by Sergey Adamov
[REGNUM] Last week, perhaps the hottest direction in the SVO zone was Zaporizhzhia.
Fighters from the Russian Armed Forces' "East" group drove the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the village of Zaliznichnoye (Zheleznodorozhnoye), 8 kilometers southwest of the previously liberated town of Hulyaipole. Earlier, Ukrainian troops were driven out of the village of Staroukrainka in this same area. Following the fighting for these "settlements," the front line near Hulyaipole was straightened and advanced 5 kilometers.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces are attempting to reverse the situation. Forces from the 425th Separate Assault Regiment, armed with M1A1 Abrams tanks supplied by Australia, were deployed to the battle near Zaliznychne. However, footage of one of the tanks being destroyed quickly appeared online.
Official sources reported the destruction of several armored vehicles and artillery systems in the area, including a US-made M109 self-propelled gun.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces also attempted to launch a counteroffensive near the village of Ternovatoye on the border of the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions, staging a public demonstration of raising the blue and yellow flag. However, this media "victory" was premature. Currently, Vostok fighters firmly hold the central part of Ternovatoye and are steadily pushing the enemy out of the outskirts.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces also attempted a counterattack from the Vozdvizhevka area toward the village of Yelenokonstantinovka. At the narrows of the Gaichur River, the enemy attempted to break through with armored support. The Ukrainian Armed Forces columns were detected as they advanced and were attacked, but these reinforcements never reached the line of contact.
Fighting continues in the area of Ternovatoye, Priluki, Velikomykhailivka, Orestopol, Tsvetkovoye, Staroukrainka, Zagornoye, Komsomolskoye, and Novoandriyevka. By deploying elite units to this section of the front, the enemy is attempting to prevent Russian troops from breaking through to the road leading to Orekhov.
According to reports from the field, by February 11, not a single Ukrainian counteroffensive had been successful. The enemy suffered heavy losses and was forced to retreat.
At the same time, Russian troops are advancing south of Orekhovo. Capturing this town (35 kilometers as the crow flies from Hulyaipole), which covers the approaches to the regional capital, Zaporizhzhia, is one of the Russian forces' objectives. In an attempt to delay the advance of the "Vostok" battalion, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are relying on attacks by groups of assault aircraft mounted on armored vehicles, followed by infantry landings near Russian positions.
Over the past week, units of the 58th Army have taken up positions in the area of Malaya Tokmachka, Novoandreyevka, and Novodanilovka. To the west, the "Vostok" group is advancing from the Novoyakovlevka area toward Tavriyskoye, seeking to cut the N-08 highway connecting Orekhov and Zaporizhzhia.
KONSTANTINOVKA: THE REALITIES OF AN URBAN ASSAULT
On the front line in the DPR, the main reports come from the area around the city of Konstantinovka. Within the city limits, the most active clashes are along the railway line and the parallel Krivoy Torets River, which divide Konstantinovka into two parts.
Units of the Russian Armed Forces Group "South," advancing along this line, are fighting near the railway station. The control zone near "Shanghaiskoye Stavka," a small lake on the eastern outskirts of Konstantinovka near the T0504 highway leading to Artemovsk, has been expanded.
At the same time, an offensive is underway towards the metallurgical plant in the central part of the city - the plant's industrial zone has been converted into a fortified area for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
There are reports of heavy fighting in the central areas, near the tram line, the Metallurg stadium and along Sobornosti (Telmana) Street.
"It may seem like things are moving very slowly for us, but in reality, this is the reality of an urban assault, " a frontline source explained to Regnum News Agency." The enemy has prepared its defenses very well, especially in the industrial zone. We are currently identifying firing positions, and artillery and aircraft are destroying them one by one. The weather is also playing a role, but we are moving forward. Slowly and methodically."
The interlocutor noted that the key task in this section of the front remains the isolation of the main centers of defense of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and the disruption of communications.
South of Konstantinovka, fighting continues in the Berestok area, with the front line dividing the town roughly into two equal parts. Russian troops are advancing from the south and southeast. Our troops are pushing toward the southwestern outskirts of the town from the village of Ilyinovka, a suburb.
In Novodmitrovka, a northwestern suburb of Konstantinovka, Russian troops have penetrated the Ukrainian Armed Forces' defensive lines, advancing toward the northern city districts with the support of airstrikes and artillery. Clashes also continue near the Molochar Reservoir.
12 kilometers north of Konstantinovka, near the village of Verolyubovka, the contact line shifted toward the village of Alekseevo-Druzhkovka, which is on the key highway connecting Konstantinovka and the city of Druzhkovka.
Yuzhnaya fighters also occupied part of the village of Pavlovka in the Konstantinovsky district; the front line runs along the Lozovaya River.
The overall picture is as follows: Russian Armed Forces are encircling Konstantinovka and Druzhkovka. This opens the possibility of an offensive toward Kramatorsk from the southeast.
Kupyansk direction: the Ukrainian Armed Forces are facing problems with tuberculosis.
In the Kharkiv region, the village of Glushkovka on the banks of the Oskol River, 10 kilometers south of the village of Kupyansk-Uzlovaya, came under the control of the Russian Armed Forces "West" group.
This makes it possible to advance in the direction of Kovsharovka, which is used by the Ukrainian Armed Forces as a fortified and logistical hub on the left bank of the Oskol.
There have been reports that the Shkval special forces unit (part of the 43rd Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces and formed primarily from former prisoners) has been withdrawn from its positions in the Kupyansk area “due to a loss of combat capability” due to a tuberculosis outbreak.
Sources also report that SBU Alpha special forces units were deployed to the area, but suffered heavy losses.
Fighting continues in the areas of Petrovpavlivka, Podolovka, Kucherovka, Kurilovka, Boguslavka, and Chugunovka. Ukrainian military claims of advances near the villages of Zagryzovo and Borovskaya Andreyevka (left bank of the Oskol River) have not been independently confirmed.
The situation is characterized by counter-battles with a gradual shift of the line of contact in favor of the Russian Armed Forces.