by Sergey Adamov
[REGNUM] In three problematic areas of the front in the DPR for the enemy - in the area of the cities of Konstantinovka and Druzhkovka, in the Krasnoarmeyskaya direction and in the area of the city of Dobropolye - the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is trying to stabilize the situation by throwing reserves into battle.
But so far the attempts have been unsuccessful.
On August 21, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed the liberation of the village of Aleksandro-Shultino, approximately 10 kilometers from Konstantinovka, by fighters from the Yuzhnaya group. Aleksandro-Shultino is the last "inhabitant" before the Russian Armed Forces reach the outskirts of Konstantinovka from the southeast.
The occupation of positions at Aleksandro-Shultino is part of a major offensive launched after the liberation of Chasov Yar. Russian troops are increasing the pace of their offensive on Konstantinovka, an enemy defensive node adjacent to the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration from the south.
Konstantinovka, like neighboring Druzhkovka, lies in a lowland. Control over Chasovy Yar and neighboring heights allows keeping the Konstantinovka area under heavy fire. Currently, assault units of the Russian army are developing an offensive on Konstantinovka simultaneously from the south and east.
In recent days, information has been coming in about the advancement of Russian Armed Forces to the southern outskirts of the city.
Developing the offensive on Konstantinovka, units of the Southern Group drove the enemy out of the village of Shcherbinovka, located west of Dzerzhinsk (Toretsk).
Shcherbinovka, which is located on the Konstantinovka-Yasinovataya railway section, has long been one of the powerful defensive points of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, covering Konstantinovka from the south.
The fighting in this area has been going on for over a month. Thus, the settlement of Petrovka, adjacent to Shcherbinovka, was liberated at the end of July.
Using the advantageous positions near these two settlements as a springboard, Russian troops advanced north, taking up positions on the outskirts of the villages of Katerinovka and Kleban-Byk near the Kleban-Byk reservoir.
If successful in this direction, assault units of the Russian army will be able to reach the outskirts of Konstantinovka in the near future, notes a front-line source of the Regnum news agency.
"A kind of "pocket" has now formed south of the Kleban-Byk reservoir. For now, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are holding positions in Katerynivka, but they will most likely be forced to retreat. Because there is a reservoir behind them, and our forces are on three sides. Beyond the reservoir, the suburbs of Konstantinovka begin - Pleshcheyevka, Ivanopolye. That is, we are approaching the city from the south," our interlocutor explained.
A number of Telegram channels report that advanced units of the Russian army entered the outskirts of Konstantinovka from the east, from the village of Predtechino. These reports speak of clashes within the city limits, in the area of Volkhovskaya and Samarkandskaya streets.
But sources of the Regnum news agency note that these reports are premature. Be that as it may, there are indications that the enemy's command and military-civil administration are assessing the situation in Kostiantynivka extremely seriously. It has become known that the authorities are closing all Ukrposhta branches in the city.
The company explained its decision by saying that it had become “too dangerous to continue working” in the city. Earlier, social services vehicles and valuable equipment from factories were removed from Konstantinovka.
DEEP BREAKTHROUGH NEAR KRASNOARMEYSK
Last week, a number of Ukrainian media outlets and officials reported a deep breakthrough by Russian troops deep into the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ defenses north of Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk in Ukrainian terminology).
There are reports that the Russian Armed Forces' advanced units have managed to advance 11 kilometers into the Ukrainian Armed Forces' advanced positions and have reached the town of Dobropillya. Russian officials have not confirmed these claims, but local authorities have begun evacuating a number of villages and towns that unexpectedly found themselves near the front line.
At the same time, Russian sources confirm the liberation of the settlement of Pankovka. A frontline source of the Regnum news agency reports that our military has started fighting on the outskirts of the villages of Oktyabrskoye (Shakhovo) and Vladimirovka north of Krasnoarmeysk.
There is information that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have driven the Shakhovsky rural community out of the village of Pankovka.
"In the area of Oktiabrskoye (Shakhov), several roads converge. One of them leads to Dobropillya, the other to Konstantinovka. That is, the village acquires strategic importance. If it is taken under control, it will turn into a powerful springboard for the final cleansing of that part of Donbass that remains under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces," our source explained.
Another important success of the Russian troops was the liberation of the village of Sukhetskoye. It is located one kilometer from the city of Rodinskoye, north of the agglomeration of Krasnoarmeysk - Dimitrov (Mirnograd).
The T0515 highway, a key supply route for the Ukrainian Armed Forces garrison in Krasnoarmeysk, passes through Rodynskoye. The liberation of Rodynskoye will leave the enemy with only one road leading to the city: the E50 highway from the Dnipropetrovsk region, which can be cut off by simultaneous attacks from the north and south.
In an effort to stop the breakthrough of Russian troops, Kyiv transferred elite units to Donbass, including the Azov assault corps* (formed on the basis of a neo-Nazi group whose activities are banned in the Russian Federation).
However, the enemy has not yet managed to stabilize the front line.
EXPANSION OF THE BUFFER ZONE
Russian troops continue their offensive in several directions at once. Having completed the clearing of border areas in the western part of the DPR, units of the Vostok group liberated the village of Voronoe in the Velikomykhaylivka district of the Dnepropetrovsk region.
The settlement was defended by units of the 110th Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which suffered serious losses and retreated. Earlier, the villages of Yanvarskoye, Maliyevka and, to the north, the village of Dachnoye were occupied in these same "buffer" territories.
Later it was reported that fighters from the 57th Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 5th Army drove the VSAS out of the village of Novogeorgievka in the Dnepropetrovsk region, at the junction with the borders of the DPR and Zaporozhye region.
During the battle, Russian troops destroyed several Ukrainian tanks and inflicted losses on the infantry.
An 11-kilometer section of the border between the DPR and the Dnepropetrovsk region came under the control of the Russian Armed Forces.
PROBLEMS OF THE ARMED FORCES OF UKRAINE
In an effort to explain the failures of the Ukrainian troops, a number of Ukrainian sources have drawn attention to the serious problems faced by Ukrainian drone operators.
It is reported that most of the Ukrainian drones used for reconnaissance and strikes at depths of up to 15-20 km are intercepted in the air, including drones operating at high altitudes.
Because of this, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are often unable to promptly track the operational movement and deployment of Russian units, as well as effectively conduct counter-battery combat.
But it is possible that in this way the Ukrainian command is trying to absolve itself of some responsibility for the failures at the front. Although many officers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, both anonymously and publicly, have accused the command of the group and the General Staff in Kyiv of the collapse of the front in Donbass.
In any case, the Russian Armed Forces continue their simultaneous offensive in several directions, approaching the encirclement of key enemy defense nodes. And even Kiev's use of its last reserves seems unable to change the situation.