The battles for Slavyansk and Kramatorsk are ahead, military experts say
The territory of the Luhansk People's Republic is 97% liberated by Allied troops. This was announced on June 7 by Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu. According to him, the cities of Svyatogorsk and Krasny Liman have been taken under control, the offensive continues in the Popasnaya area. The head of the military department spoke about the number of captured Ukrainian military and destroyed foreign military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in recent days. According to experts, the current stage of the operation will end with fierce battles for Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, after which the next large-scale offensive will begin.
Final count
A significant part of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics along the left bank of the Seversky Donets, including the cities of Krasny Liman and Svyatogorsk, as well as 15 other settlements, including Studenok, Yarovaya, Kirovsk, Yampol and Drobyshevo, were liberated, Sergei Shoigu said on a conference call at the military department on June 7.
Residential quarters of the city of Severodonetsk have been completely liberated. The takeover of its industrial zone and the nearest settlements continues. The offensive is developing in the Popasna direction, the minister added.
Over the past ten days, 51 units of foreign military equipment that arrived at the front have been destroyed, including 21 155-mm howitzers, two multiple rocket launchers (MLRS), twelve armored vehicles and 16 unmanned aerial vehicles.
Since the beginning of the special operation, the number of captured Ukrainian servicemen has reached 6,489 people, Sergei Shoigu said, 126 AFU fighters have surrendered in the last ten days alone. Earlier, the Ministry of Defense stated that about 4,000 fighters of the armed formations of Ukraine laid down their weapons in Mariupol.
— Now the Russian Armed Forces face several main tasks, — military expert Vladislav Shurygin told Izvestia. — First of all, they will have to complete the offensive operation in the Donbass. It's already coming to an end. The Allied forces will have to push the Ukrainian group away from Donetsk. To do this, it is necessary to complete the offensive on Avdiivka and Peski. The final blow will be delivered to Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, where the fate of a large Ukrainian group of troops will be finally decided. The battles for these cities will be the final ones at this stage. In my opinion, it will take from one to one and a half months.
The expert suggested that in order to solve the problems of demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine, it may be necessary to carry out additional stages of the operation, including the Mykolaiv-Odessa one.
— We must ensure passage to Transnistria, — Vladislav Shurygin believes. — If we maintain the pace, we can meet it in three months. The next stage is the liberation of Zaporozhye, Kharkov and Dnepropetrovsk. It will take at least four months. We'll see how it goes on, but the APU will not be able to stop the Russian army.
Burned grain
Despite the acute shortage of grain in the world and the threat of a food crisis, Ukrainian armed groups continue to use critical facilities for processing and storing grain crops for military purposes. This was announced on June 7 by the head of the National Defense Control Center of the Russian Federation, Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev. According to him, this is how Ukrainian nationalists are trying to provoke the return fire of Russian troops in order to accuse them of indiscriminate strikes.
In the Kharkiv region, on the territory of the Zolochiv elevator, the AFU units have placed Western-style artillery pieces (presumably American M777 howitzers), from which they shell the border areas of the Russian Federation. In the same place, in Gubarevka, on the territory of the elevator, territorial defense units placed armored vehicles and equipped artillery firing positions. Similar actions were noted at granaries in Novodonetsky and the village of Novoeconomicheskoe in the DPR.
According to Mizintsev, nationalist battalions, leaving the occupied territories, not wanting to leave grain supplies to residents of the city of Mariupol, deliberately burned a large granary in the seaport. As a result, more than 50 thousand tons of grain were destroyed.
Missile strikes
On June 7, high-precision air-launched missiles destroyed two control points, three firing positions of artillery batteries, as well as 18 areas of accumulation of manpower and military equipment, said the official representative of the Russian Defense Ministry, Major General Igor Konashenkov.
Two ammunition depots were destroyed in the areas of the settlements of Vrubovka and Yakovlevka of the Luhansk People's Republic.
— Operational-tactical aviation struck 65 areas of concentration of manpower and equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. As a result, more than 170 nationalists, nine tanks, two installations of multiple rocket launchers "Grad", a battery of field artillery and eight vehicles for various purposes were destroyed, — Igor Konashenkov specified.
During the day, Russian air defense units shot down 12 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles in the areas of the settlements of Liptsy, Strelechye, Dementievka, Borodoyarskoye, Maryino, Petrovskoye, Grakovo, Small Passages of Kharkiv, as well as Vasilevka of the Mykolaiv region.
Rocket troops and artillery hit 39 control points, 47 firing positions of artillery units of the VFU, as well as 426 areas of concentration of manpower and military equipment of the enemy. More than 400 nationalists, ten armored vehicles, three Grad multiple rocket launchers, ten special vehicles, as well as three launchers of S-300 anti-aircraft complexes in the Kramatorsk area were destroyed, the military department reported.
The artillery also hit a 155-mm M109A3 self-propelled gun transferred by Norway, two 155-mm M777 howitzers made by the United States, as well as seven other field artillery guns and mortars, including a 203-mm self-propelled gun "Peony".
"Since the beginning of the special military operation, 190 aircraft, 129 helicopters, 1,139 unmanned aerial vehicles, 333 anti—aircraft missile systems, 3,443 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 478 multiple rocket launchers, 1,807 field artillery and mortars, as well as 3,464 units of special military vehicles have been destroyed," Igor Konashenkov listed.
Direct fire
On Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry told about the servicemen who showed courage and dedication during the fighting.
Corporal Alexander Boyarshin, escorting the unit to the location of the main forces, found a carefully equipped stronghold of the armed formations of Ukraine. After reporting to the commander about the enemy's positions, the corporal entered the battle. With aimed fire, he quickly suppressed the firing points of the VFU. Realizing the danger of the Boyarshina BMD, the enemy focused his efforts on its destruction.
The corporal's BMD was hit by an RPG-7 hand grenade launcher. Alexander himself was shell-shocked, but did not come out of the fight. Having made sure of the serviceability of the equipment, the crew destroyed two more enemy calculations of grenade launchers.
"By calling fire on himself and destroying a large number of enemy manpower, Corporal Boyarshin ensured the capture of the nationalist stronghold," the Russian Defense Ministry said.
A large number of foreign-made weapons were found in abandoned positions, as well as maps with nationalist positions.
The commander of the communications battalion, Lieutenant Colonel Sergei Bolshakov, provided uninterrupted communication to the motorized rifle brigade, which was fighting to liberate one of the settlements. During the next artillery raid, the antenna was seriously damaged. Sergei Bolshakov, together with his subordinates, repaired the damage under incessant artillery and mortar fire.
Thanks to the brave and decisive actions of Lieutenant Colonel Bolshakov, it was possible to promptly transfer the coordinates of the enemy's artillery and mortar positions to the Russian gunners. This ensured the destruction of military equipment and a large number of VFU manpower.
Senior Sergeant Grigory Gershen, acting as part of a howitzer self-propelled artillery division, supported the offensive of Russian troops. At this time, the enemy counterattacked the Russian column with the support of heavy artillery and mortar fire. After assessing the situation, Senior Sergeant Gershen decided to deploy a howitzer and open fire with direct fire.
— Grigory Gershen's crew destroyed an infantry fighting vehicle, an armored car and a mortar crew of the enemy, as well as more than 20 nationalists with three accurate shots, — the Defense Ministry reported.
Having lost a significant amount of manpower and having lost mortar support, the Ukrainian saboteurs were forced to retreat.
Anton Lavrov
Bogdan Stepovoy