Worth noting, korrespondent.net has compiled its Invasion of Ukraine series into separate months, beginning May 9th, 2023. Linked in the title.
[Korrespondent] 22:00 The number of victims as a result of Russia’s missile strike on the center of Odessa has increased to two people.
Mayor Gennady Trukhanov noted that there is a lot of damage and destruction in the UNESCO protected area, and a building that is under enhanced protection has been damaged.
21.21 Russian troops have launched a preliminary ballistic strike on civilian buildings in Odessa. This was announced by President Volodymyr Zelensky during a video address.
"Right now in the south of our country - in Odessa - work continues after Russian missile strikes. Preliminary - ballistics. Strikes simply on the city, on ordinary civilian buildings," the head of state said.
The President emphasized that "air defense is the first priority, we are working with all partners to provide more protection to our state."
The Chairman of the Odessa Regional Military Administration, Oleg Kiper, reported that a hotel employee was injured as a result of the enemy attack.
20.55 Explosions were heard in Odessa on the evening of January 31. A well-known hotel in the city center was damaged.
"Russian terrorists attacked the historical center of Odessa with missiles," said the head of the regional military administration, Oleg Kiper.
20.49 The Unmanned Systems Forces Command confirmed the use of a long-range drone capable of carrying a 250-kilogram aerial bomb and covering up to 2,000 km with the ability to return. This was reported by the press service of the Unmanned Systems Forces on Friday, January 31.
18.15 In the Kharkiv region, Russian invaders have again taken control of the settlement of Novomlynsk. This was reported by the information OSINT project DeepState.
In early December 2024, the Ukrainian Armed Forces cleared one of the Russian bridgeheads that had formed in the village of Novomlynsk. However, according to the latest information, the Russians have once again returned the settlement under their control.
The village was occupied several weeks ago. Now the Russians are increasing the number of infantry in Novomlynsk, deploying weapons and fortifying the territory.
17.45 Russian leader Vladimir Putin has effectively stopped talking about military action in the Kursk region. This is happening against the backdrop of a slowdown in the advancement of Russian troops in the region, the Telegram channel Agency. News reports.
In January, the head of the Kremlin mentioned the Kursk region only once in his speeches. Putin did this in a congratulatory address to the employees of the prosecutor's office, in which he called on law enforcement officers "to pay special attention to solving the problems of citizens in the Donbas and the Kursk region."
Now the head of the Kremlin speaks more often about other topics instead of the Kursk region. In particular, in January he already mentioned the new US President Donald Trump twice.
17:00 Since the beginning of the current day, 77 combat clashes have occurred on the front. Ukrainian defenders are repelling Russian attacks in 12 directions, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported in an operational report as of 16:00.
16.30 In Slavyansk, the base of the rapid response units of the Ukrainian Red Cross was shelled for the third time. This was reported by the press service of the organization on Friday, January 31.
16:29 Counterintelligence of the Security Service detained an FSB agent in Cherkassy who was preparing coordinates for Russian missile and drone attacks on the region.
SBU officers exposed the agent at the initial stage of his subversive activities. After documenting the crimes of the suspect, he was detained "red-handed" when he was conducting additional reconnaissance near a military facility.
15.25 Information that Russia is allegedly preparing for serial production of a modernized version of the Iskander-M system with an increased range is not true, the Center for Countering Disinformation reports.
13.49 The SBU detained a 44-year-old FSB agent who transmitted coordinates of the positions of the Defense Forces on the right bank of the Kherson region to the occupiers. The traitor faces life imprisonment. This was reported by the SBU press service on Friday, January 31.
12.49 The NBU considers the imminent end of active military actions in Ukraine unlikely and estimated at less than 15%. At the same time, there are high risks of escalation of military actions, further destruction of production capacities. This is stated in the NBU Inflation Report.
12.45 The UK will provide Ukraine with up to 2 billion pounds sterling for the purchase of air defense systems and air defense missiles. This was announced by Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal during a government meeting.
12.29 Over the past 24 hours, Russian troops have carried out 3,784 strikes on the front line and civilian sector of Donetsk Oblast. As a result of the attacks, one civilian was killed and 18 more people were injured, including two children. This was reported by the press service of the National Police on Friday, January 31.
11.59 The Czech Republic is considering the possibility of creating a new initiative for Ukraine to purchase ammunition and is calling on other EU members to join, Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said.
10.55 On Friday night, Russian aggressors attacked the city of Chornomorsk with attack drones, four people were injured . Due to the enemy strike, there are problems with the power supply for part of Chornomorsk and the suburbs. Power engineers are already working to restore light to homes.
