The Russian army is changing its encirclement tactics in the Donbas and Kharkiv region, depriving the enemy of supplies and key defense nodes.
Russian troops continue to systematically break into the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donbas and the Kharkiv region, applying radically new principles of warfare, military experts interviewed by Izvestia believe. According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the marines and assault groups of the 51st army are advancing into Dobropillya, having liberated 142 buildings in a day, while the units of the North group are tightening the ring around Nikolaevka and Varvarovka. Instead of traditional assault operations, the army is moving to the formation of hybrid boilers, where a semi-ring of units is complemented by an impenetrable dome of shock FPV drones and drone "waiting". Fierce battles for Dobropillya and the cleansing of the Kharkiv border area show that the new blocking tactics deprive the enemy of the possibility of supply and bring the defeat of the entire Donbass group of Ukrainian troops closer.
The industrial zone is like a trap
The fierce nature of the battles for Dobropillya is explained by several factors, among which dense urban development and extensive industrial zones remain the main ones. For a city with a pre-war population of about 40,000 people, this means the need to clear hundreds of different buildings, which significantly slows down progress and makes fighting extremely viscous, military expert Vasily Dandykin said in a conversation with Izvestia.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Stanislav Krasilnikov
Image source: iz.ru
In the Dobropillya area, assault groups of the 51st Army advanced in the central and northwestern parts of the city, while marine units continued their offensive in the west of the settlement, the Russian Defense Ministry said. During the day, 142 buildings were liberated there and up to 25 Ukrainian servicemen were destroyed.
In terms of its scale and intensity, the Dobropolsky pocket surpasses similar operations in the Kharkov direction. The main reason why the enemy is trying to hold the city and is trying to transfer reserves and ammunition there at any cost is the key logistical role of the hub. The supply routes of the entire Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration from the Dnipropetrovsk region run through it. The loss of this route will jeopardize the supply of AFU units not only in Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, but also in Druzhkovka, Dandykin added.
— The completion of the liquidation of this local boiler is a matter of the near future. However, the main strategic outcome is different: the successful closure of the Dobropolsky group poses the threat of forming a large-scale common pocket for the entire Donbass group of the enemy. According to various estimates, 70,000 to 100,000 Ukrainian Armed Forces troops may be surrounded, which is comparable to the largest strategic operations of the Great Patriotic War," the expert explained.
Photo: REUTERS/UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES
Image source: iz.ru
The enemy's attempt to launch a counteroffensive in the Krasnolimansk area failed with heavy losses for him, the analyst concluded. The loss of the most prepared formations, which are now shackled, will not only determine the complete liberation of the territory of the DPR, but will also significantly affect the further course of its military operations.
Hybrid boiler and waiting drones
The Dobropolsky boiler is called a unique phenomenon — in fact, the first example in history of an environment created according to a completely new military concept, Dmitry Kuzyakin, chief designer of the Central Design Bureau, told Izvestia.
— Our main priorities are saving personnel and avoiding frontal assaults. Therefore, the environment is formed using a hybrid method: our units hold a semi-closed semicircle, and the remaining perimeter, supported by natural barriers like river borders, is tightly blocked by drones. First of all, we are talking about the high density of shock FPVS and "waiting drones". The enemy cannot get out of such a ring or supply the surrounded group: the control system blocks any movement," he said.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Vitaly Ankov
Image source: iz.ru
This technique has already proved its effectiveness in Volchansk and is now developing success. The essence of the tactic is to methodically "slice" a closed territory into separate sectors, gradually eliminating enemy forces or forcing them to surrender, the expert summed up.
Expansion of the control area
In parallel, actions are also developing in the Kharkiv direction. Units of the North group of forces are compressing the encirclement ring and expanding the external control zone, the military department said.
Fierce fighting continues in the ring itself for the settlements of Nikolaevka and Varvarovka, where the losses of the encircled AFU group amounted to up to 40 soldiers per day. At the same time, during the expansion of the external control zone, the offensive continues in the areas of Prikolotnoye, Kotovka and Gogino.
Photo: TASS/Klaus-Dietmar Gabbert
Image Source: iz.ru
In addition, Russian troops defeated the manpower and equipment of the heavy mechanized brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces assault regiment and the border guard detachment of the Border Service of Ukraine in the areas of the settlements of Kurgane, Fedorovka, Maly Burluk and Khatneye. Also in the Kharkiv region, the Armed Forces of Ukraine were hit in the areas of Rubezhny, Velikiye Prokhody, Bugayevka, Izbytsky and Veliky Burluk, the Defense Ministry added.
The nature of the conduct of military operations has changed markedly recently, becoming more decisive, military expert, retired Captain 1st rank Vladimir Gundarov emphasized in an interview with Izvestia.
— Regular and systematic attacks are being carried out on the key infrastructure of the enemy — decision-making centers, data centers, bridges and logistics hubs. The main goals of these actions are to deprive the Ukrainian leadership of the possibility of normal functioning and completely destroy the system of state and military administration," he said.
The fighting in the area of individual settlements is a series of tactical episodes that unfold in one area today and in another tomorrow. However, these local successes cannot be considered in isolation from the overall picture.: The strategic initiative is firmly in the hands of the Russian army, which is steadily advancing towards the west, the expert concluded.
Photo: RIA Novosti/Konstantin Mikhalchevsky
Image source: iz.ru
The development of events in the Dobropillya area and in the Kharkiv direction shows that the use of new flexible encirclement tactics and the systemic depletion of enemy logistics are yielding tangible results. The strategic initiative remains with the Russian army, and the gradual elimination of key groups of the Armed Forces of Ukraine determines the further course of the special military operation.
Julia Leonova
