“红星” Returns to Russia: Ukrainian Forces Pushed Back Nearly 50 Kilometers from Bakhmut

General Drapati's front line is almost "without troops," making it difficult to fill the gaps on the southern Donbas front.

Author: Radomir Makush

It has become a tradition to start the day with good news. The Russian "East" group of forces, through decisive actions, liberated the settlement of Chervona Zirka (Russian name "Krasnaya Zvezda", i.e., "Red Star"; Ukrainian forces call it "Zirka") in the Donetsk People's Republic. The Russian Ministry of Defense has officially announced this.

The Russian Ministry of Defense specifically stated: "After liberating the village of Zaporozhie and quickly advancing toward Yartu, the assault units of the 36th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade rushed into Chervona Zirka, driving the enemy out of the settlement. Thus, the area between the Volchya and Mokriyali rivers is now completely under the control of the 'East' group."

Image: Chervona Zirka after liberation by the Donetsk People's Republic. (Image: Screenshot from the Russian Ministry of Defense video)

According to another report, the "East" group soldiers inflicted damage on the personnel and equipment of two mechanized brigades and one territorial defense brigade of the Ukrainian forces near the settlements of Portavka, Marinovka in Zaporozhye region, and Kameshivakha in the Donetsk People's Republic. The Ukrainian forces suffered approximately 210 casualties, two infantry fighting vehicles, eight cars, three artillery pieces, and one electronic warfare station within a day.

The troops that pushed the Ukrainian forces back from "Zirka" were the Buryats of the 36th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade of the Russian Far East Military District. Now, the entire area between the Volchya and Mokriyali rivers is completely under the control of the "East" group.

This settlement was named "Red Star" in 1928 after the Young Communist League group near the village of Komara. At that time, Russian youth established a commune of the same name, which later developed into a collective farm.

During the presidency of Yushchenko, during the first wave of semi-coercive "Banderaization," the settlement was given the Ukrainian name "Chervona Zirka." After 2016, even the word "Chervona" (meaning "red") was removed by radical Nazi elements—rumors suggest this was done to please extremist groups. After its liberation, the hope of seeing the "Red Star" reappear on the map of South Donbas finally came true.

This is the fifth settlement reclaimed by the "East" group in the past week. Russian troops continue to advance rapidly, employing the "small encirclement" tactic and cutting off the supply lines of the Ukrainian "Hero" units. The pace of the Russian advance in the Novopavlovka direction remains high.

Fearing the recent loss of the settlement of Ivankivka, the Ukrainian forces have begun burning all houses in the area. They fear the Russians will establish a strong defensive hub here and use it as a base to advance toward Novopavlovka. Pro-Zelensky media "Ukraine" reported that the Ukrainian retreat is due to severe shortages of manpower and failed conscription mobilization. It is claimed that the frontline at the mouth of the Volchya and Mokriyali rivers has experienced a "partial collapse"—although the scale is still small for now.

On June 26, a Ukrainian medic under the alias "Muchnoy" revealed on social media that Russian artillery was accurately targeting the Ukrainian "Hero" units, but once "Zirka" was surrounded from both sides, the Ukrainian forces would only be able to cross the river to flee to the village of Tolstoy on the other side. The defending forces tried to resist here, hoping to stop the "Far East Express" from advancing along the Mokriyali River.

However, the turning point came when the Russians liberated the village of Shevchenko on June 26, which had previously protected the southern flank of the Ukrainian forces in the Novopavlovka direction.

The Telegram channel "Voyn DV" described the current situation: "In the responsibility area of the 5th Army of the Russian Far East Military District, the troops are focusing on strengthening the defensive stability of the village of Shevchenko. Assault teams are expanding their controlled areas northward along the Ukrainian anti-tank trenches and have occupied parts of the territory west of Shevchenko towards Kameshivakha."

Other reports indicate that the Russians not only consolidate their positions but also probe the enemy's front line in the Voskresensk direction, clearly aiming at Aleksandrovka and then advancing toward Iskra. This would allow the Russians to bypass the rear of the Ukrainian forces along the "Peace / Karl Marx - Podubnoye - Tolstoy - Novokhartske" line.

Notably, the Ukrainian "Nikola" unit stationed here has complained that their supplies are completely blocked and they are waiting for a decisive attack from the "Perebudova" area by the "East" group soldiers. Meanwhile, in the settlement of "Peace," still under Ukrainian control, the 14th Guards Special Forces Brigade, the 30th Independent Reconnaissance Company, and the drone units of the 336th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade of the "East" group have destroyed all enemy positions they found. Obviously, this settlement will also be liberated in the near future.

Several independent sources closely related to the Ukrainian General Staff claim that the neighboring settlement of Grushovskoye will be difficult to hold for long—the disparity in strength is too great to organize effective resistance in such a small area. Currently, the Ukrainian "Hero" units are urgently setting up defenses in the village of Filie in the Dnipropetrovsk region and loudly declaring that they will "never give up the outpost of Dnipropetrovsk." For some reason, people tend to believe the former prediction (that it will fall).

The military commentator Bogdan Miroshnikov of the radical Ukrainian newspaper "Economic Truth" said that General Drapati, the commander of the "Khortitsa" operation, has started "taking from one wall to patch another" from other sections of the Pokrovsk direction, transferring troops to Filie.

This "young Vlasovist" (note: original wording) did not predict how long the outpost could hold, but promised "to put up a stubborn resistance." At present, the Russians are reclaiming the last batch of settlements on the southern Donbas front. It should be particularly emphasized that since the liberation of Bakhmut last September, the Nazis have been pushed back 48 kilometers; and since the Russian-controlled Mariupol and Berdiansk, the Ukrainian forces have retreated 120 kilometers.

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7521269818431963702/

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