by Sergey Adamov
[REGNUM] The Ukrainian Armed Forces suffered irreparable losses in the city of Krasnoarmeysk (Ukrainian name: Pokrovsk) amounting to several thousand personnel. Only a small portion of the force was able to retreat to the nearby town of Dimitrov (Myrnohrad). This was reported by the DPR leadership on November 13.
In just one day, more than 250 Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers, 22 pieces of weapons and military equipment, including 12 armored combat vehicles and three automobiles, were destroyed in the Krasnoarmeyskaya direction, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported on November 12.
There they confirmed reports that assault groups of the 2nd Army are actively advancing in the western part of Krasnoarmeysk, in the northwestern and eastern quarters of the Central District and in the territory of the western industrial zone.
On the same day, the Ministry of Defense published footage of our assault units with armored vehicles and motorized transport entering Krasnoarmeysk.
The publication also quoted a line from a song by the rock group Sektor Gaza: “But we will go through a dangerous path through the fog.”
In the satellite town of Krasnoarmeysk, Dimitrov, Russian units are advancing in the direction of the Zapadny microdistrict.
It has also been confirmed that fighters from the Russian Armed Forces Group Center have cleared the village of Sukhoi Yar, located south of Dimitrov and southeast of Krasnoarmeysk, of the enemy. This has strengthened the Russian troop positions and reduced the supply lines for Ukrainian units in the city.
According to the Ministry of Defense, the end of the fighting for Sukhoi Yar has finally sealed the front line. This forms a tight ring of fire around the remaining enemy forces in Krasnoarmeysk.
The exact number of air force personnel encircled has not been disclosed. Preliminary estimates suggest several battalions may be involved. Meanwhile, some units withdrew from the Krasnoarmeysk-Dimitrov agglomeration before the encirclement was completed.
"THEY'RE PRETTY BATTERED, SO THEY DON'T HAVE MUCH OF A CHANCE."
The enemy continues to resist on the northern outskirts of Krasnoarmeysk and within the city limits of Dimitrov. Units of the 79th Airborne Assault Brigade and the 38th Marine Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are holding the line in this area, an informed source told Regnum news agency.
"From what we know, they're badly battered; many have been in their positions for months. Some are trying to retreat individually or in groups, while others are holding on, " our source said. " They have places to hold on—there's the industrial zone, city blocks with established firing positions in residential buildings. But overall, their chances are slim because their escape routes are blocked."
The source also noted that a wide range of weapons are being used against the blocked Ukrainian Armed Forces units, from guided bombs to short-range FPV drones.
To destroy enemy fortified areas, Russian aircraft are using FAB-1500 and FAB-3000 high-explosive aerial bombs equipped with universal planning and correction modules (UMPK). Some hits have reportedly resulted in the collapse of buildings used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces as strongholds.
Our drones are actively targeting enemy units attempting to break through the encirclement. Northwest of the city, UAVs are actively striking enemy supply routes, attacking vehicles and small supply columns.
According to various sources, the Ukrainian Armed Forces group located in the Krasnoarmeysk-Dimitrov agglomeration is supplied primarily by air, using heavy cargo drones.
However, supply volumes are limited and cannot fully meet the units' needs for ammunition, medicine, and food. Formally, a narrow corridor for access to the north remains, but its use is hampered by intense artillery and drone strikes.
From the south, the bottleneck is controlled by units advancing from the Krasnoarmeysk region, and from the north by forces advancing from the city of Rodinsky.
KUPYANSK: A BREAKTHROUGH ON THE LEFT BANK OF THE OSKOL
At the same time, the offensive continues near Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region. According to the latest reports, Russian forces are continuing to clear the right-bank part of the city and are conducting active assault operations on the left bank of the Oskol River.
Fighting continues near the Kupyansk-Sortirovochnaya railway station, with enemy positions in the direction of Kupyansk-Uzlovaya being attacked. Russian forces also drove out Ukrainian forces on Dzerzhinsky Street, captured the oil depot area on the eastern outskirts of the city, and established control of the Olivino railway station.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces also lost control of a significant portion of the industrial zone located north of the Kupyansk-Kremenna highway. Currently, the Ukrainian forces are deploying along the line of Razin and Olivino streets.
As our troops advance, the enemy's situation in the villages of Petrovpavlovka and Kucherovka to the east of Kupyansk becomes more complicated due to supply disruptions and the threat of partial encirclement.
With further advancement of the Russian Armed Forces, a retreat by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to the Kupyansk-Uzlovaya area is possible. Establishing control over the left-bank part of Kupyansk and adjacent areas could eventually allow Russian troops to reach the Zyumsk direction and create the conditions for subsequently cutting off the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk bridgehead—the last major Ukrainian Armed Forces group in the DPR.
A counterattack from the south could be carried out by the forces that continue to clear Krasnoarmeysk.
ZAPORIZHZHIA DIRECTION: EXIT TO GULYAIPOLE
The offensive is also actively developing on the front lines in the Zaporizhia region. On November 12, the Ministry of Defense confirmed that motorized infantry from the "East" group of forces, advancing deep into the Ukrainian Armed Forces' defenses, had driven the enemy out of the village of Novouspenovskoye in the Hulyai-Polye district.
Earlier, in the same area, the villages of Sladkoe and Novoye were captured, which provided the opportunity to gain operational space and opened up prospects for an offensive from the northeast on the strategically important city of Gulyaipole.
Ukrainian sources confirm a change in the situation on this section of the front. The Ukrainian Armed Forces command acknowledged a withdrawal from the areas of Novouspenivske, Noviye, Okhotnichye, Uspenovka, and Novonikolaevka. The reasons cited were massive assaults by Russian troops, the high intensity of artillery shelling—up to 400 strikes per day—and the destruction of fortifications.
Ukrainian Armed Forces soldier Serhiy Bunyatov, call sign Osman, commented to Ukrainian media that the front on the right flank in the Zaporizhzhia region could simply collapse.
It is significant that the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrsky, did not deny the obvious in this case, stating that Russian troops had increased their activity in the Oleksandrivka and Gulyai-Polye directions.
Fog and rain are affecting the dynamics of the fighting. However, despite the inclement weather, Russian troops continue to advance. Overall, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are losing control of the situation along the entire front line, with no evidence of a change in their favor.