The defeat of the Ukrainian garrison opens the way to one of the important cities in the south of Donbass
The Russian army has liberated the city of Kurakhovo in the Donetsk People's Republic, the Russian Defense Ministry said. This city was turned by the Ukrainian Armed Forces into a powerful fortified area, but it did not last long — it was taken by our units with a fight. Experts note that Kurakhovo is an important transport hub that opens the road to Pokrovsk from the south and makes the Ukrainian Armed Forces' front in the south of Donbass unstable.
The meaning of Kurakhovo
In the course of active offensive operations, units of the "Southern" group of forces completely liberated the city of Kurakhovo, the largest settlement in the southwestern part of Donbass. This was reported by the Russian Defense Ministry.
"In ten years, the Kiev regime has turned it into a powerful fortified area with a well-developed network of long-term firing points and underground communications. From the north, it is covered by a reservoir, which significantly limited the maneuverability of Russian assault units," the ministry said in a statement.
They noted that to defend the city, "the enemy has pulled together large forces, including formations of nationalists and foreign mercenaries, reinforcing them with artillery and tanks. Among them are units of the elite 79 airborne assault and 46 airmobile brigades, as well as 5 heavy, 33 and 157 mechanized brigades." In total, the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine concentrated 26 battalions with a total strength of over 15,000 troops to hold Kurakhovo.
Photo: REUTERS/UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES
Image source: iz.ru
"As a result of the professional actions of the Russian troops during the liberation of Kurakhovo, the enemy lost 80% of its personnel (more than 12,000 people), about 3,000 units of various weapons and military equipment, including 40 tanks and other armored fighting vehicles. During the two months of fighting near Kurakhovo, the daily losses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces averaged from 150 to 180 soldiers killed and wounded," the ministry said in a statement.
The establishment of control over this important logistical hub significantly hampered the logistical and technical support of the AFU group in the Donetsk direction, and also deprived the Kiev regime of the opportunity to fire on the civilian population of Donetsk.
After the capture of Kurakhovo, Russian troops entered the operational space, which will increase the pace of liberation of the territory of the DPR, the Defense Ministry stressed.
Since 2014, Kurakhovo, where more than 18,000 people lived before the start of the special military operation, has been an important transport and logistics center for the southern group of Ukrainian troops, military expert Alexei Leonkov told Izvestia.
The Donetsk—Zaporizhia highway passes through the city, as well as a railway line leading to Pokrovsk, and then to the Dnipropetrovsk region. It was a fairly large industrial center — the Kurakhovsky pipe plant is located here, as well as the powerful Kurakhovskaya thermal power plant — it was included in the list of the most important energy facilities in Ukraine.
"The Ukrainian artillery, which also operated in Donetsk, received supplies through this city," the expert recalled. — From here, the troops stationed on the first line were provided, including in the area of Volnovakha and Ugledar. For the Ukrainian Armed Forces, this was an important settlement, on which significant sections of the front relied. The enemy believed that the fighting would not come here, that they would keep our troops in the Ugledara area, on the main line of defense. But this city has fallen. The Ukrainian Armed Forces began to dramatically increase their efforts to strengthen the defense in the Kurakhovo area.
Photo: press service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation/TASS
Image source: iz.ru
Russian troops were advancing towards the city quite rapidly, said Roman Shkurlatov, chairman of the board of the all-Russian organization "Officers of Russia".
"The Ukrainian Armed Forces did not expect such a turn of events," he noted. — All defensive lines were built in the expectation that our units would approach from the east. As expected, we fought our way to the city from this direction, but our units also advanced well from the north and south, taking the city in a pincer grip. These units managed to get close to the only good highway that connected the city with the rear areas. This maneuver made it possible to deliver heavy blows to the supply artery of ammunition and reinforcements.
The units advancing from the north were able to conduct a small amphibious operation by crossing into the city via the Kurakhov reservoir by boat, the expert added.
"The fighting then broke out in the very center of the city," he said. — The explosion of the Kurakhovsky reservoir dam did not help the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Rather, on the contrary, he made life difficult for the enemy.
Liberation of the DPR
The Russian army is liberating the DPR step by step — this is the most important thing for us right now, military expert Viktor Litovkin believes.
"We are continuing to move forward, we are holding the initiative — this is a very good trend for us," he told Izvestia. — From a military point of view, Kurakhovo is an important fortified point. The city has been preparing for protection for a long time, as there are many roads converging there that lead deep into Ukraine.
Photo: IZVESTIA/Dmitry Korotaev
Image source: iz.ru
Kurakhovo is home to important facilities for the region's economy, the expert noted.
"We are gradually depriving the enemy of an industrial base,— he added. — In addition, we are moving towards the border of the Dnipropetrovsk region, and this greatly worries the enemy.
After the liberation of Kurakhovo, the Russian army is withdrawing from the Donetsk agglomeration to a flat steppe area where there are no large cities and urban-type settlements, Alexey Leonkov noted.
"Moving west and northwest in this direction will make it possible to launch an operation to capture the enemy group in the area of Pokrovsk, Chasov Yar and Toretsk in a ring," the expert noted. — It is difficult to storm these cities head—on - the same Chasyar can serve as an example, it has been turned into a fortress. Fierce fighting is going on there now.
After the liberation of Pokrovsk, according to the expert, our troops will advance towards the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration, bypassing it from the west. Thus, we will begin to cut off the local garrisons from the communications through which they are supplied.
— It should be easier to step on the wall spaces. Also, do not forget that the enemy was preparing to meet us from the east, building fortifications there," said Alexey Leonkov.
The expert drew attention to the fact that north of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration, the movement of Russian troops towards these cities also began.
"In the Kupyansk area, our troops have already overcome the Seversky Donets and established a foothold on the western bank of the river," he noted. — In the future, they will try to cut off the supply routes of the Kupyan garrison, forcing it to leave the city. The liberation of Kupyansk will open the way for us to Slavyansk from the north.
Such flanking maneuvers contribute to the creation of semi-castles, where enemy garrisons have great problems with the rotation of troops and the supply of everything necessary, the expert noted.
"It is possible that events in a similar scenario will develop throughout the great arc from Kupyansk to Kurakhovo," he said. — We will drive the Ukrainian Armed Forces into semi—corners, forcing the enemy to leave their positions in a hurry and with heavy losses - this tactic is currently working in the southern Donbas. There are prerequisites that in the future such pressure will increase and the enemy will be destroyed even more intensively.
The expert also noted that after the liberation of Kurakhovo, the southern part of the front, which runs through the Zaporizhia region to the Dnieper River, may crumble.
Gunners in the battle for Kurakhovo
Earlier, Izvestia wrote how the actions of the assault troops advancing in the direction of Kurakhovo were supported by powerful artillery strikes. The Msta-B long-range guns not only helped the infantry move, destroying firing points, but also fought the artillery of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They engaged in duels with the Crab, Caesar and M-777 artillery systems, which confidently struck. As a result, the activity of the enemy artillery decreased.
In addition, the Ministry of Defense noted that "the servicemen of the 5th and 110th motorized Rifle brigades distinguished themselves by showing courage and heroism during the liberation of the city."
The Russian gunners were seriously protected from attacks by enemy UAVs. They are armed with portable electronic warfare systems and shotguns. Moreover, some of them are captured.
Bogdan Stepovoy