10.35 Russian troops struck border communities in Sumy Oblast three times, wounding three people . This was reported on January 31 by the OVA.
9.47 On the night of January 31 (from 21.00 on January 30), the Russians attacked Ukraine with 102 Shahed-type attack UAVs and drone imitators of various types from different directions. This was reported by the Air Force. As of 09.00, the downing of 59 Shahed-type attack UAVs and drones of other types has been confirmed in the Kharkiv, Poltava, Sumy, Kyiv, Chernihiv, Cherkasy, Kirovohrad, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, Dnipropetrovsk, Mykolaiv and Odessa regions. 37 enemy drone imitators were lost (without negative consequences).
9.22 A total of 150 combat clashes have occurred on the front over the past 24 hours. The Russians are intensively advancing in the Liman, Toretsk and Pokrovsky directions. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
8.59 North Korean troops have been withdrawn from the front line in the Kursk region. North Korean forces have suffered heavy losses in the fighting. This is reported by The New York Times.
8.36 Western media note that Ukrainian naval drones continue to cause significant damage to Russia. In particular, on December 31, a Ukrainian naval drone destroyed a Russian Mi-8 helicopter for the first time, using missiles fired from the drone. Two days later, the same Magura V5 destroyed another helicopter and damaged a third.
7.46 Drones attacked several regions of Russia again on the night of January 31. In the Volgograd region, as a result of the attack, a fire broke out at an oil depot. This was reported by Russian Telegram channels.
7.28 Over the past 24 hours, the Defense Forces have neutralized 1,670 Russian soldiers. This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
04.05 Russian occupiers captured Novoandriivka in Donetsk Oblast and advanced into Nelipovka, Kotlino and near Shevchenko. At the same time, Ukrainian defenders were able to restore positions near the settlement of Udachnoye.
03:00 Russia has likely stopped oil transit through the Baltic Sea port of Ust-Luga, confirming Ukraine's claims of a successful drone strike on a pumping station, Bloomberg reports, citing sources. The port handled about 20% of Russia's total sea flows.
00.21 On Thursday evening, Russian troops attacked a private home in the Krasnopolskaya community of the Sumy region, the Sumy OVA reported. At least two people were injured to varying degrees of severity, and their home burned down.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Korrespondent] Ukrainian Armed Forces Contain Russian Attacks in Eastern and Southern Ukraine.
The Pokrovsk direction remains the hottest. There, the Ukrainian Armed Forces repelled more than 30 Russian attacks on about 15 settlements.
Since the beginning of the current day, 77 combat clashes have occurred on the front. Ukrainian defenders are repelling Russian attacks in 12 directions, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported in an operational report as of 16:00 on Friday, January 31.
Thus, in the Kharkov direction, the enemy attacked the Volchansk area twice.
In the Kupyansk direction, the enemy once advanced on the positions of our units near Peschanoye.
In the Liman direction, the invaders carried out five attacks near Zelenaya Dolina, Novomikhaylovka and Kolodtsy. Two clashes are ongoing.
In the Seversky direction, the occupiers tried to advance forward six times in the areas of Belogorovka, Verkhnekamennoye and Spornoye. Two clashes are still ongoing.
In the Kramatorsk direction, the occupiers stormed the areas of the settlements of Chasov Yar, Stupochki and Belaya Gora three times. One battle is still ongoing.
In the Toretsk direction, the Russians tried to advance near Toretsk. Three enemy attacks were repelled there.
In the Pokrovsk direction, the enemy has already carried out 38 assaults in the areas of the settlements of Mashevka, Elizavetovka, Novotoretskoye, Mirolyubovka, Promin, Lisovka, Pokrovsk, Novoukrainka, Udachnoye, Kotlyarovka, Novoandreyevka, Alekseyevka, Andreyevka, Dachnoye and Ulakly. The defense forces have repelled 33 enemy attacks.
In the Novopavlovsk direction, fighting continues near the settlements of Konstantinopol and Razdolnoye. So far, four attacks have been repelled there.
In the Gulyai-Polye direction, two enemy assaults continue in the direction of the settlements of Novopol and Novosyolka.
In the Orekhov direction, the enemy once tried to advance towards Novodanilovka and was rebuffed.
In the Dnieper direction, our defenders repelled one enemy attack.
In the Kursk region, the Ukrainian Armed Forces repelled six offensive actions by the invaders, two combat clashes are still ongoing.
Let us recall that on January 30, about 1,700 Russians were "minus" at the front in 24 hours. The total losses of the aggressor country Russia since the beginning of the war are approaching 840 thousand people.
Linked article is available only through a VPN.
