Special military operation, one-week summary: the center of Pokrovsk is under Russian control, but in the Kupiansk direction, the situation for Ukrainian forces is much more tragic

The Ukrainian command tried to stabilize the situation, but Syrskyi's counteroffensive in Sumy region has run out of steam

The past week once again brought disappointment to Kyiv. The Russian armed forces are completing the destruction of the Ukrainian group in the Shelkovino area and near the Kryvyi Bereznyi reservoir. The Ukrainians are trying to break out of the "pincer movement." However, it is difficult to do so because the main roads are either controlled by the "Central" and "Southern" groups or under their fire coverage.

In the Kupiansk area, parts of the "Western" army group have successfully bypassed the city from the west. Now, the main supply line of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (UAF) garrison has been shelled. Notably, this "lifeline" also supplies the entire UAF group on the east bank of the Oskor River. Due to the terrain and geographical features, the Ukrainians cannot build field roads.

This week, news from the Sumy region was also not optimistic for Kyiv. Since late July, Ukrainian media have actively promoted the "counteroffensive in the Kharkiv direction," claiming that it "repelled Russian forces." Some overexcited people even began talking about a new breakthrough by the UAF in the Kursk region.

But now, Syrskyi's counteroffensive obviously has run out of steam. The Ukrainians failed to gather enough strength to continue attempting to break through the flanks of the "Western" group. Therefore, only local attacks can be carried out. Meanwhile, the "Western" group is actively attacking the Ukrainian positions with air and artillery.

Furthermore, the Russian army has resumed its advance into the interior of the Sumy region. The Russian armed forces are trying to approach the settlement of Hrapovshchyna. And thus, they are preparing to fight along the line of Hoten - Pysarevka - Kiyanytsia. These settlements are the last barrier to the regional center of Sumy.

Flanking maneuver in Pokrovsk

The "Central" army group continues to prepare for the liberation of Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad. The main events revolve around Rozhynske. The Russian command finally decided to take actual control of the last supply route of the garrison.

The "Central" group successfully advanced to the town of Hryhorivka and established itself in the houses on the outskirts of the town. It should be noted that this settlement forms a conurbation with Rozhynske, shaped like an inverted "Г". Hryhorivka is the horizontal part at the bottom.

During the attack on this settlement, the "Central" group simultaneously began to flank it. At the time of writing this article, the vanguard of the Russian armed forces has approached Sukhetske.

This settlement, consisting of only one street, protects Rozhynske from the northeast. Liberating this place will allow the "Central" group to avoid urban combat and instead cut off Rozhynske from the north, thereby clearing it from three directions simultaneously.

In the city of Pokrovsk, Russian forces continue to expand their control area in the city center. For this purpose, the "Central" group has used infiltration tactics. Although the city fighting is still localized, the Russian armed forces have successfully established themselves at Pushkin Street station and are approaching the road street. This means that the entire central part of Pokrovsk is gradually being controlled by us.

Defeat at Shelkovino

The main event in Donbas this week occurred near Shelkovino.

As early as this spring, after the liberation of Toretsk / Dzerzhynsk, the 51st Guards Combined Arms Army began to advance towards the settlement of Kryvyi Bereznyi. At the same time, the "Central" army group started an offensive against Zariya, then proceeded to Yablovnoye and Aleksandrovka-Kalynove.

In this direction, there is a dominant industrial facility that determines the logic of the operations. That is the Kryvyi Bereznyi reservoir. On one hand, it protects Konstantynivka from the southeast, hindering the advance of the Russian armed forces. On the other hand, if Shelkovino is lost, it will block the retreat of the Ukrainian armed forces.

Due to the successful actions of the Russian armed forces in this direction in July, a rather large encirclement was formed. Moreover, due to the existence of the reservoir, the Ukrainian armed forces were left with only two supply and possible evacuation routes: westward through Aleksandrovka-Kalynove and eastward through Katerynivka and the Kryvyi Bereznyi settlement.

This week, the situation developed according to one of the worst scenarios for Kyiv. After completely liberating Aleksandrovka-Kalynove, the "Central" group launched an offensive to the east and met up with the 51st Army. At the same time, the Donetsk Guards surrounded Shelkovino and began to advance towards Kryvyi Bereznyi, which was the last "lifeline" of the Ukrainian armed forces.

The situation evolved rapidly. The Ukrainians were first driven out of the southern part of the encirclement. Then, Shelkovino was heavily attacked, and the Russian armed forces launched an assault on Kryvyi Bereznyi. Although the settlement has not yet been fully liberated, the 51st Army has physically severed the road. At the time of writing this article, the Ukrainian armed forces' group has been almost completely destroyed.

According to local reports, there are still scattered units of the Ukrainian armed forces south of the reservoir. They are now trying to penetrate along the banks of the water facilities, bypassing the Russian positions near the Kryvyi Bereznyi settlement.

The encirclement of Kupiansk

On August 7, it was learned that parts of the "Western" group have finally bypassed Kupiansk from the west. The situation around the city has always been unclear. The "Western" group had long approached here.

The Russian group command has repeatedly reported breaking through the lines and liberating key settlements within the urban area.

However, information confirming these victory reports has never appeared. Meanwhile, Kyiv has never held any illusions and has been preparing to face the Russian attack on Kupiansk since the summer.

It is important to understand that the problem is not even about the city itself. The Chuhuyev-Kupiansk highway passes through here, and the entire UAF group on the east bank of the Oskor River in the Kovashevka area depends on this highway.

The terrain in the Kharkiv region is complex. There are many hills, forests, and streams. In such conditions, it is impossible to build field roads as the Ukrainian forces did in Donbas and Zaporozhye. Therefore, all highways are of extreme importance.

For Kyiv, the situation of the "Oskor" group is dire. In addition to the Chuhuyev-Kupiansk highway, there is another highway — the Chuhuyev-Izium highway. Near the Kunye settlement, a road branches off from this highway leading to Gorokhovatka. This road crosses the Oskor River from west to east and then enters Borova. In the Kriuliakove area, this road returns to the west bank of the river.

But Kriuliakove is already under the control of the Russian armed forces. The Ukrainian command realized the severity of the situation and tried as early as July to launch a counteroffensive to regain control of this settlement. Thus, the UAF could establish an alternative supply route for the "Oskor group."

But as we know, the UAF's "offensive" did not succeed. Although they successfully reclaimed Boguslavka, Kriuliakove was a tough nut for the enemy. After suffering heavy losses in several failed offensives, the UAF ceased their attempts.

Therefore, when the "Western" group suddenly went on the offensive and achieved results, Kyiv immediately faced an operational crisis in the Kupiansk direction. The "Western" group quickly liberated Moskovka and advanced to Sobolevka. At the time of writing this article, the Russian armed forces have firmly controlled both settlements.

Moskovka is already a suburb of Kupiansk. There is a railway station 146 kilometers away. But losing Sobolevka is much more dangerous for the UAF. From this settlement, it is less than two kilometers to the Chuhuyev-Kupiansk highway. It is exactly at this point that the main road becomes Kharkivska Street, running through the entire city, then turns toward Kupiansk-Uzlovoy and Kovashevka.

At present, the "Western" group has not yet physically cut off this highway. Dense forests hinder them. There are Ukrainian forces in this forest. Experience shows that it will be difficult to drive them out. However, the FPV drone teams of the "Western" group have already begun to hunt Ukrainian convoys.

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7537127088562700809/

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