by Sergey Adamov
[REGNUM] The main frontline news of the last few days was the Defense Ministry's briefing on the situation in the Kupyansk direction. Units of the "West" group of troops operating in the Kharkov region have established control over a significant part of the city of Kupyansk, taking control of a number of neighborhoods on the western bank of the Oskol River.
“The video shows Russian military personnel in the city center, as well as in the areas of the most important administrative and industrial buildings,” the Defense Ministry’s publication says.
In particular, our military has secured a position near the building of the Kupyansk district administration and in the area of the Spartak stadium. The fighters are taking up positions on Energeticheskaya Street and are operating in the area of the TV tower at the intersection between Pervomayskaya Street and Konstitutsii Avenue.
The capture of control over the northwestern districts of Kupyansk was the result of an offensive that Russian troops have been conducting over the past months.
The forces of the "West" group crossed the Oskol River north of Kupyansk and then created a bridgehead on its right bank. Over the past months, assault units have been engaged in fierce battles, consistently depriving the enemy group in Kupyansk of supplies.
During the summer battles, the road leading from Kupyansk to the north, to Volchansk, was cut off, after which Russian troops rushed to the H-26 highway connecting Kupyansk and Kharkov. Thus, the enemy's defensive positions on the approaches to Kupyansk were stretched.
This allowed the advanced units of the Russian army to penetrate the enemy's defense and occupy part of the urban development. At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces do not have the opportunity to impose heavy urban battles based on the industrial zone, as previously in Avdiivka or Mariupol.
The city's industrial zone is located on the low, left bank of the Oskol River (Zaoskolye district), while residential buildings and administrative buildings are on the right. Further advancement of Russian troops in the development may lead to the bridges over the Oskol River being captured, and the Ukrainian Armed Forces group in Zaoskolye being completely surrounded.
The Ukrainian Defense Ministry, in its usual manner, traditionally "denied" the information about the loss of control over part of Kupyansk, despite objective data from the ground. The Kiev analytical portal DeepState, which, as a rule, criticizes the statements of its military, admits that the situation in Kupyansk for the Ukrainian Armed Forces is "close to critical."
Units of the Russian army are developing an offensive on the western bank of the Oskol River, completing the blockade of the city, moving in the direction of the settlements of Sadovoye and Osinovo, as well as in the direction of Blagodatovka.
KRASNOARMEYSKOYE DIRECTION: ADVANCE TO THE NORTH
On the front line in the north and northwest of the DPR, our soldiers continue the operation to fragment and encircle the enemy's largest fortified area in the northern part of Donbass - the Slavyansk agglomeration. Last week, confirmation of information appeared about the liberation of the villages of Rusin Yar and Poltavka, located between the cities of Konstantinovka and Krasnoarmeyskoye (Pokrovsk in Ukrainian terminology).
Units of the Russian army continue their offensive in the north, along the Poltavka River, gradually outflanking the enemy positions in Konstantinovka and the city of Druzhkovka, located to the northwest, from the west.
Both cities are located in the southern part of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk fortification region, and the enemy has turned urban development and industrial zones into continuous defensive lines.
Currently, Russian troops are on the eastern outskirts of Konstantinovka, so encircling the city from the west could lead to the complete encirclement of the city.
Sources on the ground note that the enemy is facing a shortage of forces in this direction. It is reported that the last significant reserves of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been transferred to the Kupyansk area, to Krasnoarmeysk and further south - to the border area between the Dnipropetrovsk region and the territory of the DPR, where the front is gradually beginning to "sag".
FAR WEST OF THE DPR: "FINAL CLEANUP COMPLETED"
The Russian army's offensive also continues on the border between the DPR and the Dnepropetrovsk region.
Building on their previous successes, the assault units of the Vostok group drove the enemy out of the village of Kamyshevakha. This is the last settlement in this western region of the DPR that remained under enemy control.
The Ukrainian command tried to maintain control over the village until the very end, using numerous swamps and small rivers as a defensive line.
However, Russian troops were able to bypass the enemy's fortified area, thereby forcing it to begin a retreat, a front-line source told IA Regnum.
“As we said, the fate of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Kamyshevakha was decided after we occupied the villages of Novogeorgievka and Zaporozhskoye, thus creating conditions for encircling the enemy’s positions,” the source explained.
As it usually happens, the enemy command gave the order to retreat too late, and as a result the enemy suffered more losses during the retreat, our source noted. According to his assessment, "thus, we can say that the task of final cleaning of this part of Donbass has been completed."
DNEPROPETROVSK "BUFFER": EXTRACTION OF "DRAGON'S TEETH"
Continuing to advance along the administrative border of the DPR and Dnipropetrovsk region, fighters of the 36th motorized rifle brigade of the "Vostok" group of forces took the village of Novosyolovka. This is already the sixth settlement in Dnipropetrovsk region that has come under the control of Russian troops.
To the south, Russian troops began an assault on a powerful fortified area of the enemy at the junction of the borders of the DPR, Dnepropetrovsk and Zaporozhye regions in the area of the settlement of Berezovoe.
Active work is being carried out in the area of the nearby villages of Ternovoye and Novonikolayevka. A continuous front line has been created between the "inhabitants", reinforced by minefields, barbed wire and "dragon's teeth".
The fortification area has been under construction for the last few months, when the enemy has exhausted its ability to maintain control over the territory of Donbass. According to information from the field, the fortification node in the Berezove area is one of the largest under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The offensive continues simultaneously from the villages of Zaporozhskoye and Novogeorgievka, which were occupied by our military at the end of August. Success in this direction will allow us to secure the rear of the Russian troop group in the area of Velikaya Novosyolka and the village of Komar, depriving the enemy of the opportunity to counterattack.
Despite the end of the calendar summer, the Russian Armed Forces continue to push back the enemy everywhere, preventing them from launching a counterattack. Forecasters predict that rains will come to Donbass closer to mid-autumn. This deprives the Ukrainian Armed Forces command of its last hope for stabilizing the gradually sagging front line.