[EngMilRu] From 25 to 31 January 2025, the Russian Armed Forces have carried out seven group strikes by high-precision weapons and strike drones, which have engaged critical energy facilities that support the work of the Ukrainian defence industry.
In addition, the infrastructure of military airfields, assembly, storage, and launching sites of strike drones and uncrewed surface vehicles as well as temporary deployment areas of Ukrainian armed groups, were hit.
Over the past week, units of the Sever Group of Forces continued to eliminate AFU formations on the territory of Kursk region. The Russian Armed Forces liberated Nikolayevo-Daryino.
Aviation and drone strikes and artillery fire hit manpower and hardware of a tank brigade, a heavy mechanised brigade, four mechanised brigades, two air assault brigades of the AFU, a naval infantry brigade, and three territorial defence brigades.
In Kharkov direction, units of a motorised infantry brigade, an air assault brigade of the AFU, and a territorial defence brigade suffered losses.
During the week in the area of responsibility of the Sever Group of Forces, the enemy suffered losses of up to 2,200 troops, nine tanks, 57 armoured fighting vehicles, including a U.S.-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicle.
Moreover, Russian troops destroyed 144 motor vehicles, 22 field artillery guns, 13 electronic warfare stations, and nine field ammunition depots.
The Zapad Group of Forces has liberated Dvurechnaya (Kharkov region).
? Strikes were delivered at manpower and hardware of three mechanised brigades, an air assault brigade, a mountain assault brigade, and an assault brigade of the AFU, a territorial defence brigade, and a national guard brigade.
The enemy suffered losses of more than 2,425 troops, two tanks, and 22 armoured fighting vehicles, including nine U.S.-made M113 armoured personnel carriers.
Russian units eliminated 53 motor vehicles, 39 field artillery guns, 16 of them manufactured by NATO countries, six electronic warfare stations, and 11 ammunition depots.
The Yug Group of Forces improved the tactical situation. Strikes were delivered at units of three mechanised brigades, an assault brigade, and an airmobile brigade of the AFU, two territorial defence brigades, and a national guard brigade.
The AFU losses in this direction during the week amounted to up to 1,445 troops, 13 armoured fighting vehicles, including three M113 armoured personnel carriers, and four U.S.-made HMMWV armoured fighting vehicles, 20 motor vehicles, 11 field artillery guns, including three Western-made artillery guns.
Eleven field ammunition depots and three electronic warfare stations were eliminated.
The Tsentr Group of Forces continued advancing into the depths of the enemy's defence and liberated Zelenoye, Novoyelizavetovka, and Novovasilyevka (Donetsk People's Republic).
Russian units hit five mechanised brigades, an airmobile brigade, a motorised infantry brigade of the AFU, two territorial defence brigades, two national guard brigades, and the Lyut Assault Brigade of the National Police of Ukraine.
The AFU losses amounted to more than 4,000 troops, five tanks, 32 armoured fighting vehicles, including a Bradley infantry fighting vehicle, and three U.S.-made M113 armoured personnel carriers.
Moreover, 48 motor vehicles, and 25 field artillery guns were destroyed.
The Vostok Group of Forces liberated Velikaya Novoselka (Donetsk People's Republic) as a result of active operations.
Russian units engaged three mechanised brigades, an air assault brigade of the AFU, a naval infantry brigade, two territorial defence brigades, and a national guard brigade.
The enemy lost more than 1,015 troops, four tanks, two armoured fighting vehicles, 16 motor vehicles, and 31 field artillery guns, five of them made up of NATO countries.
The Dnepr Group of Forces engaged manpower and hardware of a mechanised brigade, three coastal defence brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and a territorial defence brigade.
The AFU lost over 315 troops and 24 motor vehicles were neutralised.
Over the past week, air defence systems have shot down two French-made Hammer guided aerial bombs, 31 U.S.-made HIMARS MLRS projectiles, 592 fixed-wing unmanned aerial vehicles, 290 of them outside the special military operation zone.
Over the past week, 43 Ukrainian servicemen have surrendered on the line of contact.
In total, since the beginning of the special military operation, 652 aircraft, 283 helicopters, 41,987 unmanned aerial vehicles, 590 anti-aircraft missile systems, 20,975 tanks and other armoured fighting vehicles, 1,511 MLRS combat vehicles, 21,087 field artillery guns and mortars, and 31,060 units of support military vehicles have been neutralised.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the operation to neutralise AFU formations on the territory of Kursk region.
