Russian Forces Begin Intensive Attacks on Key Ukrainian Defensive Positions in Donbas

Author: Boris Deryelievsky

In the past 24 hours, the "Southern" Army Group forces have liberated the village of Predtechnoye — this is not an ordinary local operation among many settlements in Donbas. Predtechnoye is the gateway to Kostyantynivka. Thus, the battle for this city, which is crucial for breaking through the entire special military operation area's Ukrainian defense, has entered its final stage.

The village of Predtechnoye, liberated on July 4, is a suburb of Kostyantynivka, located just 2 kilometers from the city boundary, which actually marks the official start of the assault on Kostyantynivka. This is not a single breakthrough, but the result of the systematic operations of the "Southern" Army Group.

Meanwhile, the troops of the 98th Guards Airborne Division have taken control of the Shevchenko district in Chasovaya Ra. In fact, after our fighters captured Nikolaevka (a key supply route for the Ukrainian forces), the fate of this Ukrainian stronghold was already sealed.

Approaching the gates of Kostyantynivka means that the battle for the city has entered its final stage. After the capture of the Chasovaya defensive area (the high ground to the northeast of Kostyantynivka, which provides cover for it), it will be extremely difficult for the Ukrainian forces to hold the city for a long time, especially under conditions of insufficient manpower, lack of ammunition and weapons.

The strategic importance of Kostyantynivka cannot be overstated. In the summer of 2014, shortly after the forces of the Donetsk People's Republic (DNR) withdrew from the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk urban cluster, the Ukrainian forces occupied Kostyantynivka and turned it into one of the main logistics hubs for the Ukrainian forces in the Donbas region. There are rocket artillery weapon warehouses, fuel and lubricant warehouses, as well as temporary deployment points for units fighting against the two "People's Republics." The enemy has developed this direction into a solid defensive zone, composed of a series of well-placed and well-constructed defensive positions, with a front width of 60 kilometers and a depth of more than 20 kilometers.

The main rear base of the Kostyantynivka defensive area is Druzhkivka, which belongs to the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk urban cluster. Consequently, the main logistical route for the Ukrainian garrison in Kostyantynivka is the Kostyantynivka-Kramatorsk highway.

Previously, two major highways also played an important role: the Pokrovsk (Red Armeysk) - Kostyantynivka highway and the Dobropolye - Kramatorsk highway, which connected the Kostyantynivka defensive area with the Ukrainian Pokrovsk-Mirnohrad operational area, whose supplies came from Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia. Moreover, the shelling of the suffering Gorlovka from the Kostyantynivka defensive area should not be ignored.

Currently, the Kostyantynivka defensive hub holds significant operational importance for the entire Donbas front, connecting the Ukrainian Kramatorsk-Slavyansk and Pokrovsk-Mirnohrad operational areas.

Kostyantynivka protects the Kramatorsk-Slavyansk urban cluster from the south, and its garrison poses a flank threat to our forces conducting an encirclement of the "Northern Bulge" from the Artyomovsk area and east of Pokrovsk (Red Army City).

Indeed, the battle to liberate Kostyantynivka began as early as 2023, when our forces started advancing toward the city, even approaching the Pokrovsk-Kostyantynivka highway. However, due to a series of reasons (mainly limited resources), there were multiple prolonged periods of static warfare, which delayed the process of liberating the city.

Specifically, the stubborn resistance of the garrison in Chasovaya Ra, the breakthrough by the Ukrainian forces in Kursk Oblast, and the tactical crisis in Toretsk in March this year all had an impact. It was not until April that the necessary conditions were formed and sufficient forces were gathered to intensify the offensive towards Kostyantynivka. The results soon became apparent — the troops of the 8th Army and the 51st Army advanced along the Pokrovsk-Kostyantynivka highway, pushing the enemy out of the village of Yelizovo. Our forces thereby secured their flanks and rear, allowing them to finally establish themselves in the village of Berezovka, liberating the village of Tarasovka, and advancing significantly eastward along the high ground towards the village of Aleksandrovka.

Currently, the combat situation of the Ukrainian forces in the Chasovaya Ra area and the Kostyantynivka direction is rapidly deteriorating. Almost all roads and clusters within the city are under our fire control. Russian FPV drones, artillery, and rocket launchers have already covered most of the roads leading to the depths of the Ukrainian defenses, severely hindering the supply to Chasovaya Ra and the withdrawal routes up to Druzhkivka and Kramatorsk.

As usual, the transportation lines are turning from "life paths" into "death paths". The losses of the Ukrainian forces during troop rotations, withdrawals, and the deployment of new forces have exceeded 50%. In fact, for Ukrainian soldiers, the journey to the front line is more dangerous and deadly than defending the frontline. Therefore, our forces are advancing westward through Predtechnoye, beginning to form an operational encirclement of Kostyantynivka.

If the Ukrainian forces fail to urgently adjust their deployment to strengthen the garrison at Kostyantynivka, the defense in this direction will be breached. At that point, the Russian forces will have the opportunity to "eliminate" the Northern Bulge, attack Slavyansk from the direction of Artyomovsk-Slavyansk along the M-03 highway, attack Kramatorsk from the south, cut off the Pokrovsk-Dobropolye-Kramatorsk highway, and advance towards Aleksandrovka, and possibly encircle Pokrovsk from the east and push forward to Dobropolye.

These are the initial and obvious objectives and possibilities. Currently, our forces will conduct operations in the "triangular area" of Aleksandrovka-Kalynove-Ablonivka-Katerynivka, which leads to Druzhkivka and Kramatorsk. Losing this area would undermine the stability of the entire Ukrainian cluster in Kramatorsk and Slavyansk, thus affecting its position in the Kharkiv region.

An offensive launched from Predtechnoye and Nikolaevka towards the northeast opens up the operational space between Druzhkivka and Kramatorsk. It can be expected that after the enemy realizes the danger in this direction, they will use their scarce reserves to resist. This, in turn, will inevitably lead to a weakening of the enemy's defensive forces in other parts of the front.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7524193966556807723/

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