by Sergey Adamov
[REGNUM] Despite the abnormal heat in the DPR (this week the temperature will reach 38 degrees with an average of 24°C) and despite the enemy’s stubborn resistance, assault units of the Russian Armed Forces continue the operation to encircle the city of Krasnoarmeysk and its suburbs.
By the last week of July, this key fortified area of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the northwest of Donbass was half-encircled. The enemy group is in danger of being trapped in a "cauldron"
Last week, battles were fought along the entire length of the Red Army arc. In a number of areas, the Ukrainian Armed Forces were forced to abandon well-equipped defensive positions.
The Russian Defense Ministry officially confirmed that fighters from the Center group of troops, after heavy fighting, drove the enemy out of the village of Zverevo, southwest of Krasnoarmeysk, and the settlement of Novoekonomicheskoe, northeast of the same city. Novoekonomicheskoe and Zverevo are at the "tips of the pincers" that are closing in on the Ukrainian Armed Forces group.
The fighting in the village of Zverevo began in the middle of last week. The enemy, who had fortified themselves here, was attacked from several sides simultaneously.
Ukrainian sources complain that our sabotage groups were spotted on the supply routes of the troops in Zverevo, which disrupted logistics and created chaos in the rear.
The actions of saboteurs increase the threat of "friendly fire" and also greatly complicate the work of Ukrainian UAV operators. The enemy is forced to keep under surveillance not only the front near Pokrovsk (as Krasnoarmeysk is called in Kyiv sources), but also certain areas in the rear.
The development of the village of Zverevo smoothly transitions into the private sector of the settlement of Pervoe Maya (Leontovichi). And it, in turn, ends directly on the southwestern outskirts of Krasnoarmeysk. In January 2025, fierce fighting took place for Zverevo, after which the Ukrainian Armed Forces were able to regain some of the lost positions.
Now, after several days of clashes, Ukrainian troops have retreated to the urban area of Krasnoarmeysk.
The success was achieved largely due to the element of surprise, notes a front-line source for the Regnum news agency.
"It is no secret that the enemy is facing a major shortage of forces. Combat-ready units are being thrown back and forth from one direction to another. As a result, a situation arises where they can be distracted and then go on the offensive in another area, which is what happened. An unexpected attack from several sides, no reinforcements - and the VSAS troops retreat, this is already a classic," the source noted.
However, an enemy counteroffensive in this area is unlikely due to the changed configuration of the front, sources of the Regnum news agency believe.
The liberation of Zverev allows the southern outskirts of the Red Army fortified area to be taken under fire control. At the same time, military aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces strike at fortified enemy positions in the Shakhtyorsky and Lazurny districts in the south of the city.
COVERAGE FROM THE NORTH
After the enemy left the fortified area in the Novoekonomichesky region, our military came very close to the eastern outskirts of Dimitrov (Mirnograd), a satellite city of Krasnoarmeysk.
But for now, the Russian Armed Forces are refraining from a frontal attack on the enemy's fortified positions. Instead, the forces of the "Center" group of troops are destroying the enemy's communications.
As experts explain, the main task now is to identify and destroy the Ukrainian Armed Forces' fortified areas in the industrial zone and residential areas, creating optimal conditions for an assault. The offensive is developing north of the Krasnoarmeysk-Dimitrov agglomeration in the direction of the strategically important city of Rodinskoye, located on the supply route between Krasnoarmeysk and the Kharkov region.
Some sources reported the beginning of military actions directly within the boundaries of Rodinskoye. But these data are not confirmed by reports from the ground. However, Ukrainian sources and officials are sounding the alarm, realizing the threat of encirclement hanging over Krasnoarmeysk.
The day before, the military-civil administrations of the cities of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, which are still under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, announced the start of the evacuation of civilians. But sources on the ground report that for now the enemy has reserves for a counteroffensive and does not plan to surrender the largest fortified area in the part of Donbas occupied by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
THE SECOND STRONGHOLD OF THE NEW BUFFER
Southwest of Krasnoarmeysk, near the border of the DPR and the Dnepropetrovsk region, Russian troops are completing the cleansing of territories of Donbass that remain under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Units of the "East" group of forces drove the enemy out of the settlement of Zelenyi Gai, the battles for which continued for a week. Russian troops also completed the operation to clear the settlement of Shevchenko and the village of Voskresenka. The achieved success allowed the assault units to occupy the village of Maliyevka in the Dnipropetrovsk region.
This is already the second settlement occupied by our troops to create a buffer zone on the western borders of the DPR. The first was the village of Dachnoye, from where the enemy was driven out at the end of June.
The successes of Russian troops have caused panic on Ukrainian resources. Residents of Dnepropetrovsk are massively posting ads on the Internet about urgent renting of housing and sale of real estate. However, for now Russian troops are not forcing military actions in the territory of Dnepropetrovsk region, concentrating their efforts on another, more important direction.
GETTING CLOSER TO ZAPOROZHYE
Last week, the offensive on the "unfrozen" section of the front in Zaporizhia Oblast continued to develop. According to information from the field, advancing along the left bank of the Dnieper, our military drove the Ukrainian Armed Forces out of the village of Plavni. The front was "pushed back" to the village of Stepnogorsk, located 39 kilometers from the city of Zaporizhia. There were reports that the fighting had moved to the Stepnogorsk boundary - to the residential area of the 3rd microdistrict, but our sources clarify: for now, we are talking about fighting on the outskirts.
The capture of Stepnogorsk by assault units makes it possible to create a bridgehead that will allow an offensive to be developed directly on Zaporozhye, notes a front-line source for the Regnum news agency.
"The Zaporizhia direction has not been a priority for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in recent months, because the reserves were going to Krasnoarmeysk or Sumy Oblast, for example. The front was weakened, although the direction here is direct - to Zaporizhia, and the city, in fact, is not covered," the interlocutor believes.
However, he emphasizes that before talking about the prospects of advancing to Zaporozhye, it is necessary to wait for “certain changes” near Stepnogorsk.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces' tactics of prolonging military operations are not justifying themselves, but the enemy may try to stabilize the front again on the defense lines created in the rear.
We will add that the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) draws attention to the fact that the situation in the Zaporizhzhya direction is developing critically for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. According to analysts, the advanced positions of Russian troops are now located only seven kilometers south of the village of Primorskoye and 11 kilometers from the settlement of Veselyanka.
If the current trend on the front continues and assault units are able to advance a distance of 5-7 km, the southern regions of Zaporozhye may end up in the zone of destruction of Russian artillery.
However, such a breakthrough will be impossible without taking control of the city of Orekhov, the hub of Ukrainian defense in the Zaporizhzhya direction. In the conditions of a predominantly flat landscape, control over large settlements acquires strategic importance.