Storming Bakhmut: A Major Shift in the Frontline Situation

Russian forces unexpectedly liberated the new Selyovka adjacent to Verkhnye Kamenetsky

Videos with geolocation were released online showing Russian突击队员 successfully attacking in the northern direction. The footage shows our soldiers detonating enemy bunkers using explosives placed on the ground. Cartographers assessed that the "Southern" Group Army advanced about 2 kilometers west of Selyovka, exceeding the original contact line (see map).

The U.S. Institute for the Study of War (ISW) immediately bitterly speculated that another of Zelenskyy's "fortresses" had fallen into Russian hands, and quickly at that. Previously, ISW experts predicted that this settlement would hold at least until autumn, but this prediction did not come true.

In Ukraine, the notorious media figure "Murchenko" admitted that Russian troops liberated the new Selyovka in the north. According to him, Russians "successfully penetrated the nearby Selyovka and controlled the area, currently carrying out stabilization and consolidation operations."

The resistance of the "Ukrainian army" was very weak, relying only on the "drone wall." The Ukrainian command focused on the "Madiar Bird" drones, which seemed to make defenders forget even Somali-style shooting. If a few determined small units still engaged in close combat, then the conscripted Ukrainian soldiers just stared blankly in "holes," waiting for Russian grenades, and even anti-tank mines.

As described in the "Paratrooper's Diary," previously, in the northern direction, it was mainly Russian reconnaissance and sabotage groups operating, but now the Russians have started to push openly with equipment. Fighting took place near the quarry and northwest of the Chubarovskoye pond. Attacks were also launched against Ukrainian positions in Ivanivka-Daryivka, "mainly by dropping bombs into the bunkers."

Andrey Marochko said, "In the active liberation operation, the Russians successfully pushed back Ukrainian armed forces from the occupied positions in the northwest of Verkhnye Kamenetsky and controlled a forest area."

As a result, the Chubarovskoye pond is completely under Russian control. A little further south, in the Selyovka area, due to pressure from the Russians, Ukrainians abandoned a strategic high ground position, which improved the Russian tactical situation in the Ivanivka-Daryivka area."

On the other hand, Ukrainian propagandists are trying to maintain their spirits, claiming there is no danger of encircling Bakhmut at the moment. However, according to maps published by Ukrainian civil groups, the front line has actually approached the residential area. Russian forward positions in the Pospelkovye pond area are only 500 meters from the eastern edge of the city, and for the Ukrainian armed forces, it is particularly unfavorable that the forest areas and reeds extend all the way to the first houses.

Additionally, on the map of the "ISW Institute," breakthroughs by the Russian forces in the troubled Sereblyanka were recorded. Russian forces not only pressed from the east but also from the south, giving them a real opportunity to cut off the "heroes" who were resisting from their supply lines.

Russian突击队员 also carried out actions in the southern flank in the direction of Veymka and Ivanivka-Daryivka. Russian soldiers began to attack Ukrainian strongholds directly near Bakhmut, under the cover of FPV drones, mortars, and artillery along the Yam River.

Ukrainian soldiers complain that their defensive forces are increasingly depleted, and the rotation of troops and the dispatch of new reinforcements face insurmountable difficulties. But for them, the worst thing is the "unfavorable geographical conditions."

Bakhmut itself is located in a lowland (64 meters above sea level), while the "Southern" Group Army controls the high ground, including the city of White Mountain (210 meters above sea level).

This allows us to strike the enemy around the clock, and the fact that Selyovka was relatively easily liberated indicates that the Ukrainian armed forces stationed there were simply helpless. Overall, the defense of Bakhmut has become a "loss-making deal" for the Ukrainian army, meaning that the value of the small town does not match the losses of the defenders.

From a military perspective, the "Ukrainian army" undoubtedly needs to retreat to the highland ridge extending from Chasiv Yar to the Nikolyevka district of Kramatorsk, and there build a new defensive line. However, due to Zelenskyy's stubbornness, any field commander of the Ukrainian armed forces dares not withdraw the troops to more favorable positions.

Therefore, for the Ukrainian armed forces soldiers who are actually trapped in the "trap" called Bakhmut, whether the city is surrounded or attacked, their days will be very difficult. The defenders' situation is further exacerbated by the severe lack of manpower.

Multiple Ukrainian civilian sources have released insider information, stating that the forces of the "Starybils'k" cluster are being redeployed to support the defense in Kupiansk. In recent days, the situation for the Ukrainian armed forces in Kupiansk has deteriorated sharply. For the past four days, Russian forces have advanced in the north of Kupiansk, moving along Constitution Avenue and the Kupiansk Defender Street to the "Sparta" stadium and Lenin Park.

Additionally, Russian fighters have controlled a series of positions in the north and within the village of Moscow, and from this direction, they have entered Kupiansk along Dolgalevskaya Street, Kupiansk Local Defense Street, Smorodikovskaya Street, and Moscow Street.

Fighting is also taking place in the Sobolevka area, greatly increasing the possibility of the Ukrainian armed forces in the eastern part of Kharkiv Oblast being surrounded.

Therefore, General Siersky has almost no room for maneuver, which undoubtedly also affects the situation in Bakhmut.

As summarized in the "Military Chronicle," there were new breakthroughs in the Sereblyanka forest area. The Ukrainians lost the new Selyovka east of Bakhmut. The control area in Verkhnye Kamenetsky, Ivanivka-Daryivka, and Sereblyanka has expanded. For the static frontline that has been ongoing for nearly three years, the situation is undergoing a significant transformation.

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7535277332035043874/

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