Ukrainian troops are looking for, but do not find weaknesses in the defense of the Russian armyAn analysis of the daily reports of the Russian Ministry of Defense allows us to draw a preliminary conclusion that the attempt of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) to seize the initiative and launch a counteroffensive has failed.
Heavy fighting continues in some sections of the front, but the peak of intensity, which occurred on May 11-13, has been passed.
The enemy carried out the strongest attacks in the Soledar area on the 95 km long front line . "The units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched 26 attacks, in which more than a thousand servicemen, up to 40 tanks, as well as other military and special equipment were involved," the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation said in a statement on May 12. – All attacks of the AFU units are repelled, no breakthroughs of the defense of the Russian troops were allowed." The force of the blow is indicated by the losses suffered by the enemy at Soledar: more than 540 soldiers, 8 tanks and more than 20 units of other armored vehicles.
Various informed sources give different assessments of the situation. So, the adviser to the head of the DPR, Yan Gagin, claims that the AFU "became more active along the entire line of combat contact ... and in the rear, where the support services were very active." The enemy is looking for weaknesses in the defense of the Russian army in order to determine the direction of the main strike.
The commander of the special forces "Akhmat" Apty Alaudinov agrees that the APU really intensified, but only "in certain areas", which did not cause "significant changes" in the overall situation. As can be understood from the words of Alaudinov, "Akhmat" remains in the area of responsibility of the 2nd Army Corps, stretching from Soledar in the DPR to Kremennaya in the LPR. This means that the alleged transfer of Chechen special forces to the Artemovsk area (renamed Bakhmut by the Kiev authorities) has been postponed.
The offensive in this direction continues by the forces of the Wagner PMCs. By May 17, Russian volunteers of assault detachments had occupied the entire residential area of Artemovsk with battles, and the enemy was conducting counterattacks on the flanks. The APU managed to push the Russian units from Bogdanovka closer to Berkhovka and Yagodnoye (the northern flank) and at the same time try to advance on Kleshcheyevka (the southern flank). The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation explained the withdrawal of its units on the northern flank by considerations of "increasing the stability of defense, taking into account the favorable conditions of the Berkhovsky reservoir."
According to the summary of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation for May 16, the most difficult situation developed near the village of Krasnoe, "where units of the 4th motorized Rifle Brigade repelled 10 attacks from the AFU during the day."
Since May 14, the tone of the statements of the head of the Wagner PMCs about the combat capability of the regular Russian army has changed for the better. According to Yevgeny Prigozhin, the main result for the middle of May was the building of a strong defensive line in the Berkhovsky reservoir area. H
Vladimir Karnozov