During the offensive, the Sever Group of Forces inflicted fire damage on units of a tank brigade, a heavy-mechanised brigade, four mechanised brigades, two air assault brigades, a naval infantry brigade, and three territorial defence brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine close to Gogolevka, Goncharovka, Guyevo, Zamostye, Kazachya Loknya, Kurilovka, Lebedevka, Malaya Loknya, Makhnovka, Mirny, Nikolayevka, Nikolsky, Novaya Sorochina, Rubanshchina, Sverdlikovo, and Yuzhny. One AFU counter-attack was repelled.
Operational-Tactical and Army Aviation, and Artillery strikes engaged AFU manpower and hardware close to Viktorovka, Kositsa, Kruglenkoye, Loknya, Makhovka, Melovoy, Oleshnya, Sudzha, Cherkasskoye Porechnoye as well as Basovka, Belovody, Veselovka, Zhuravka, and Yunakovka in Sumy region.
Within the past 24 hours, the AFU losses amounted to more than 270 troops, two tanks, seven armoured fighting vehicles, 28 motor vehicles, two mortars, an MLRS launcher, an electronic warfare station, an air defence radar, a counter-battery radar, a counterobstacle vehicle as well as four UAV control posts and two ammunition depots.
Since the beginning of hostilities in Kursk region, the AFU losses amounted to more than 56,410 troops, 327 tanks, 241 infantry fighting vehicles, 185 armoured personnel carriers, 1,660 armoured fighting vehicles, 1,735 motor vehicles, 396 artillery guns, 45 MLRS launchers, including 13 of HIMARS and six of MLRS made by the USA, 16 anti-aircraft missile launchers, eight transport-loading vehicles, 106 EW stations, 14 counter-battery warfare radars, five air defence radars, 33 units of engineering and other materiel, including 15 counterobstacle vehicles, one UR-77 mine clearing vehicle, nine armoured recovery vehicles, and one command post vehicle.
The operation to neutralise the AFU units is in progress.
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[NewsFront] 23:58 Official summary of the Office for Documentation of War Crimes of Ukraine from 00:00 01/31/2025 to 00:00 02/01/2025.
A total of 42 facts of armed attacks by the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
There were reports of 12 civilians being injured.
DAMAGED:
Municipal equipment,
A bus,
17 residential buildings,
Seven cars,
Seven civil infrastructure facilities.
A total of 42 armed attacks in the Gorlovka direction.
A total of 119 units of various ammunition were fired.
19:34 "Seventy-seconds" are firing direct fire.
Crew of the T-72B3M tank of the Dnepr group of forces destroyed UAV control center and Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel on the right bank of the Dnieper in the Kherson region.
19:05 LBS in Novospassky has been clarified –MAP.
19:04 Russian Ministry of Defense: You can’t escape our drone operators.
Servicemen of the reconnaissance unit of the 25th combined arms army of the "West" group of forces, using a UAV, detected the movement of a pickup truck with a crew of a 120mm mortar of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in a wooded area in the SVO zone.
The target was detected promptly destroyed FPV drone calculation.
17:31 A combat pair of Su-35s and Su-34s is in action.
Su-35s crew accompanied Su-34 fighter-bomber, which carried out an attack on a Ukrainian Armed Forces stronghold in the Kursk border area.
17:05 Russian Armed Forces advance to food depot in Shevchenko Chasova Yara microdistrict –MAP.
17:05 “We rush to the positions and destroy everything there.”
Crews of the T-90 tank of the Guards Motor Rifle Division of the "Southern" group of forces perform tasks to support assault units and destroy firing points and fortified positions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kurakhovsky direction.
When performing fire missions, tank crews closely interact with reconnaissance units, which guide combat vehicles and adjust fire on Ukrainian Armed Forces positions.
16:37 Destruction of a T-64 tank of the 1st Separate Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces using the Lancet UAV in the area of the settlement of Tarasovka in the Donetsk region –MAP.
16:16 Broadcast ended: FPV drone operator rammed drone-relay for the Ukrainian Armed Forces militants.
Servicemen of the North group of forces continue to track down and destroy various enemy UAVs in the border area of the Kursk region.
15:53 Advance of the 25th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade on the Dvurechansky sector of the front. The village of Novomlynsk east of Dvurechnaya has been liberated –MAP.
15:45 Russian military engineers are clearing logistics routes in the Khar'kov direction.
According to intelligence, the Ukrainian Armed Forces militants remotely mined logistics routes using an unmanned aerial vehicle in the Khar'kov direction. An engineering patrol of the North group of troops promptly moved to the suspected mining site.
The sappers found anti-tank mines TM-62 and PTM-3 with magnetic sensors. The group commander decided to destroy the mines with a surface charge.
