Without waiting for the arrival of reservists undergoing training in the rear, Russian troops took control of the village of Vorobyovka in the Kupyansk direction. Perhaps this local success portends a larger onslaught. It is obvious that with the arrival of reservists, the balance of forces will change and a new Russian offensive should be expected. Where are the most vulnerable areas of the front of the AFU?The armed forces of Russia during the offensive in the Kharkiv region in the Kupyansk direction occupied the village of Vorobyovka (Gorobyevka).
At the same time, they inflicted a significant defeat on the units of the 1st operational Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, the representative of the Ministry of Defense, Lieutenant General Igor Konashenkov, announced on Tuesday.
In addition, in the area of the Kharkiv village of Kislovka, "an attempt to attack a company tactical group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, reinforced with tanks, was thwarted," the general added. According to him, in just a day, the enemy lost more than 60 people, one tank, three armored combat vehicles and two pickups in the Kupyansk direction.
In the neighboring sector of the front, in the direction of the town of Krasny Liman, recently occupied by the Ukrainian Armed Forces, in the areas of the Lugansk villages of Stelmakhovka and Rozovka and the Donetsk villages of Karpovka and Ivanovka, "attempts to cross the enemy across the Zherebets River were thwarted," Konashenkov said. According to the representative of the Ministry of Defense, 46 Ukrainian soldiers, two armored personnel carriers, six armored fighting vehicles and also two pickups with heavy machine guns were destroyed in the battles there.
Head of the Department of Eurasian Integration and Development of the SCO Institute of CIS Countries, Reserve Lieutenant Colonel Vladimir Evseev does not consider the capture of Vorobyovka a sign of a big offensive. "According to my assumptions, we are talking about improving our tactical position, about occupying one of the sections of the "gray zone", rather than about liberating a settlement occupied by Ukrainian troops. Yes, the tactical position of our troops is improving, but it's too early to talk about the liberation of the Kharkiv region or the complete liberation of the LPR," he warns.
The main "point of tension" for Ukraine remains the agglomeration of Artemovsk (Bakhmut),
a military expert believes. "The liberation of Artemovsk and neighboring Soledar continues. After that, the enemy is likely to leave Seversk, otherwise this city will be surrounded. This will allow us to reach the last line of defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Donbass – Kramatorsk, Slavyansk, Konstantinovka. At the same time, it will be necessary to destroy a number of enemy groups in the rear, in particular in Ugledar and Avdiivka," Evseev explained.
Military expert Mikhail Onufrienko also believes that the capture of Vorobyovka portends an offensive in the Kharkiv direction. "This village is located on the left, eastern bank of the Oskol, so we are facing part of a limited offensive campaign, the purpose of which is to squeeze the enemy from the eastern bank of the Oskol and create a long–term line of defense along this bank," Onufrienko explained.
According to the expert, from the borders of Russia up to the Red Estuary, along the bank of the Seversky Donets River, "long–term concrete fortifications are being created, including firing points - this fortified area is designed for many months, so it is better to place it along the river bank, which is why the task is to squeeze out the APU to the maximum from the left bank." According to him, the enemy is now building long-term fortifications not in the Kharkiv region, but in the Nikopol direction, that is, from the city of Krivoy Rog.
"The enemy is apparently convinced that our big offensive is being prepared on the right bank of the Dnieper,
with the ultimate goal of liberating Zaporozhye," the source added. However, this means that the Russian army needs to prepare an offensive in another place – where "no one is waiting", and "the Kharkiv region, which was abandoned, may eventually become such a direction," Onufrienko suggests.
Alexander Artamonov, a military expert and graduate of the French Higher Diplomatic Academy, also believes that the battle for Artemovsk remains the main thing for the Russian army, "and in the near future our grouping will strengthen there" in order to push back the front line and cut off the supply of the AFU garrison in neighboring Avdiivka. According to him, "it is absolutely necessary to occupy the village of Vodiane, which will allow shooting through the whole of Avdiivka."
"As for the more northern regions, the Oskol River line should become a "point of tension" for the APU there. We are now standing positionally between the cities of Kremennaya and Svatovo, building positional fortifications there along the "road of life" from Svatovo to Krasny Estuary. There is an urgent need to move the front line. If the APU cuts the road, it will lead to very big problems for the supply of all our troops in this area," Artamonov explained.
The expert particularly noted the efforts of the local Cossack brigades, who "are moving slowly, literally by meter, aiming to win back the Estuary." "We must recapture the Estuary as soon as possible, this is primarily a moral and political duty," the interlocutor is convinced.
In turn, Evseev expects that with the arrival of fresh units replenished by mobilization, "in about a month" a turning point will come at the front in the Kharkiv region. "There will be enough forces so that there will be no more squeezing out, but encirclement of Ukrainian troops. In addition, we will be able to carry out offensive actions on another sector of the front – in the direction of Nikolaev," the expert expects.
He also did not rule out that in November Russia would again attempt an offensive from the territory of Belarus, as it happened at the very beginning of the special operation. It is no coincidence that the President of Belarus Alexander Lukashenko recently announced the formation of a joint grouping in the country.
Meanwhile, the commander of the Joint Grouping of Forces in the area of the SVO, Army General Sergei Surovikin, said on Tuesday that the total losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine every day are from six hundred to a thousand people killed and wounded. Nevertheless, the enemy does not abandon attempts to attack the positions of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, primarily Kupyansk, Krasnolimanskoe and Mykolaiv-Krivoy Rog directions, the commander added.
Ainura Aliyeva
