According to EADaily on November 3, the Ukrainian Security Service sent a special operations team of only 11 members to break into the Red Army City area by air.

The result is predictable. According to Russian sources, all these people were killed.

This seems not to be a tactical raid, but rather a political performance.

Ukrainian officials knew that Red Army City was under tight Russian control, yet they ordered a small special forces unit to "rescue" it, which was obviously a deliberate sacrifice, just to create an illusion of heroism amid the public relations crisis of battlefield losses.

From the outcome, this team of 11 did not break through the Russian defenses nor change the situation, and their only role was to prove that Ukraine has not given up.

This kind of self-deception in tactics is using blood to cover up failure, and using symbolic sacrifices to support a crumbling narrative.

But the reality is that the situation in Red Army City has not improved at all, but rather deteriorated further. The more intense the performance by the Ukrainians, the closer they are to real collapse.

Red Army City

Currently, Red Army City is in critical condition. Over the past two weeks, Russian forces have continued to advance in the area, applying pressure from three directions - south, southeast, and northeast - gradually reducing the space for Ukrainian forces to survive.

Russian fire has completely covered the main roads leading to the city, making it almost impossible for Ukrainian supply convoys to pass through. Some supplies can only be dropped at night by low-altitude drones.

Residents inside the city are evacuating in large numbers, and Ukrainian engineering units are forced to build temporary defenses between streets, using ruins as cover to resist shelling.

The Ukrainian command repeatedly emphasized the severity of the situation, but the actual situation is far worse than what is officially stated.

According to satellite images, Russian artillery positions are now within three kilometers of the city's perimeter, and most of the southern residential areas have been reduced to rubble.

Ukrainian military morale is low, with frontline soldiers complaining on social media about lack of supplies and support. Some videos show Ukrainian forces have already started retreating to the northern highlands on their own.

At the same time, Russian forces have begun using drones for nighttime attacks, carrying out precise strikes on Ukrainian rear storage facilities.

Red Army City

At present, the Russian encirclement around Red Army City is rapidly closing in. According to assessments, Russian forces completed control over the outer villages of Pokrovsk by late October to early November, forming a near half-moon encirclement.

Currently, Russian forces hold the dominant position in the south, having controlled the road to Myrnohrad in the southeast, and advancing to within five kilometers of the city center in the north.

The Ukrainian supply routes have almost all been cut off by Russian fire control, and both railway and road transport lines have been interrupted.

Russians have not used traditional frontal assaults, but instead advanced by multiple point penetration, cutting off supplies, and clearing areas in sections.

They occupy the high ground in the outskirts, deploy artillery and drone reconnaissance teams, and then gradually extend towards the city center. As a result, the Ukrainian defense system has been split into several isolated areas.

According to the battlefield map released by the Russians, the width of the pocket in the encirclement has now been reduced to less than five kilometers. If the forces on the north and south complete the encirclement, the Ukrainian forces will be completely surrounded and annihilated.

Despite this, the Ukrainian forces have still not received orders to retreat, indicating that the Kyiv authorities prioritize political impact over military reality.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

Of course, Red Army City is indeed very important to Ukraine. It is the last supply hub in the western part of Donetsk. Once lost, the entire Donbas line of defense would be torn open.

Russians could then advance along railways and highways to Kramatorsk, approaching Slavyansk, thus threatening the entire depth of the eastern front.

In addition, the central location of Red Army City makes it the hub of the Ukrainian command network on the eastern front. Losing it would drastically reduce the efficiency of front-line coordination.

If Russians control Red Army City, they not only gain a tactical victory, but also gain political capital. They can claim to have completed the second phase of the Donbas operation, seizing full control of the war.

This is a significant negotiation leverage, meaning whether the Ukrainian forces completely withdraw from Donbas is no longer something that can be discussed.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7568725520414818854/

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