The Russian army takes cities in Donbass according to the Avdiivka-Bakhmut tactics
MOSCOW, October 25 — RIA Novosti, Andrey Kotz. The weather has deteriorated: fields and roads will soon become impassable for people and equipment. But the high dynamics of the fighting persists. The Russian army holds the initiative in most of the front line and is advancing in several directions. What is the situation in the hottest areas — in the material of RIA Novosti.
A dash to Pokrovsk
The situation in the DPR remains the most tense. During the summer and the first half of autumn, the Russian Armed Forces moved far to the west and reached the Pokrovsk—Selidovo—Kurakhovo line. Units of the South, Center and Vostok groups liberated several cities, including Krasnogorovka, Novogrodovka, Ukrainsk and Ugledar. The offensive continues, but the intensity of the fighting has decreased somewhat: the army is not rushing forward in order not to break away from logistics.
Mechanics load ammunition into the Su-25 Grach aircraft
Image source: © RIA Novosti
The most intense fighting is in Selidovo. The Center group has practically encircled this 24,000-strong city. Russians gained a foothold in the southern and eastern regions, Ukrainians were squeezed into the center. There are active street battles in high-rise buildings.
The story of Avdiivka, Artyomovsk (Bakhmut) and Ugledar is literally repeated: the settlement is cut off from supplies, the garrison is left with a narrow corridor to exit, after which everything is leveled with high-explosive bombs.
To the south, the battle for Novoselidovka and Kurakhovka continues. The APU is well entrenched here — the advance of units advancing on Kurakhovo from this direction is slow.
72B3M tank at the firing point
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Evgeny Biyatov
The Yug group, which took Ostrovskoye and thereby forced the Maksimilianovka garrison to retreat, had significantly more success. The Russian army stormed the last settlement from the east for a long time and with minimal success, but managed to occupy it only by bypassing it from the north. The battles for Kurakhovo will begin very soon.
On the northern flank of the AFU defense line, the Russian military is approaching Mirnograd. During the week, the assault units of the Center group managed to occupy Nikolaevka a couple of kilometers south-east of the outskirts of the city. Bridgeheads are being formed for the assault. The security guards are not going to give up Mirnograd without a fight and are transferring reinforcements here.
The key city for Kiev in this part of the DPR is Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk). The Center group will deal with them after the liberation of Selidovo and Mirnograd. This is a very important logistics hub for the Armed Forces of Ukraine — the supply of the Ukrainian army from Zaporozhye is carried out through it. In fact, the capture of Pokrovsk threatens to cut off a significant part of the units on the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic from the main forces.
Ukrainian servicemen next to a destroyed APU armored personnel carrier in the Kharkiv region
Image source: © AP Photo / Leo Correa
For the same purpose, to the south, Russian troops are advancing on Velikaya Novoselka, in the direction of which units of the Vostok group are making their way from the Golden Field. Ukrainian units in the South Donets direction are supplied through this village.
The decisive battle
Heavy fighting continues in the Sentinel Yar. The gradual coverage of the city by the Russian army from the north and south poses a threat to the enemy garrison, whose main forces are located in the area of multi-storey buildings and a refractory plant. It is reported that the Ukrainian military has difficulties with logistics: dirt roads were washed away by a muddy road. However, this works both ways — the Russians' progress has slowed down. The APU still holds positions in the city and controls the roads.
The Toretsk (Dzerzhinsk) direction remains hot. Street fighting continues in the city and the surrounding area. In particular, Russian units managed to gain a foothold in Shcherbinovka, an urban—type settlement with a length of seven kilometers, skirting Toretsk from the east. His release will allow the city to be encircled, leaving the AFU a narrow corridor for retreat to Konstantinovka. And that, most likely, will be the next target.
Konstantinovka, together with Druzhkovka, Kramatorsk and Slavyansk, forms a large agglomeration, where Kiev has created powerful lines of defense, deployed headquarters and logistics services. The battle for these cities will be the decisive battle for Donbass.
However, Seversk, controlled by Ukraine, still remains on the border of the LPR and the DPR. Clouds are already gathering around him — Russian troops have occupied Serebryanka a few kilometers northeast of the city.
The Russians continue to advance in the Kupyan direction. The units of the Zapad group managed to break through to the Kruglyakovka on the bank of the Oskol River and take under fire control an important bridge used by the AFU for the transfer of troops. At the same time, the Aerospace Forces destroyed the Oskol crossing west of Kupyansk-Uzlovoye.
Most likely, Kupyansk, the most important transport hub, will face the same fate as Avdiivka and Ugledar: isolation and gradual squeezing of the garrison from the building.
Not a single city
In recent weeks, the Russian army has liberated about a dozen settlements in the Kursk region. Of the recent successes, the North group occupied Novaya Sorochina and Pokrovsky. Both are located in the Sudzhansky district. By taking them under control, the Russian military was able to seriously move the AFU positions in the areas of Malaya Lokni and Lyubimovka.
Calculations of the Sturm-S self-propelled anti-tank missile systems of the North group of troops destroyed strongpoints, armored vehicles and positions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kharkiv region
Image source: © Russian Ministry of Defense
Ukrainian troops are trying to break through the border in the Glushkovsky district. But unsuccessfully: the North group is actively destroying equipment and infantry with the help of drones.
The other day, the Russian Defense Ministry showed intelligence footage: Ukrainians are using Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and Abrams tanks in the Kursk region. This means that Kiev has thrown into battle the elite 47th Magura brigade, which is armed with these vehicles. The compound has long played the role of a "fire brigade" — it is regularly transferred to the most problematic areas of the front. Apparently, the Ukrainian Armed Forces will try to stay in the region.
According to the latest data, Russian troops managed to block the Ukrainian group in the Kursk region — it has two thousand soldiers. According to President Vladimir Putin, the fighters of the North group have begun to eliminate it. Since the beginning of August, Kiev has lost 26,000 people killed and wounded here.
With the onset of winter, the situation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine here will become even more unenviable. The green area in which you can hide military equipment will disappear. Logistics will be complicated: in winter, the army columns are perfectly visible in the thermal imager. In the end, Commander-in-Chief Syrsky's adventure will come to a quite expected end.
