The Russian Armed Forces established a foothold on the Oskol River and reached the Dnipropetrovsk region.
MOSCOW, February 20 — RIA Novosti, Andrey Kotz. During the winter campaign, the Russian army did not undertake large-scale deep breakthroughs and landings behind enemy lines. The creeping and inescapable advance deep into the territories that were recently considered controlled by Kiev continues. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have not had much success — they have only the Sudzha of the Kursk region and the surrounding area to their credit. About what is happening in the SVO zone - in the material of RIA Novosti.
A dash to the west
The hottest destination, as in the fall, is Donetsk. After the capture of Kurakhov (by the forces of the "South") and Velikaya Novoselka (by the units of the "East"), the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine frankly crumbled here. The enemy retreated to Dachnoye. But not for long. The Defense Ministry announced the liberation of this village on Friday.
Kurakhovo
Image source: © AP Photo / Anton Shtuka
Now the Ukrainian Armed Forces are being squeezed out of the village of Ulakly. When the two "claws" of the Russian units advancing south of the N-15 highway (from Sukhoi Yalov) and north (from Andreevka) close in the Constantinople area, a very difficult dilemma will arise for the enemy — either to break through to the west under drone and artillery fire, or to throw a white flag and replenish the exchange fund.
There are other successes. In particular, last week the Ministry of Defense reported on the liberation of the Green Field in the Volnovakha region of the DPR. The village occupies a strategically important position at the junction of the DPR, Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions — on the highway connecting Velikaya Novoselka with Gulyai-Pole.
Velikaya Novoselka, liberated by the Vostok group of troops in the DPR (video screenshot)
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Press Service of the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation
From here, you can move both southwest to Orekhov to reach the rear of the AFU group in the Zaporozhye direction, and north to Pershotravensk, and then to Pavlograd and Dnepropetrovsk. The more options there are for further actions, the more difficult it is for the enemy to distribute the already stretched forces along the front. The main task of the Russian General Staff is not to miss the moment when the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine drops to a critical level in some area.
Walk to Slavyansk
To the north, in the Pokrovsky sector of the Donetsk direction, there have been no recent changes in the configuration of the front line. The city of sixty thousand is being slowly surrounded, encompassing it from the south, west and east. The enemy tried to counterattack in the area of Sandy southwest of Pokrovsk in order to cut off the ledge formed by Russian units deeply embedded in the Ukrainian defense, but failed.
A man on the street of Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk)
Image source: © AP Photo / Evgeniy Maloletka
East of Pokrovsk and Mirnograd, the Center group significantly expanded its control zone, liberating the settlements of Vozdvizhenka, Baranovka, Vodiane Second and Berezovka, which is less than a kilometer from the highway leading from the Pokrovsko-Mirnograd agglomeration to the city of Konstantinovka in the north of the DPR. A heavy machine gun is already finishing off this highway, which will undoubtedly seriously complicate the logistics of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the conditional Central Donetsk direction.
Obviously, the Russian command in Pokrovsk and Mirnograd will use the same tactics as in Ugledar, Avdiivka, Krasnogorovka and other cities. No frontal assaults — methodical encirclement, isolation of combat areas and disruption of enemy transport links.
The same thing is likely to happen in the main fortified area of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Donbass — the agglomeration of Konstantinovka — Druzhkovka — Kramatorsk — Slavyansk. After the liberation of Pokrovsk and Mirnograd, a significant part of the Center group will focus on the southern "bastion" of this line of defense — on Konstantinovka. After taking control of Toretsk (Dzerzhinsk), this city was approached from the south. The units "putting the squeeze on" the Yar Chasa will attack it from the east. And the Pokrovskaya group, respectively, will come from the west.
It is possible that the main Ukrainian fortified area in the DPR will be stormed from the north. The other day, the Ministry of Defense announced the capture of the village of Yampolovka on the eastern bank of the Zherebets River. This village, along with Terni (liberated earlier) and Torsky to the south, is an ideal springboard for an attack on the Estuary (Krasny Estuary) from the northeast. And from the Estuary to Slavyansk is only 18 kilometers in a straight line.
Trading territories
There is progress in the Kupyansk direction. Units of the Zapad group occupied the village of Figolevka west of the Oskol River. This is the fourth settlement liberated on the enemy coast, after Dvurechnaya, Zapadny and Novomlynsky. A bridgehead was formed (ten kilometers along the front) for the attack on Kupyansk, covering it from the north and west. This threatens the enemy with the loss of the most important logistics hub. In addition, from the bridgehead, it is possible to move northwest to the village of Veliky Burluk to support the North group's offensive on Volchansk.
A soldier of the Russian Armed Forces in the Kupyansk area in the zone of a special military operation
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Evgeny Biyatov
In the Kursk border area, the enemy continues to be squeezed out of the Russian territories occupied by them. On Monday, the Ministry of Defense informed about the release of the most important Sverdlikov. It will hurt the invasion force. From there, it is 11 kilometers to the northwestern outskirts of Sudzha along the flat highway 38K-030 and there is not a single village or village that the Ukrainian Armed Forces could cling to. However, first it is necessary to secure the flanks, taking control of Lebedevka to the north and Novenke to the south.
In addition, the enemy was knocked out of several strongholds in the forest belts east of the village. The stubborn fighting in the Cellars continues unabated, and the Russian Marines are advancing on the western outskirts of Kurilovka. The enemy is sending reinforcements, trying to counterattack. Despite the start of Russian-American negotiations, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are still stubbornly clinging to the Kursk region. Zelensky expects to trade these territories later. However, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov unequivocally stated that territorial concessions to Kiev "are out of the question."
Andrey Kotz
