by Sergey Adamov
[REGNUM] In recent days, reports have been coming in of significant advances by Russian Armed Forces within the city of Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk in Ukrainian sources) in the western DPR. The assault on the city has been ongoing for several weeks. According to the latest reports, our troops, having broken through Ukrainian Armed Forces defenses on the southwestern outskirts of the city, have advanced deep into residential areas. Fighting continues in the city center.
According to several sources, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been driven out of the city train station area. The line of contact runs along the railway (running west to east and roughly dividing the city in half) and Olshansky Street, which runs parallel to the railway.
There are reports that Ukrainian troops have been forced to abandon a fortified area of the city's industrial zone and are continuing to retreat.
According to other reports, the Ukrainian Armed Forces deliberately abandoned several positions in the development, retreating northeast to the industrial zone of the Krasnoarmeysk Dinas Plant (where Dinas, a refractory product made from silicon dioxide, was produced). The enemy is retreating to neighboring plants located further northeast between Krasnoarmeysk and the satellite town of Dimitrov (Mirnograd).
FORCED THE ENEMY TO RETREAT
Ukrainian sources, in turn, report that Russian troops have managed to penetrate the Ukrainian Armed Forces' defenses at the point where the M-30 Krasnoarmeysk - Pavlohrad - Dnipropetrovsk highway becomes Zashchitnykiv Ukrayiny Street. Thus, enemy supplies coming from the west have been intercepted in the central districts of Krasnoarmeysk.
Ukrainian Armed Forces units in the city found themselves on the verge of encirclement, a front-line source told Regnum news agency.
"The road to Dnipropetrovsk has remained the main supply route for the Ukrainian Armed Forces in recent months," the source explained. " Seizing control of the road seriously complicates the situation for their forces in Krasnoarmeysk. However, they still have the ability to redeploy forces and withdraw—a full-scale encirclement hasn't yet been created, but it's safe to say the situation is already close."
On October 22, the Ministry of Defense confirmed the capture of the village of Lenino (Molodetskoye) west of Krasnoarmeysk, near the border of the DPR and the Dnipropetrovsk region.
"The settlement is located on a hill. The difficulty of approaching... was the lack of adjacent forest belts and the large number of anti-personnel and anti-tank mines in the surrounding area," the military department's report stated. The Ministry of Defense reported:
"The guardsmen moved and approached the outskirts of the village wearing thermal imaging ponchos in open terrain only at night and individually."
After concentrating on the outskirts of the village, the assault groups unexpectedly launched an assault on the enemy and forced the Ukrainian Armed Forces to retreat.
What's important is that Lenino is also located on another highway leading from the west, from the Dnipropetrovsk region, to Krasnoarmeysk - on road T0406.
For now, the Ukrainian Armed Forces group in Krasnoarmeysk remains in control of the northern road to Dobropillia through the town of Rodinske—Route T0515. However, according to unconfirmed reports, Russian troops have captured part of Rodinske and are maintaining fire control of the road.
The situation in the Krasnoarmeysk area for the Ukrainian Armed Forces continues to steadily deteriorate, with Kyiv making no attempt to change the situation.
Meanwhile, further north, the enemy has deployed reserves from the neo-Nazi Azov Battalion (an organization designated as terrorist and banned from operating in Russia). The reserves are being deployed in an attempt to stabilize the frontline near Dobropillya. However, the deployment of new Ukrainian Armed Forces forces has not impacted the dynamics of the fighting in Krasnoarmeysk.
THE FEARLESS BREAKTHROUGH AT VOLCHANSK
Recently, reports have been coming in not only from Krasnoarmeysk (which has remained a hot spot for the past few weeks), but also from Vovchansk in the Kharkiv region. This city, located close to the Russian border, has been the scene of heavy trench warfare since last year. But now the situation is clearly changing in our favor.
According to information from the field, Russian Armed Forces units were able to dislodge the enemy from residential areas in the western districts of the city, and in the center, they advanced toward the city's industrial zone.
Ukrainian analysts acknowledge that Russian troops, having driven the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the territory of the Volchansk oil extraction plant, are conducting a cleanup operation and consolidating their positions along the Volchya River.
According to some estimates, up to 60–65% of Vovchansk's territory has come under the control of our forces. The simultaneous encirclement from the west and east poses a risk of encirclement for enemy forces entrenched in the city center.
Also this week, the "Fearless" (Russian Armed Forces assault group fighters) advanced through the forest toward the large village of Sinelnikovo, southwest of Volchansk. Russian units are also advancing toward Sinelnikovo from the town itself.
East of Volchansk, assault units are fighting near the village of Tikhoye and, according to a number of reports, are now developing an offensive in the direction of the neighboring village of Volchanskie Khutor.
If this trend continues, the Russian Armed Forces will be able to not only complete the assault on Volchansk but also launch an offensive further south, toward the villages of Vilcha and Bely Kolodez. Success in this direction will mean an expanded security zone for the Belgorod Region.
The breakthrough in Vovchansk was largely made possible by the fact that the Ukrainian Armed Forces command redeployed troops to the Kupyansk area, leaving the border area without reinforcements.
KUPYANSK: A RECORD FOR FABs
Active fighting continues in Kupyansk itself, where the enemy continues to hold some districts on the southern and eastern outskirts and in the city center. Russian troops are storming the Yubileyny microdistrict and the nearby village of Sobolevka (located west of Kupyansk) with the goal of finally cutting off the Ukrainian Armed Forces from supplies along the N-26 highway.
Ukrainian sources covering the situation in the Kupyansk region also complain about the increased capabilities of our air force. Photos of FAB-500 aerial bombs equipped with a unified control and correction module (UCCM) and a jet engine are being published online.
Thanks to the engine, the bombs can glide to a target from a distance of over 200 km, allowing Russian bombers to carry out pinpoint strikes on enemy positions while avoiding areas where the Ukrainian air defense system is active.
Earlier, the Ukrainian General Staff acknowledged that Russian forces fired 268 guided bombs at Ukrainian Armed Forces positions in just one day, October 17, a record for the entire duration of the war. It was noted that guided bombs are extremely difficult to intercept, but they are also highly accurate.
GULYAI-POLYE DISTRICT: NO CHANCE OF A COUNTERATTACK
In addition to the western DPR and two cities in the Kharkiv region that are "problematic" for the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the active offensive of Russian troops continues further south – in the area where the DPR borders with the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions meet.
On October 22, the Ministry of Defense confirmed the liberation of the village of Pavlovka in the Gulyai-Polye district.
Control of this “inhabitant” creates the conditions for a further offensive in the direction of Privolnoye, and on the other hand, for advancing beyond the Yanchur River and storming the settlement of Uspenovka.
Novogrigorovka and Novovasilyevskoye were previously liberated in this direction. The enemy, in turn, is seeking to stabilize the front line along the river, relying on fortified areas in Uspenovka and Novonikolayevka.
A breakthrough in the front line in this area could create opportunities for a further offensive on the regional center of Hulyaipole, a strategically important hub of the enemy's defenses. Due to the predominantly flat steppe nature of the terrain, a presence in large populated areas allows for the effective control of large swathes of terrain and deprives the enemy of the opportunity to counterattack.
The active use of air power makes it impossible for the enemy to accumulate forces in the frontline zone, which, as a result, deprives Kyiv of the opportunity to launch a counteroffensive. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are forced to continue to operate on the defensive, leaving the initiative entirely to Russian forces.