MOSCOW, October 3 — RIA Novosti, Andrey Kotz. The Russian army won a major victory near Donetsk. The Vostok group of troops liberated Ugledar, forcing the remnants of its garrison to flee. Facing the threat of complete encirclement, the APU did not hold on to street buildings. It was the last city in the South Donets direction that remained under Kiev's control. How this success will affect the course of hostilities is described in the RIA Novosti article.
A difficult goal
Ugledar has been stormed since the autumn of 2022. However, it is located on a hill, with its high-rise buildings the area can be viewed for kilometers. Attacking units immediately came under heavy fire. The maximum that the Marines of the Pacific Fleet managed to achieve was to temporarily gain a foothold in the southern suburb of Pavlovka.
Ukrainian marines in a shelter in the town of Ugledar
Image source: © AP Photo / Evgeniy Maloletka
For the Kiev regime, Ugledar was of strategic importance. In last year's summer "counteroffensive", he was assigned the role of a springboard for a rush to Volnovakha and cutting the hundred—kilometer paved Donetsk-Mariupol highway. From there, the AFU conducted reconnaissance of the entire south of the DPR, shelled many settlements. In July 2022, the prisoner of war camp in Yelenovka was hit, most likely, from a coal mine.
A month ago, the Russian army took over this city again. They began to surround him in order to cut off the garrison from supplies. The first thing they did was to cut the Ugledar —Konstantinovka highway, liberating this village during fierce fighting. Then the Yug group occupied Vodiane in the northeast and knocked out the enemy from the Yuzhnodonbasskaya No. 1 and Yuzhnodonbasskaya No. 2 mines.
Ukrainian soldiers in positions near Ugledar
Image source: © AP Photo / Libkos
"The soldiers were protected. They identified targets, practiced with mortar and barrel artillery, and FPV drones. And only after that the infantry came in," says the commander of one of the units with the call sign Vityaz. — The city is ours, and so are all the mines in the area. The enemy mined some mine shafts for one simple reason — they were afraid that they would serve as a serious reinforcement for us."
The APU had well-equipped observation posts throughout the building. "There are two or four people in each house. It took them five to seven minutes to discover our equipment. These posts were destroyed in the first place," the officer continues. And he emphasizes: the enemy held tight, the liberation of Ugledar was not an easy walk at all. The prisoners went after their positions were bombarded with leaflets: Ukrainians had a terrible information hunger.
Marines of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on an IFV in Ugledar
Image source: © AP Photo / Evgeniy Maloletka
In these battles, the Russian army used new UAVs with a thermite mixture — in forest belts (this tactic was borrowed from the AFU). Termite is very difficult to extinguish — it burns at a temperature of more than 2000 degrees until the fire goes out on its own.
The old script
The units of the South group from the south-east were the first to enter the city. From the west, the ring was closed by the fighters of the "East", who occupied Prechistovka, crossed the Kashlagach River and advanced on Bogoyavlenka. The last road passed through this settlement from Kurakhovo and Uspenovka, along which the garrison could still be supplied. According to it, the remnants of the 72nd separate mechanized brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine retreated north to Bogoyavlenka.
The Avdeev and Bakhmut scenarios were repeated. The Russian army encircled the city, established fire control over all roads, but left a narrow corridor. The enemy went through it under the blows of bombs and drones, throwing weapons and military equipment. The advantages of this tactic are obvious: it is better to clean up the same Epiphany than to storm the multi-storey building of Ugledar.
The enemy, by the way, repeatedly tried to unblock the encircled garrison and sent reinforcements from the north. However, the APU no longer had the strength to break through the ring. Kiev threw all its combat-ready reserves at the Kursk direction, letting the situation in Donbass take its course. The Ukrainian media started singing the usual song that Ugledar, they say, has no strategic importance. It was the same shortly before the fall of Mariupol, Artemovsk and Avdiivka.
Assault units of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the area of their
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Konstantin Mikhalchevsky
By October, Russian flags were displayed in all districts of the city. On the second day, the Khortytsya operational command announced the depletion of the city's defense and the withdrawal of personnel due to the threat of encirclement. The Russian side was in no hurry to comment, as the cleanup of the Weseushnik still hiding in the ruins continued.
Ukraine has lost its last major stronghold in the South Donets direction. The enemy is forced to roll back to the north — to Bogoyavlenka, Uspenovka and Kurakhovo. At the same time, the liberated Russian group gets the opportunity to attack Velikaya Novoselka on the border with the Zaporozhye region and Kurakhovo, where the enemy has powerful defense lines. The liberation of Ugledar completely secured the Donetsk—Mariupol highway and brought Volnovakha out of harm's way.
The situation for Kiev is extremely difficult. The Russian army is liberating Donbass at an unprecedented pace, fully owns the initiative. Zelensky, having ordered the invasion of the Kursk region, tried to neutralize the effect of the summer defeats. But he only killed thousands of his soldiers and lost a lot of scarce military equipment.