15:20 The Russian Armed Forces have advanced into the plantings south of Dachnoye on the Kurakhovsky sector of the front –MAP.
15:12 The Russian Armed Forces eliminated the “pocket” near Dzerzhinsk and occupied the “ATO” line of fortifications –MAP.
13:50 Dnepropetrovsk direction.
Units of the RF Armed Forces lead clearing the settlement of Uspenovka. The enemy still maintains a presence in the southern part. Our assaults are getting the Ukrainian Armed Forces out of the remains of buildings and basements.
Drone activity has decreased slightly.
Our units are attacking Novoalexandrivka.
In the Nadezhdinka area, the Russian Armed Forces are repelling counterattacks, attacking enemy strongholds and expanding control of territory to the south.
Fighting began for landings on the approaches to Zaporozhye (Donetsk) and Preobrazhenka.
Novoandreevka has been cleared and has come under the complete control of our assault groups.
There are battles for Sribnoe (Serebryannoe). It is too early to talk about consolidating the village.
To the south, there are battles for control over the Sarannaya and Stavkovaya gullies.
13:45 Rubicon drone operators left the enemy without communication.
Reconnaissance units, having discovered the Ukrainian Armed Forces' communication system in the Kursk direction, promptly transmitted the data to strike forces. The target was found in the shortest possible time.destroyedcalculations of FPV drones of the Rubicon Center.
12:52 Soldiers from BARS-2, 25th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade report that Novomlynsk is under the control of the Russian army –MAP.
12:45 Around 10.20 by air defense systems on duty destroyed two Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles over the territory of the Kursk region.
12:05 Drone operators in the Kupyansk direction burned another -113 armored personnel carrier. Peschanoye-Kislovka area.
11:47 Work of fighters from the GrV Sever. Another enemy howitzer was burned by the fiber-optic drone Prince Vandal Novgorodsky –MAP.
11:22 Crushing "Msta".
Crew of the 152mm howitzer "Msta-B" of the "Center" group of forces destroyed stronghold of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Krasnoarmeysk direction.
10:00 Chief of the General Staff, Army General Valery Gerasimov visited command post of the "East" troop group in the special operation zone.
At the command post, Chief of the General Staff, Army General Valery Gerasimov, heard a report from Lieutenant General Andrei Ivanaev, Commander of the East Group of Forces, on the current situation in the area of responsibility and the progress of combat missions.
Summing up the hearing, Chief of the General Staff noted the successes of the Vostok group in liberating the settlements of Velikaya Novosyolka and Vremevka and set tasks for further actions.
09:41 RF Armed Forces are moving forward on the border of the Khar'kov and Luhansk regions.
08:57 Direct fire operation.
Tankers of the "Vostok" group are applied powerful fire strikes against the enemy, supporting our assault groups in the South Donetsk direction. The driver-mechanic with the call sign "Mityai" and the gunner-operator with the call sign "Romeo" spoke about the specifics of their work.
07:24 An example of the assembly of a heavy armored personnel carrier based on the T-72B3 tank by one of the Russian repair units.
Inside, instead of a turret, there is an armored capsule for a six-man landing force with a layer of bricks between two armor sheets covered with rubber on top. Additionally, the landing force is covered from above with an anti-drone visor with a layer of logs and rubber. The front of the TBTR will be equipped with a makeshift mine trawl -MAP.
07:16 During the past night, air defense systems on duty intercepted and destroyed 49 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles:
25 UAVs over the territory of the Rostov region;
Eight over the territory of the Volgograd region;
Six over the territory of the Kursk region;
Four over the territory of the Yaroslavl region;
Two each over the territories of the Belgorod, Voronezh regions and Krasnodar region.
05:01 Russian Ministry of Defense:
The ferocious 220mm BM-27 "Hurricane" does not give the enemy a chance to catch his breath. Crews of the MLRS "Hurricane" of the Guards Tank Army of the "West" group of forces are striking artillery batteries and armored vehicles, destroy command posts, strongholds, communication centers and ammunition depots in the special operation zone.
Slavyansk is where the war between Russian backed militants and Ukrainian military began in 2014, under the leadership of (now disgraced) Russian reserve FSB colonel Igor Girkin (Igor Strelkov). Its capture at the same time is both strategic and symbolic. by Sergey Adamov
[REGNUM] The Russian Armed Forces are consolidating their successes in the SVO zone. Over the past month, the settlements of Kurakhovo and Velikaya Novosyolka were liberated in Donbass. The offensive continues in the area of Pokrovsk, the center of the enemy's defense in the eastern part of the DPR. To the west, Russian troops are pushing back the enemy in the area of Chasov Yar and Toretsk, advancing in the direction of Konstantinovka.
