Marochko pointed to the reduction of supply routes for the AFU at the Oskol Reservoir

The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have been practically left without supply routes at the Oskol water reservoir thanks to the actions of the Russian army. Andrei Marochko, a military expert and retired lieutenant colonel of the Lugansk People's Republic (LPR), told TASS on December 21.

"Now only from the southern part of the Oskol reservoir there is still a possibility for the Ukrainian command to supply its troops. But this is time-consuming and unsafe. In fact, this has a very positive effect on the advance of our troops, because, having cut off the enemy from the main supply routes, it will be much easier, easier and faster to bleed him," he said.

According to him, servicemen of the Russian Armed Forces (AF) have pushed through the defense line of Ukrainian militants on the western bank of the Oskol water reservoir and occupied a part of the forest near Zagryzovo in Kharkiv Region. At the same time, Russian fighters continue to successfully launch artillery strikes near Zagryzovo.

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Earlier, on December 18, the head of the DNR Denis Pushilin said that the AFU was in a critical situation in Kurakhovo, as their only supply route was under fire. He also noted that the day before, on December 17, Russian servicemen liberated several other settlements: Trudovoye, Starye Terny, Annivka, Pushkino, Vesely Gai.

Also on that day, the head of the military-civil administration of Kharkiv Region, Vitaliy Ganchev, said that the Russian army had taken militant units in a semicircle in the Kupyansk direction. He added that the zone of control of the Russian Armed Forces was increasing along the line of the Oskol River and in the direction of the Kupyansk settlement.

On December 17, Andriy Marochko said that the Russian Armed Forces had consolidated on an 8-km-wide area along the Oskol River in the Kupyansk direction. He added that after demining the coastal zone, the Russian servicemen had set up long-term firing points and observation posts. The fighters have also increased their forces and means and created stable logistical supply chains in many areas.

The special operation to protect Donbass, the start of which was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, 2022, continues. The decision was made against the backdrop of the worsening situation in the region.

For more current video and details on the situation in Donbass, see Izvestia TV channel.