MOSCOW, July 19 — RIA Novosti, Andrey Kotz.The allied forces of the armies of Russia, the LPR and the DPR are pulling forces to Seversk and continue to slowly advance in the direction of Soledar and Artemovsk. From here opens a direct road to Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, where the APU assembled the most combat-ready units equipped with Western weapons and trained by NATO instructors. Here is also the headquarters of the Joint Forces Operation (OOS), which directs the actions of the Ukrainian army in the Donbass. About the situation in the north of the region — in the material of RIA Novosti.
The last frontier
Seversk is a small city with an area of 15 square kilometers with a pre—war population of 11 thousand people. There are no large production facilities and critical civil infrastructure facilities. However, two strategically important roads intersect there. One leads to Slavyansk from the northeast, the second - to the south, towards Soledar and Artemovsk.
Therefore, Seversk is necessary for further offensive. Now the city is blocked from three sides, there are fights in the building. As the representative of the LPR army Andrei Marochko told RIA Novosti, the troops control most of the communications. The APU can still leave Seversk, but only in the direction of Soledar. Moreover, the highway is shot through by the Allied armies. However, the Ukrainian command nevertheless transferred up to two battalions of personnel there, as well as barrel and rocket artillery.
"There is a strong enough garrison in Seversk itself," explains an officer of the DPR army with the call sign Klim. — It was here that Ukrainians, as well as foreign mercenaries, retreated from Lisichansk, actually surrendering the city without a fight. I assume there are no plans to defend themselves particularly fiercely here either. Everything points to the fact that Kiev has bet on Artemovsk, Slavyansk and Kramatorsk. There are the most combat-ready units. We are not waiting for the same "freebies" as in Lisichansk. Everything will be serious."
Destroyed buildings in Lisichansk
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Viktor Antonyuk
The line held by the AFU between Slavyansk, Kramatorsk, Konstantinovka and Artemivsk is the last line of defense in the north of Donbass. Kiev has spent billions of hryvnias on this fortified area for eight years. Concrete trenches, minefields, shelters for equipment — everything is provided to fight back for a long time.
A springboard for the offensive
Kramatorsk, Slavyansk and Artemovsk are of crucial importance for the AFU.
According to open sources, there are more than 15 thousand soldiers in Artemovsk — units of the 30th, 72nd, 14th and 24th mechanized brigades, 109th and 118th territorial Defense brigades, 4th Tank Brigade, National Guard, mercenaries.
Part of the troops is defending Soledar, which is slightly to the north. The city has high-rise buildings and several large industrial enterprises with underground shelters.
The defeat of this group will be the strongest blow to the Ukrainian army. From here, the Allied forces will be able to advance towards Kramatorsk — to the west, through Konstantinovka and Druzhkovka, or to the northwest - to Slavyansk.
Complex agglomeration
The battles for Artemovsk, as noted in the DPR, are a "dress rehearsal" of the offensive against the Slavyansk—Kramatorsk agglomeration. The population of these two cities exceeds 250 thousand people, dense buildings, difficult terrain. Kramatorsk is one big "Azovstal", a large industrial hub with many factories and enterprises.
DPR servicemen
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Alexey Kudenko
Slavyansk is also not to be taken on the spur of the moment, as proved by the experience of the militia, who held the city for several months against the numerically superior forces of Kiev in the spring and summer of 2014. The most important node of the APU defense here is Mount Karachun to the southwest. From there, a wide view of the terrain opens up, which allows you to adjust artillery fire.
As previously reported by the Deputy Minister of Information of the DPR Artem Olkhin, the total number of the AFU grouping concentrated on the front line from Avdiivka to Slavyansk reaches 60-70 thousand people. No one is going to storm head-on. They will be surrounded, cut off from the supply routes and will begin to be methodically suppressed by artillery and aviation.
On Monday, the official representative of the DPR army, Eduard Basurin, said that the allied troops blocked the road connecting Konstantinovka with Avdiivka in two districts, which turned out to be in a semicircle. The lid of this huge cauldron is already slamming shut.