After the liberation of Pokrovsk, the last major defensive hub, the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration, will remain under the control of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
The forces advancing from Pokrovsk and Chasov Yar, like two pincers, slowly squeeze Slavyansk from both sides, creating the contours of the future encirclement of a large group of enemy forces.
And although the battles for Pokrovsk are still ongoing, it is already possible to predict how the situation in Donbass will develop in the coming months.
In 2014, Slavyansk became a symbol of resistance to the DPR. The militia's takeover of the city inspired resistance throughout the Donbass. During the "anti-terrorist operation" launched by Kiev, the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk area was surrounded, but the local garrison held the line for several months.
It is symbolic that the liberation of Donbass may end where it began 11 years ago.
At the same time, the Ukrainian Armed Forces, even when faced with many problems, do not plan to retreat without a fight. Therefore, the liberation of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk-Druzhkovka-Konstantinovka agglomeration may become the most difficult task for the Russian army during the entire period of the SVO. We are talking about 5,000 square kilometers of territory, dense urban development, where more than 500 thousand people lived as of 2022. There is also a large industrial zone here, turned by the enemy into a solid fortified area.
A frontal assault on this, without exaggeration, citadel could result in major losses, so the hypothetical “Slavic operation” should develop in several stages, military expert Alexander Mikhailovsky notes in a commentary for the Regnum news agency.
"Even after the liberation of Chasov Yar, there will still be Seversk and the Serebryanskoye forestry area. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have clung very tightly to this area of territory because it is strategically important. With the liberation of Seversk, the road to Slavyansk itself will open. So in the foreseeable future, we should expect that the front in this area will begin to move," the expert predicts.
In the spring of 2014, Seversk came under the control of the DPR militia forces and became a symbol of resistance on par with Slavyansk, Kramatorsk and Krasny Liman, the source recalled. However, they failed to maintain control over the city. And during the SVO, Russian troops again reached the approaches to Seversk, but so far the Ukrainian Armed Forces have managed to hold the front in this area.
The resumption of hostilities near Seversk will mean the beginning of the "Slavyansk operation". But for the complete encirclement of Slavyansk, another important task must be solved.
LEFT BANK, RIGHT BANK
In the context of the liberation of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk district, the area of territory at the junction of the territories of the DPR, LPR and the Kharkov region, squeezed between the Zherebets, Oskol and Seversky Donets rivers, is of key importance. The cities of Svyatogorsk and Liman (Krasny Liman), which literally "hang" over Slavyansk, are located in this area.
Supplying Ukrainian troops in this area is seriously complicated by the lack of proper crossings. Previously, Russian Aerospace Forces aircraft consistently destroyed bridges across the Oskol River, so the Ukrainian military was forced to build several pontoon crossings, which are also regularly subject to air strikes.
Now, in the "interfluve", after a long pause, military actions have resumed. Advancing from the Svatovo region, Russian troops liberated the settlements of Zeleny Gai, Vishnevoye and Pervomayskoye.
Further advance in this area could allow the enemy group to be cut in two and force the Ukrainian Armed Forces to retreat beyond the Oskol River. However, even with the liberation of the city of Liman, which is adjacent to Slavyansk, it will still be impossible to proceed directly to storming the city, note front-line sources of the Regnum news agency familiar with the situation in this area.
"We were already in Liman, and I can say that the fighting was limited to mobile groups crossing the Seversky Donets in both directions and subsequent clashes on both banks. The bridge between Liman and Slavyansk in the area of Raigorodka was blown up by the Ukrainian Armed Forces back in 2022, so it is not so easy to cross the river in this place," the source notes.
To encircle Slavyansk from the north, it is necessary to bypass the city and cut the M-03 highway to Izyum. Ukrainian sources fear that Russian troops could force the Oskol in the Gorokhovatka area north of Slavyansk and break through to Izyum.
But before that, it is necessary to completely clear the “interfluve” of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
CUT THROUGH THE ENEMY'S DEFENSES
The most vulnerable section of the enemy front in the central part of Donbass is the area of Konstantinovka. Russian troops are simultaneously advancing on the city from the northeast, from Chasov Yar, and from the southeast - from Toretsk.
According to reports from the field, the Ukrainian Armed Forces removed everything valuable from the city, including police and fire equipment, several months ago. According to experts, the assault on the city may develop according to a proven and repeatedly tested tactic.
At the first stage, the forces advancing from Chasov Yar can cut off supplies between Konstantinovka and Druzhkovka. Earlier, the Russian Armed Forces were also able to take control of another enemy logistics route - the highway between Konstantinovka and Pokrovsk.
