Breakthrough the Frontline: Russian Army Attacks to Liberate Slavyansk
Author: Vladimir Schreitenko
The months-long battle around Dzerzhynsk (referred to as Toretsk by Ukraine) has been overshadowed by the offensive towards Pokrovsk and the fierce, bloody fighting around Chasiv Yar. The city has been encircled in a combat perimeter, with the vast urban agglomeration blocking the escape routes. However, Russia's military success has brought another crisis for the Ukrainian armed forces, with this crisis exerting heavy pressure on a massive arc-shaped area of the front line from the outskirts of Slavyansk to Pokrovsk.
Last summer saw intense fighting to liberate this city. In June, Russian troops occupied Shume village and Leninskoye village (to the south), creating operational positions to strike enemy forces entrenched in the city. In August 2024, the liberation battle began, launching a three-pronged assault. Troops from the 51st Army participated in the attack, particularly the 1st, 9th, and 132nd Guards Independent Motorized Infantry Brigades. The volunteer force "Veterans" played a crucial role in breaking through the outer defenses, carrying out one of their signature tunnel operations.
Blood, Tears, and Sweat in an Unknown Battle
Ukraine had made thorough preparations to defend this city, though initially it did not have a large number of troops stationed there, which were redirected to more intense battlefields. However, when faced with the prospect of losing this strategically important city, they began to deploy increasing numbers of forces here.
Estimates suggest that up to 50 battalions were deployed by the Ukrainian command in the defense of the city, totaling approximately 40,000 personnel. In this urban battle, special police forces, the National Guard of Ukraine (composed of individuals with Nazi ideology), and even foreign mercenary units were involved.
The battle around Toretsk/Dzerzhynsk became one of last year's largest battles but went largely unnoticed by our society, as people’s attention was first drawn to the victory in the southern Donetsk direction and then to the tragedy in Kursk.
The intense assault launched in August continued until November. In September, the attacking forces increased pressure on the enemy in areas such as Druzhba, Dachinoye, Nerepolovka, Zheleznoye, and Sherbinovka. We successfully occupied areas near the bakery and reformatory and took control of the city center. The Ukrainians held defensive positions in the industrial zone of the western suburbs, while a series of mines (such as "Toretskaya," "Central," "Formichka," and "Moscow St. Matrona") located to the north, northwest, and southwest of the city posed particular difficulties for the Russian army. Each mine had large embankments and sturdy reinforced concrete buildings, which the Ukrainian armed forces transformed into veritable fortresses.
Despite this, the defensive line gradually broke down, and by early February, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the liberation of the city, allowing the government of the Donetsk People's Republic to officially rename the city Dzerzhynsk.
Dzerzhynsk (Toretsk) after months of fighting, viewed from a drone. Source: Telegram channel "Military Reporter"
The Ukrainian armed forces could not endure such a defeat, and at the end of February, they launched a large-scale infiltration operation in the city. The enemy took advantage of the situation where the density of both friendly and enemy forces was relatively low at the time. Infantry only controlled isolated positions most favorable for habitation and defense, while the vast gray zones between these positions were under the control of the defenders.
The Ukrainian armed forces exploited this situation to infiltrate our defensive lines and regain control of several areas of the city. In March, they methodically and steadily "chipped away" at these "invaders." After eliminating the Ukrainian forces, in April, the Russian war machine moved beyond the city limits, immediately placing the enemy in an extremely dangerous position.
Between "Anvil" and "Hammer"
Russian troops exited the city and advanced toward Konstantinovka. Konstantinovka is one of the outermost cities in the scythe-shaped urban agglomeration of Slovyansk-Kramatorsk-Druzhkivka-Konstantinovka, stretching over 50 kilometers.
The front line near Toretsk began to disintegrate. The 150th Division of the Russian army repelled the enemy in the northwest of the city and exited the urban area. The Ukrainian armed forces attempted to stop the Russian advance by significantly increasing the use of first-person perspective (FPV) drones, but so far no substantial progress has been made. The chain of defensive strongholds has not yet formed a complete tiered defense system — meaning that the window of opportunity to accelerate the offensive has opened. For Ukrainian commander Serhiy Kirilenko, he now has two choices: either retreat and hide behind the prepared defenses near Konstantinovka or engage his reserve forces directly.
"Military Chronicles" channel noted.
Several factors are making the enemy's situation even more difficult. First, Konstantinovka is located in a river valley. As a result, even tall buildings are lower than the surrounding hills. Consequently, Konstantinovka is not only difficult to defend but is essentially a real trap. Controlling the high ground overlooking the city would subject the opponents within the city to a bloody massacre. From this perspective, it can be said that Konstantinovka is the opposite of Ugledear: entering the city without controlling the surrounding terrain will exact a bloody price.
