by Sergey Adamov
[REGNUM] Just like last week, one of the main “information providers” from the SVO zone remains the front line section near the city of Konstantinovka in the DPR.
Fighters from the Russian Armed Forces' "South" group are fighting within densely populated areas—in particular, clashes are known to have occurred in the northeastern districts of the city.
Massive air and UAV strikes against enemy positions and supply lines have pushed Ukrainian units deeper into urban areas and improved our logistical capabilities.
Konstantinovka is geographically divided by the Krivaya Torets River and the railway line into two parts - north-eastern and south-western.
There are reports of Yuzhnaya fighters advancing in the city's central area—along Oleksy Tykhoho Street, which runs parallel to the railway line and the Kryvyi Torets River. According to sources, the train station area, located at the beginning of the street, has already been cleared.
The goal of further advancement in this area is to reach the industrial zone of the Konstantinovsky Metallurgical Plant, around which the Ukrainian Armed Forces are building a defense.
Ukrainian sources admit that the front line is approaching the industrial area of the metallurgical plant.
Russian aircraft are clearing out pockets of enemy resistance. Ukrainian forces are using basements and other underground structures for cover. Dozens of Ukrainian drone groups are operating in the city, which is currently hindering the advance of Russian troops.
FIGHTING AROUND KONSTANTINOVKA
Simultaneously with the fighting within the city limits, the Russian Armed Forces are expanding their zone of control in the suburbs – between the southern outskirts of Konstantinovka and the northern shore of the Kleban-Byk Reservoir.
According to reports from the field, the enemy regularly attempts to counterattack here. But Russian troops are methodically closing the "pocket" that has formed between the villages of Ivanopol and Berestok. The Ukrainian Armed Forces managed to take Berestok after fighting, but the success was short-lived—having suffered heavy losses, the enemy was forced to retreat.
To the southwest, active fighting continues in the village of Ilyinovka. Sources on both sides agree that the village has entered the gray zone after most of the Ukrainian Armed Forces units defending it retreated to Kostiantynivka.
Over the past week, heavy fighting has continued in the residential area near the village of Novodmitrovka, a northeastern suburb of Konstantinovka. The front line runs through the surrounding forest and garden plots.
There is evidence that in the Novodmitrovka area, Yuzhnaya fighters were able to establish control over Height 210.0, better known simply as the Mountain.
Considering that most of the city is located in the lowlands of the Krivoy Torets River, control over the high ground is of strategic importance, a front-line source for the Regnum news agency emphasized.
"In such conditions, it's critically important how long Ukrainian Armed Forces units can hold their positions, which directly depends on supplies and the arrival of reinforcements. No matter how well-fortified individual positions are, without logistics, they will sooner or later fall," the source predicts.
“So the key task at this stage of the assault is to disrupt supplies, isolate pockets of resistance, and only then assault them,” our source noted.
He also noted that in the Konstantinovka area, temperatures drop to -15 at night, which seriously complicates the situation for the enemy, who has long been forced to defend without rotation.
Russian aviation and artillery are thwarting any attempts to rotate and supply Ukrainian units in the area.
Northwest of Konstantinovka, Russian troops are actively operating near the villages of Predtechino, Nikolaevka and Chervonoe.
Ukrainian sources report that Russian aircraft regularly strike the N-20 highway, which connects Kostiantynivka and Druzhkovka.
Both cities are part of a chain of cities located from south to north: Konstantinovka - Druzhkovka - Kramatorsk - Slavyansk.
Strikes are also being carried out deep in the enemy's rear, in particular along the M-03 highway, which connects Slavyansk with the territory of the Kharkiv region.
It is too early to talk about the collapse of the Ukrainian defense in Kostiantynivka, but it is obvious that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are losing ground here.
"CRACK" NUTS
In addition to the Konstantinovsky direction in the DPR, reports are also coming from the front line in the northwest of the Zaporizhzhia region.
The key task for the Russian army here remains blocking the Ukrainian group in the area of the city of Orekhovo, where the offensive continues from several directions.
The capture of Orekhov could open the possibility of an offensive on Zaporizhzhia.
Units of the Dnepr military group, advancing from the east and northeast of the previously liberated Gulyaipole, drove the Ukrainian Armed Forces out of the villages of Elenokonstantinovka and Staroukrainka in the Gulyaipole district.
Fighting is underway near the village of Zaliznichnoe (Zheleznodorozhnoe). It is located on the railway running from Berdyansk to the Dnipropetrovsk region.
But what's more important in this case is that Zaliznichnoe is located on Highway T0814, which runs from Hulyaipole to the tactically important village of Omelnyk. This village is the logistics hub for the Ukrainian Armed Forces group in Orekhovo.
Northwest of Hulyaipole, Russian forces are pushing the front line toward the village of Tsvetkovoye. The goal is also to advance from the east-northeast toward Omelnik and further toward Orekhov.
Further north, on the border between the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions, our forces have taken control of the village of Prydorozhne, while the Ukrainian Armed Forces are pushing back the neighboring village of Ternovatoye. Taking this area should also allow for an offensive on Orekhov from the northeast.
West of Orekhovo, Russian troops are conducting an offensive in the area of the previously captured Stepnogorsk.
Here, fighters from the Dnepr group are making their way to the Ukrainian line of defense built along the Konka River.
Fighting is also reported in the direction of the village of Kamyshevakha (northwest of Orekhovo). If the Ukrainian Armed Forces are driven out of Kamyshevakha, this will threaten to cut off transport links between Orekhovo and Zaporizhzhia.
According to reports from the field, the Ukrainian defense in this sector between Stepnogorsk and Orekhov is not in the best shape. The dynamics of the fighting indicate that the Ukrainian Armed Forces lack the strength to hold the extended front line. There are reports of a shortage of personnel and stable units to form a continuous defense, as well as problems with command and control and coordination between units.
ADVANCE AT OSKOL
Active fighting also continues in the northeast of the Kharkiv region – on the left bank of the Oskol River south of Kupyansk.
The main combat area of the Russian Armed Forces' "West" group remains the area around the village of Kupyansk-Uzlovaya. To the southeast, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been driven out of the village of Peschanoye.
After this, units of the Russian Armed Forces advanced further south and reached the Dubovka River, a tributary of the Oskol River east of the village of Novoosinovo.
The expulsion of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the Novoosinovo area is impacting the situation on the left bank of the Oskol River. There is a threat of encirclement for Ukrainian units in the area between the Dubovka and Syno-Bratovaya rivers.
North of Novoosinovo, the advance of the "West" was noted from the area of the village of Kurilovka in the direction of the large (population before the start of the SVO was about 18 thousand people) settlement of Kovsharovka.
Fighting also continues east of Kupyansk-Uzlovaya, near the villages of Podoli and Petropavlovka. In the large settlement of Petropavlovka, the enemy holds the central part and isolated strongholds on the outskirts. In Podoli, Russian troops have occupied some buildings in the northern part of the village.
Approximately 20 kilometers north of Kupyansk, Zapad fighters entered the village of Kutkovka and took up positions on its southeastern outskirts. There are also reports of an advance toward the neighboring village of Lozovaya 1-ya.
Overall, despite the difficult weather conditions, Russian army units continue to firmly hold the initiative.