Only after the city is surrounded will Russian troops be able to force the enemy to retreat. Or begin an assault.
"There are many options for how events will develop. One of them is that the enemy's front will be cut in several places. It is possible to wedge between Druzhkovka and Kramatorsk, Kramatorsk and Slavyansk. In short, to create separate pockets of defense instead of a continuous front. But this is, as they say, "drawing arrows", only an assumption. Only the command knows how it will actually be," notes expert Mikhailovsky.
The final stage of the operation in this case will be a strike on Slavyansk from the rear, which could be carried out after the liberation of the Pokrovsky district.
HOW WILL THE UKRAINIAN ARMED FORCES RESPOND?
Naturally, the Ukrainian military command understands how events on the front may develop in the coming weeks and months. But it seems that Kyiv has no opportunity to influence the course of the Russian operation.
After the tactic of creating “fortress cities” failed to justify itself, the Ukrainian Armed Forces never found any effective way to stop the advance of the Russian Armed Forces, time after time wasting their forces in attempts to prolong the fighting.
The fighting in the Velikaya Novosyolka area showed that this tactic does not bring the desired results: Russian troops defeat the enemy through maneuver, intercepting supply routes and occupying key heights.
According to reports from the field, the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk region has been intensively preparing for defense in recent months. The Ukrainian Armed Forces are focusing on the industrial zone of the Novokramatorsky and Starokramatorsky machine-building plants, the Energomashspetsstal plant, the Kramatorsk heavy machine-building plant, and a number of other enterprises.
The factory workshops are stockpiling ammunition that could allow the garrison to conduct combat operations even in complete encirclement. Similar reports are coming from Slavyansk, where the Ukrainian Armed Forces are "settling" the Central, Southern and Eastern industrial zones, and Druzhkovka, where the enemy is fortifying the Druzhkovka Machine-Building Plant.
"Nobody can say now what will happen next, but we know that there are no impossible tasks. Our aviation is "breaking" fortified industrial zones using heavy aerial bombs. And ordinary soldiers have long worked out the tactics of assault. So, no matter how they prepare, we see it and react," notes a frontline source of the Regnum news agency.
The priority task for the Russian army in Donbass is still the liberation of Pokrovsk. The city is practically blockaded, and Ukrainian sources report an "extremely difficult" situation on this section of the front.
It is unknown whether the Ukrainian Armed Forces will decide to fight for the city to the last or retreat to the territory of the Dnepropetrovsk region, but the liberation of Pokrovsk will become a prologue to the battle for Slavyansk, and therefore, for the final liberation of Donbass.
Ukrainian Armed Forces prevented the evacuation of bodies of brutally murdered residents of a Kursk village
[Regnum] Ukrainian servicemen fired mortars at Russian fighters during the evacuation of brutally murdered civilians from the village of Russkoye Porechnoye in the Kursk region. This was reported by the chief of staff of the motorized rifle unit of the North group of forces with the call sign Vostok.
"On January 24, the first woman was pulled out. After that, mortar and cluster munitions shelling began. A 120mm mortar fired at us, there were about 40 (rounds fired)
, two mortars were used. And cluster munitions, as well as FPV drones," he explained to journalists.
According to the Russian military man, the enemy is probably afraid of publicity for all the atrocities they committed against civilians.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, on January 31, the representative of the UN Secretary General Stephane Dujarric commented on the atrocities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Kursk village of Russkoye Porechnoye. He emphasized that the world organization is against the death and murder of any civilian population.
Civilians in the temporarily occupied territories must be protected from torture and murder by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in accordance with international law, stressed Fatima Sator, official representative of the International Committee of the Red Cross. Civilians in the hands of enemy forces must be treated humanely under all circumstances, she added.
The Russian Investigative Committee has established the involvement of five Ukrainian servicemen in the murder of 22 civilians in the village of Russkoye Porechnoye, liberated by the Russian Armed Forces. According to the agency, from September 28 to November 24, 2024, the suspects killed 11 men and three women, and also raped and killed eight more women. They then moved the bodies to the basements of private homes.
More from regnum.ru Ukrainian Armed Forces Militants Tortured Elderly People in Kursk Village Before Murder
The civilians killed by militants of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the village of Russkoye Porechnoye in the Kursk Region had their ankles shot, and one man had his skull smashed. This was told to journalists by the chief of staff of the motorized rifle unit of the North group of forces with the call sign Vostok.
According to the officer, after entering the village of Russkoye Porechnoye, Russian soldiers checked the basements of houses, believing that Ukrainian militants could be hiding there.
