The erosion of the Donetsk region by Russian troops is accelerating, revealing obvious problems in the organization of the Ukrainian defense. Eleven Donbass localities are directly threatened by the advance of Russian forces towards the town of Pokrovsk, a crucial railway and road junction for the logistics of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU). The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (AFRF), which are now advancing at a daily pace of 500 meters to 1 kilometer on several axes, are changing the nature of the front. Thus, there is a gradual transition from positional warfare to a war of movement in which breakthroughs and pincer effects begin at the expense of the Ukrainian defenders.
“The offensive in the Donbass region has not been at such a pace for a long time”welcomed Vladimir Putin on Monday, September 2, in front of students at a secondary school in Kyzyl, in the Tuva region, 4,000 kilometers east of the front.
The movements of the Russian armed forces are certainly too slow to create surprise effects like those achieved by Ukrainian forces during the Kursk offensive carried out in early August. Despite the occupation of around 1,000 square kilometers of its territory by Ukraine, Moscow has not reduced its offensive posture in recent weeks, on the contrary, it has redoubled its pressure on Pokrovsk. The Ukrainian General Staff indicated on its Telegram channel on Tuesday, September 3, that half of the 118 Russian attacks in the last twenty-four hours were concentrated in two directions: Pokrovsk and Kurakhove, a town that had 18,000 inhabitants before the invasion. on a large scale by 2022; the villages are emptied of their inhabitants as the enemy army approaches.
An anomaly
Russian troops are now just 3.5 kilometres from Myrnohrad (Ukrainian for “peaceful city”) and 8 kilometres from Pokrovsk. These two towns form a conurbation of more than 100,000 inhabitants, with several dozen buildings, which are supposed to form an important barrier against the Russian advance. “The enemy [russe] will reach [Pokrovsk] in mid-September, but I will not be able to take it. The flat terrain is unfavorable for Selydove’s attackers and counterattacks. [au sud] and Kostiantynivka [à l’est] will slow down your progress”predicts the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank.
However, recent developments in this area are encouraging pessimism. The town of Novohrodivka (14,000 inhabitants), located 13 kilometres south-east of Pokrovsk and with around fifty buildings, was lost in less than a week: the Russians entered the town on 22 August and it was completely conquered on the 27th. However, it should logically have halted the Russian offensive. In the last two years, the FAFR have only managed to overcome these obstacles (in Soledar, Bakhmout or Avdiïvka) at the cost of months of intense bombardment that literally razed buildings. And sacrificing tens of thousands of Russian soldiers. However, Novohrodivka changed hands without suffering major damage, an anomaly noted by numerous Ukrainian and Russian sources.
You have 43.41% of this article left to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.
