armed Forces (RF Armed Forces) also attacked missile weapon assembly plants, rocket fuel production plants, and design bureaus in the Dnipropetrovsk and Sumy regions of Ukraine. The strikes were carried out by high-precision air, sea and land-based weapons, as well as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Russian troops also destroyed the air defense systems covering these facilities, including four Patriot launchers and an American radar station.
• The Federal Security Service (FSB) clarified that in this way an attempt to establish the development and production of the Sapsan operational and tactical complex (OTRK) was stopped. It was assumed that the missiles of this complex could strike at a distance of up to 750 km. The affected area included Moscow, Tver, Voronezh, Lipetsk, Smolensk and the entire territory of Belarus. It was planned to produce 200 Sapsan missiles per month. The financing was provided by Germany, the FSB found out.
• Information about the upcoming production of Sapsan missiles was received by the FSB back in 2024 due to technical penetration into enterprises of the military-industrial complex of Ukraine. The agents uncovered the production facilities and established Germany's involvement in financing the project. This made it possible to strike at the Pavlograd Chemical Plant, the Pavlograd Mechanical Plant, the state-owned Zvezda plant and the State Scientific Research Institute of Chemical Products in Shostka.
