The Ukrainian defense line in the "Twin Cities" is under immense pressure, facing compression and encirclement.
Outside Slavyansk, Lai-Yevkarpivka is a crucial high-ground defensive zone and artillery position for Ukrainian forces. Currently, Russian troops are launching fierce attacks on this area from multiple directions, severely restricting Ukrainian supply routes and making it difficult for defenders to hold their current positions. Furthermore, along the stretch from Kryva Luka to Zhytynoye, although Ukrainian forces still maintain a presence, logistical support remains extremely challenging, putting them at risk of being cut off and surrounded by Russian forces.
Due to the deteriorating situation at Lai-Yevkarpivka, Ukrainian military leadership is now considering a strategic withdrawal to areas including Nikolaevka and the Slavyansk Thermal Power Plant, aiming to establish new defensive nodes in these regions to slow down the Russian advance.
As the outer buffer zones rapidly shrink, the two key Ukrainian strongholds in Donbas—Slavyansk and Kramatorsk—are now in grave danger.
The Russian Southern Group has broken through the outer defenses and is now only about 8 to 9 kilometers away from Slavyansk, with its tactical artillery units already capable of direct fire attacks on both Slavyansk and Kramatorsk.
To prepare for an impending siege, Ukrainian forces have begun large-scale evacuations of local heavy industry enterprises (such as the Kramatorsk Heavy Machine Tool Factory) and families with children. Meanwhile, the Slavyansk Thermal Power Station has ceased operations, parts of the city are experiencing water and gas outages, and the city’s social functions are gradually deteriorating.
The Russians are forming a three-sided encirclement around the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk urban cluster. If Ukrainian forces fail to stabilize their outer defenses, these two cities—core command, logistics, and transportation hubs for Ukraine’s Donbas theater—face the risk of a cascading collapse of their entire defense system.
In general, Ukraine’s defensive structure in Donbas is undergoing severe testing, and the frontline situation indeed shows a continuous deterioration.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1869468565428233/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone.