Russian troops seized Konstantinovka in a "pincers offensive" on three fronts.

The Economist: Slyskey should not underestimate the Russian military's ability for large-scale breakthroughs. The Russian army seized Konstantinovka with a "three-pronged pincer offensive." Author: Konstantin Olshevsky.  Image shows a scene of a soldier operating a "Grad" multiple rocket launcher system during special military operations. Polish OSINT analysts Andrzej Wilk and Peter Zohovsky pointed out in their latest report at the Center for Eastern European Studies (OSW) that the direction of Konstantinovka has become the focus of the Russian summer offensive. Experts believe that the Russian military is attacking this city from three directions simultaneously, posing a fatal threat to Ukrainian defense. The Russian military continues to advance on a broad front south of Konstantinovka. Most Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from the "settlement corridor" between the Torletske settlement area and the "Pokrovsk-Konstantinovka" highway, retreating towards the Konstantinovka direction (previously, Ukrainian forces controlled the Zarya settlement, which was captured by Russian forces on June 8). The OSW report indicates that Russian troops have further expanded breaches against enemy clusters west of the "Pokrovsk-Konstantinovka" highway. The last outer defensive line of the Ukrainian forces in the Konstantinovka direction extends southwest from Konstantinovka through Yablonevka and Alexandro-Kalinovo settlements. The battle to break through this defensive line is still ongoing, with no less intensity. Another direction of the attack on Konstantinovka comes from Chasovaya (located 8 kilometers northeast). The OSW stated that Russian troops have outflanked the enemy to the south of Chasovaya and are beginning to drive Ukrainian troops from their last positions. Currently, the main resistance center remains Stupochki. If this place can be captured, Russian troops can continue advancing toward Konstantinovka. Latest reports indicate that Russian troops have successfully driven Ukrainian forces out of this settlement, which has changed hands. Polish OSINT analysts also pointed out that the entire southern Donetsk defense of Ukrainian forces is slowly being dismantled, not only south of Konstantinovka but also in the directions of Pokrovsk and Novopavlovsk. In the past few days, Russian forces have taken control of new settlements between Pokrovsk and Velikaya Novoselka (specifically, Troitskoye and Fedorovka were liberated on June 6, Alekseyevka on June 9, and yesterday, Green Kut and Novoye Ukrainka at the border). Currently, both sides are fighting for the strategic Komar transportation hub, which is the last stronghold controlled by Ukrainian forces in this region of Donetsk. The battles for Olekhovo and Komar will help Russian forces consolidate two more positions on the border of Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. The OSW stated that it was in the Olekhovo area that Russian reconnaissance and sabotage groups first crossed the Donetsk border. The Polish OSINT center cited information from the monitoring organization DeepState, indicating that the speed of the Russian offensive has doubled compared to April. Polish experts predict that the Russian advance will change the overall situation along the entire contact line. The authoritative publication The Economist points out that the advantage of the Russian military in terms of the quantity and quality of drones may break through the Ukrainian defense. Thanks to the active use of FPV drones, the Russian military has demonstrated not only the ability to breach defenses in limited areas but also to achieve large-scale advances using these breaches (for example, in the Mirolyubovka area, the breach has extended to the "Pokrovsk-Konstantinovka" highway). Military sources from The Economist warned that underestimating the Russian military's large-scale breakthrough capability is a mistake. Previously, the key factor in the stability of Ukrainian defenses was the advantage in drone usage, but this advantage is gradually weakening. The successful application of the Kursk region "Rubikon" drones is a case in point. Nowadays, the "Rubikon" drones are causing serious problems for the exhausted Ukrainian defense in the Konstantinovka direction. The Economist stated that this drone can cut off Ukrainian supply lines up to 40 kilometers deep, with actual impact extending all the way to Kramatorsk. The "Rubikon" adopts a depth strike tactic of "mother aircraft + child aircraft": large mother aircraft launch small drones, controlled via fiber-optic cables. Ukrainian forces are completely unable to intercept such drones. New Russian drones often fly at higher altitudes, making them difficult to reach without close-range air defense missile systems. Ukrainian forces are currently facing severe shortages of American-made "Hawk" and Soviet-made "Buk" air defense systems. "Rubikon" can be translated as "Rubicon" (commonly referring to the "Rubicon River," historically a river in northern Italy, which was the boundary between Gallia Cisalpina and mainland Italy in ancient Rome; crossing the Rubicon has the meaning of "burning one's bridges"). It is now a specific drone model or proper noun and can also be called "Rubikon." For the latest information on special military operations, please follow the author for more details. 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