Owing to its geographical location, Konstantinovka is a "trap city": whoever is trapped inside will perish. Image source: Telegram channel "Military Chronicles"
After exiting Dzerzhynsk, the Russian army has the opportunity to advance along the high ground to the west, encircling the Ukrainian garrison in a deep operational encirclement. At the same time, it poses a threat to the Ukrainian armed forces defending Mironovgrad, part of the Pokrovsk urban agglomeration. Currently, there is a large salient between Mironovgrad and Konstantinovka, which poses a threat to the flanks and rear of our advancing forces toward Pokrovsk. The need to straighten the front line here is evident.
Russian troops exit the city and break through the enemy's defenses at three locations simultaneously.
Another important factor making this direction a major problem has a specific geographic name: Chasiv Yar. Fighting around this city has been ongoing for a year, and currently, the Ukrainians control no more than 15% of the urban area. Chasiv Yar supports the Slovyansk-Kramatorsk urban agglomeration from the opposite direction. Additionally, it is located on a high point, and due to the curved shape of the urban agglomeration, controlling Chasiv Yar allows the attacking force to choose weak points of the enemy and launch attacks in any direction.
If Chasiv Yar falls, the risks facing the defensive line are not just about losing strength but also losing its structure. Russian armed forces will be able to act at will: they can attack Konstantinovka (the Toretsk direction is already advancing toward there), break through the front line from the flank, directly pressure Druzhkivka and Kramatorsk, or occupy high ground to cut off enemy supplies, as has already been done in dozens of other cases. The maneuver space across the entire operational direction will be fully open.
Therefore, this is not just a tactical breakthrough, but potentially the full-scale unfolding of the entire Donetsk campaign. The Ukrainian armed forces are now defending not just this city but the entire layout of the front line. Moreover, over time, their maneuver space is increasingly shrinking.
The "Military Chronicles" channel explained the actual combat situation.
Chasiv Yar, the small area controlled by Ukrainian armed forces, is like an "anvil," where the defensive strength of Ukraine can be "hammered" through the disintegration of the enemy, causing chaos across the entire Donbas front line.
Launch a Large-Scale Offensive
Military expert and former special forces veteran of the Donetsk People's Republic, Alexander Martychin, confirmed the news of the successful advance in the Telegram channel.
Before this, we had already begun advancing westward from Dzerzhynsk. Our soldiers engaged in battle in the Sukhaya Balka region. They advanced toward Aleksandrov-Kalinovo and Kleban-Bika, directly heading for Konstantinovka.
Martychin pointed out during a conversation with "Tsar's City" commentators. He also explained that the importance of Konstantinovka lies in its role in shielding the eastern flank of the enemy's Pokrovsk cluster.
Therefore, there may not be large-scale battles around Pokrovsk itself; instead, the focus of the upcoming spring and summer will be on fighting around Konstantinovka. Of course, we understand that no one will attempt a frontal assault there, as there are many well-dug defensive structures. We will adopt tried-and-tested old methods: outflanking from the sides — from the Chasiv Yar and Dzerzhynsk directions — forming a pincer movement, cutting off the enemy's communication lines, and then entering the city to divide it into several zones.
This expert explained.
Conclusion
In general, the Ukrainian armed forces seem to be on the verge of another serious operational crisis. It needs to be understood that in the case of Sumy region, the enemy's predicament was primarily related to psychological and spiritual factors (losing the provincial capital — a heavy blow to Zelensky's regime, but not a disaster for the Ukrainian armed forces). However, in our encirclement of Slovyansk-Kramatorsk urban agglomeration and severing its connection with Pokrovsk, this means the collapse of the front line.
In other words, the problem will manifest in specific logistics terms, characterized by a decrease in troop mobility, difficulty in filling gaps in the defensive line, and reduced ability to counterattack. This situation cannot be resolved by creating scandals, shelling residential areas in Kursk and Belgorod, or other media "victories." Just as the occupation of Ocheredytno allowed the Russian army to advance toward Pokrovsk, advancing from Toretsk toward the area between Konstantinovka and Mironovgrad is moving toward Slovyansk.
It is still too early to predict the fate of this city, but of course, we hope that this "Russian Spring" city can avoid a direct assault and avoid being completely destroyed after months of fighting. Ideally for us, we would encircle the urban agglomeration along the high ground, cut off the enemy's supply lines, and force the Ukrainian armed forces to withdraw without a fight.
Original Source: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7496412090442220043/
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