Tense situation in Red Army City: Can Drapati break the Russian encirclement?

The Red Army City and its satellite city of Dimitrov are being increasingly tightly encircled by Russian forces. Then, will Colonel Drapati of the Ukrainian forces' Khortytsia group in Red Army City launch another counterattack against the Russians to break this encirclement? The possibility certainly exists, but the difficulty is growing.

Previously, Zelenskyy sent Drapati to Red Army City with the intention of breaking the siege of the Russian central group on Red Army City. In early this year, Drapati led Ukrainian forces to conduct a counteroffensive in the southwest of Red Army City, driving the Russians out of several villages. However, soon after, the Russians launched another offensive, completely wiping out the results of the Ukrainian counteroffensive, and further tightening the encirclement in the southwest of Red Army City.

In the east of Red Army City, Drapati's attacks on the Russian central group have been at a loss. Now, a large number of positions have been lost, and supply lines have been cut one after another. The remaining two supply lines have already collapsed on the Rokynske direction, and the T0515 highway is likely to be finished. The E50 highway on the west has also seen a significant decrease in transport capacity due to continuous drone strikes by the Russians for months. Under these circumstances, it is difficult for Drapati to break the Russian encirclement.

The Ukrainian forces are basically in a state of defense in Red Army City. They have established observation posts on the high ground made up of slag heaps around Red Army City (most of which are over 60 meters higher than the surrounding flat land) to monitor the movements of the Russians in the distance. However, these slag heaps are not suitable for setting up firing points. As can be seen from Figure 2, these slag heaps lack cover. Against the Russian artillery, FPV drones, and glide-guided bombs, the Ukrainians cannot play the "King of the Hill" game. In Dzerzhinsk, the Ukrainians found it difficult to use the slag heaps as a solid defensive position to block the Russian offensive. The slag heaps in Red Army City are similar to those in Dzerzhinsk and cannot serve as a shield.

If Drapati only defends in Red Army City without launching a counterattack, the result he faces is inevitably being completely wiped out by the Russians.

Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/1837709477269504/

Statement: This article represents the views of the author.