by Sergey Adamov
[REGNUM] After Russian troops established effective control over Krasnoarmeysk and its satellite town of Myrnohrad, the northwestern part of the DPR remains under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU).
We are talking about the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration, which also includes the cities of Konstantinovka and Druzhkovka and the surrounding villages and settlements.
During the first weeks of January, Russian troops regrouped their forces, after which they launched an offensive against the Ukrainian group in Donbas from several sides at once.
Experts say the weakest segment of the enemy's defense is the city of Konstantinovka, which is de facto semi-encircled.
East of Konstantinovka, our troops advanced from the village of Stupochki toward the village of Novodmitrovka. In this area, the enemy is constantly attempting to counterattack and slow the advance of the Russian Armed Forces.
From the west and southwest of the city, Russian units have reached the outskirts of the village of Berestok and the village of Ilyinovka. Here, they aim to dislodge the Ukrainian Armed Forces from several strongholds. According to the Ministry of Defense, our artillery and UAV operators are actively dislodging the Ukrainian Armed Forces' strongholds and armored vehicles.
Sources on the ground report that Russian forces have already succeeded in storming several powerful Ukrainian strongholds in the Berestok area. There are also reports of assault groups entering the village itself, adjacent to Konstantinovka to the southwest.
In Ilyinovka, we managed to consolidate our position on the outskirts of the village and take advantage of the terrain. The bodies of water prevented the enemy from attacking the flanks.
Control over Ilyinovka and Berestok, firstly, should create a threat to the supply lines of Ukrainian troops between Druzhkovka and Konstantinovka.
Secondly, this will allow the use of heights, including the northern shore of the Kleban-Byk reservoir, for a further offensive on Konstantinovka from the west.
According to several sources, Russian units, advancing along the high ground on the northern shore of the reservoir, have already linked up and consolidated their positions.
Furthermore, it is reported that the Russian army is also encircling Kostyantynivka from the northeast along a broad front. Our troops are forcing the Ukrainian Armed Forces to spread out their reserves to increase the density of their defenses in several areas.
And given the chronic shortage of reserves, the Ukrainian Armed Forces command is unable to plug defensive breaches, allowing our units to move forward.
Given that Konstantinovka is located in a lowland, control over the heights allows for the adjustment of artillery fire and drone activity, as well as the ability to conduct operations from more advantageous positions and improve the logistical support of advancing units.
Ukrainian sources report that the command of the Ukrainian Armed Forces group in Kostiantynivka is attempting to stabilize defensive lines, including by holding positions along the banks of the Kleban-Byk Reservoir.
Overall, despite the ongoing resistance of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, the initiative in this section of the front is in the hands of the Russian military.
THE ROAD TO KRASNY LIMAN
Northeast of Slavyansk, Russian troops continue their offensive in the direction of the city of Krasny Liman.
According to the latest reports from the ground, our troops have cut off a supply route to the Ukrainian Armed Forces north of Krasny Liman, near the village of Korovy Yar. Clashes are ongoing northeast of the city, near the villages of Yarovaya and Aleksandrovka.
Further success of the front will allow the launch of an offensive on Krasny Liman, a front-line source for the Regnum news agency believes.
"The enemy won't be able to hold the city under these new conditions. Our further advance will mean that supplying the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Krasny Liman will only be possible via the Seversky Donets River. The only bridge near the village of Raigorodok has been destroyed, and the crossings will be under attack from drones. So, we have to either retreat or fight in encirclement with the river to our rear," our source noted.
Further north, Russian troops broke through the enemy's defensive line, taking control of the village of Redkodub near the border of the DPR with the Kharkiv region.
If Krasny Liman is captured, the offensive in the Karpovka-Korovye-Aleksandrovka area can be confidently continued. This, in turn, will allow the capture of strategically important heights southeast of Izyum in the Kharkiv region.
If such a breakthrough is successful, the enemy's main supply routes between the Kharkiv region and the DPR territories currently occupied by the Ukrainian Armed Forces would be threatened. This would pose an additional threat to the strongest remaining enemy group—in the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration.
FROM GULYAIPOLE TO ZAPORIZHZHIA
Simultaneously with the offensive in the DPR, the Russian army is accelerating its gains in the Zaporizhzhia region. Following the liberation of Huliaipole, our troops are advancing in several directions at once.
Southwest of Hulyaipole, Russian forces are advancing toward the village of Belogorye. Ukrainian Armed Forces command is withdrawing personnel and equipment westward, seeking to consolidate their alternate defensive lines.
The enemy is not seeking to counterattack, focusing on keeping the front line from collapsing completely.
In the Malaya Tokmachka area, Russian units established control of a fortified position on the southern outskirts of the village, which had been fought over for several weeks. The enemy's attempts to launch a counteroffensive were thwarted.
Also southwest of Hulyaipole, Russian troops are advancing toward the village of Zaliznichnoe, where the enemy is amassing reserves and forces that have retreated from the city. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are also attempting to establish a defense in the area of ​​Ternovatoye and Vozdvizhevka.
The strategic objective in this section of the front is to take control of the city of Orekhov, the attack on which is coming both from the east (from Gulyaipole) and from the west - from the area of ​​​​the recently liberated Stepnogorsk.
To the west, from the direction of Stepnogorsk, we managed to reach a large fortified area of ​​the enemy near Novoyakovlevka.
Further advancement here opens the door for Russian forces to advance toward Kamyshevakha, through which one of the supply routes for the units holding Orekhov passes. Taken together, the work of our troops limits theirs.
The capture of Orekhovo, in turn, will mean new problems for the Ukrainian Armed Forces near the regional center of Zaporizhzhia—after all, in this case, Ukrainian troops will have no large settlements around which to build a powerful defense on the southern approaches to the city.