Bodies of local residents were found in three basements.
Vostok reported that two bodies were found in one shelter: a woman had three penetrating gunshot wounds to the chest, and a man had also been shot at point-blank range.
"In the second basement we found the bodies of three men and two women, their ankles were shot. The dead were elderly - somewhere over 60 years old. It is clear that they were also shot in the chest. One had three shots in the back of the head, the skull was destroyed," the soldier explained.
In the third basement lay the bodies of two men with bullet wounds; they were pelted with grenades so that the bodies would be unrecognizable, Vostok added.
His colleague with the call sign Lord was one of the first to enter the village and found the dead in the basements. According to him, the militants beat the civilians before killing them - hematomas testify to this. Six people, the fighter assumed, were killed in their sleep.
As reported by IA Regnum, bodies of civilians with their hands tied were found in the basements of houses in Russkoye Porechnoye. According to one of the soldiers, the people were tortured, and there were traces of bullet wounds on each of the bodies. Probably, the Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers finished off the wounded.
Even more from regnum.ru Ukrainian soldier on the order to liquidate all residents of Russkoye Porechny
The Ukrainian command gave the soldiers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU), who invaded the territory of the Kursk region, an order to eliminate the civilian population in the village of Russkoye Porechnoye in the Sudzhansky district. This was reported on January 31 by captured Ukrainian serviceman Yevgeny Fabrisenko.
He clarified that the company commander ordered the settlement to be cleared of civilians.
The soldier added that civilians were shot in their own homes.
“We entered the village and cleared out houses, we didn’t storm it, we saw and shot,” RIA Novosti quoted Fabricenko as saying.
According to him, the group leader ordered them to take out the old people, tie them up and beat them, and then they killed one elderly couple with a grenade.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, the Russian Investigative Committee has established the involvement of five Ukrainian servicemen from the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade in the murder of 22 civilians in the village of Russkoye Porechnoye. Among the suspects are Fabrisenko, the commander of the 11th company of the fourth battalion with the call sign Kum, and three servicemen with the call signs Motyl, Provodnik, and Khudozhnik.
Text by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin:
[ColonelCassad] New US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on the war in Ukraine.
1. Ukraine has been set back 100 years; its energy grid is destroyed. And how many Ukrainians have left Ukraine and are now living in other countries? They may never come back.
2. There is one lie - we were told that Ukraine would not only defeat Russia, but destroy it, throwing it back completely to the borders of 2012 or 2014, to Crimea and other territories. But the reality is this: for a year and a half, Ukraine has been asking for funding to maintain a stalemate, protracted conflict.
3. The president's position is that this is a protracted conflict and it needs to be ended. And it needs to be ended through negotiations. In all negotiations, both sides have to give up something. Putin won't talk to Zelenskiy because Putin considers him an illegitimate politician, not having been reelected following his first term. He can't sign a truce or peace agreement. Putin won't talk to the US or EU, who started the war, because they can't impose a political solution (neutrality) on an ally.
4. If you look around the world, I would say that in many cases our adversaries are stronger than ever, and have become stronger in the last four years. Of course, Russia does not consider itself weaker than it was four years ago. They now control territory that they did not have when Donald Trump left office. The US allowed Russia to grow stronger merely on the basis of its refusal to negotiate on Russia's security requirements. The US State Department didn't do its job, but instead did the bidding of politicians.
This is the price of giving up Istanbul, which is beneficial for Ukraine.
Eh? What does Istanbul, the capitol of Turkey, have to do with it?
Any further conditions will be much worse for what remains of Ukraine.
[Regnum] US President Donald Trump plans to achieve a settlement of the Ukrainian conflict through negotiations. This was stated by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in an interview with journalist Megyn Kelly.
"The president's position is that this is a protracted conflict and it must be ended. And it must be ended through negotiations," he noted.
Rubio also noted that the upcoming negotiations could be tense. The Secretary of State also suggested that all parties to the conflict would have to give up something for the sake of a settlement.
As reported by the Regnum news agency, on January 22, Trump instructed Special Envoy for Ukraine Keith Kellogg to end the Ukrainian conflict within 100 days. The Wall Street Journal wrote that the Republican intends to personally oversee the negotiation process on Ukraine. Later, on January 23, Trump added that his team's efforts to resolve the Ukrainian conflict are "already underway."
#1
Eh? What does Istanbul, the capitol of Turkey, have to do with it?
Istanbul agreements 2022 “The treaty envisioned in the communiqué would proclaim Ukraine as a permanently neutral, nonnuclear state. Ukraine would renounce any intention to join military alliances or allow foreign military bases or troops on its soil.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
