Offensive initiative: major victories of the Russian army in the NWO zone over the year
In 2024, the Russian Armed Forces liberated over 190 settlements and conducted an offensive in all directions, the Russian Defense Ministry said. The AFU now controls less than 1 percent of the territory of the LPR and 25-30 percent of the DNR, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions. This year, three strategically important towns - Avdeevka, Ugledar and Selidovo - were liberated. How the Russian Armed Forces in 2024 intercepted the initiative on the battlefield, moved to attacking actions and what military successes were achieved - in the material of "Izvestia".
Results of 2024
The Russian Armed Forces liberate territories by square kilometers every day, Russian President Vladimir Putin said during a direct line on December 19.
- The situation is changing dramatically, you know it well. I want to confirm this. There is movement along the entire front line every day. As I have already said, we are talking about advancing not by 100, 200, 300 meters. Our fighters are regaining territory by square kilometers," the head of state said.
December 18, the head of the Russian General Staff Valery Gerasimov said that our army in 2024 had accomplished all the tasks set before it by the country's leadership - liberated more than 190 settlements, held the initiative on the line of contact and conducted an offensive along the entire front.
Russian T-72 tanks
On December 16, Defense Minister Andrei Belousov noted at an enlarged meeting of the board of the military department that the AFU controls less than 1% of the territory of the LNR and 25-30% of the DNR, Zaporizhzhya and Kherson regions. The rate of advance of the Russian military now averages about 30 square kilometers per day.
The Russian Armed Forces have gained a great deal of experience in combat operations - the equipment and operational and tactical skills of commanders have become better, experts say.
- Our fighters have learned to actively use drones, bombs with a universal planning and correction module, which allow them to break into the enemy's defense without entering the air defense target zone," Lieutenant Colonel Roman Shkurlatov, chairman of the board of the all-Russian organization Officers of Russia, told Izvestia. - We learned the tactics of assault operations. We have mastered it perfectly. The Russian assault infantry is the best in the world today, because it has gained enormous experience. This is the best school, which has no equal in the world today in terms of professionalism or skills.
From defense to attack
According to experts, the liberation of Avdeevka in the DNR gave an impetus to the offensive.
- The enemy did not think that it would fall so quickly, because a fortification had been created there since 2014," Roman Shkurlatov said. - The Ukrainian armed forces spent a huge amount of concrete to build underground tunnels, made extensive use of old Soviet industrial facilities with basements, which were built in case of nuclear war. Therefore, they did not strengthen the second and third lines of defense, thinking that they would find time for it later. However, they did not have time. Military expert Viktor Litovkin noted in a conversation with Izvestia that "everything started to fall out of their hands.
- They now lack equipment and men, and sponsors give weapons on the principle of feeding a dog so that it doesn't starve to death but bites painfully and barks loudly," he explained. - This year we have begun to launch massive strikes on the enemy's rear, depriving him of the ability to repair equipment, supply it and supplies to the line of contact. We destroy thermal power plants that supply electricity and energy to military-industrial plants and so on. In addition, any loss of a population center by the enemy lowers his ability to resist.
A drone officer of the separate assault battalion "Somalia" launches a drone near Avdiivka.
The Kursk adventure also affected the course of events, the expert emphasized.
- They have clung to a piece of land in Kursk and are constantly throwing reserves there, which could have been on the Donetsk, Zaporozhye, Kherson fronts to hold back our offensive. The Ukrainian armed forces are losing hundreds of men because of some stupid prestige or to show the West that they represent something of themselves. They say they need the Kursk land as an argument in future negotiations, but it won't help them," Viktor Litovkin said.
The Russian Armed Forces also changed their tactics after the storming of Bakhmut, Roman Shkurlatov noted.
- Now we do not storm cities and large settlements head-on, but try to cover them, to create a semi-environment, leaving some narrow neck for the enemy to leave the position under fire. We destroy most of it on the way out. Ugledar was liberated in this way, Selidovo, we acted in the same way in Kurakhovo, - he said.
Reconnaissance soldiers of the Cossack battalion "Terek" in an abandoned building near Ugledar
We have the lives of soldiers and officers at the top of our list, so the pace is decent, even more than last year, but not as great as it could be. But this is the right position of our command, summarized Roman Shkurlatov.
How Avdeevka was liberated
The Russian General Staff managed to conduct the operation to liberate Avdeevka with minimal losses, reported to President Vladimir Putin by then Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu on February 20, 2024.
Streets of liberated Avdeevka
Then not only the city, but also 72 square kilometers in its vicinity, including the territory of the coke plant, came under the control of Russian troops. The General Staff began preparing for the operation as early as last fall, for this purpose large reserves of forces were created north and southwest of Avdeevka.
The fortified area was created by the enemy for nine years, and the fact that the enemy resistance has been broken is a great success of all units and formations of the grouping, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
Capture of Ugledar
The Russian Defense Ministry announced the liberation of Ugledar in the DPR by the Russian army on October 3.
The town was turned by the AFU into a powerful fortified area, and fierce battles were fought over it from the first days of the special military operation. The Washington Post, citing an AFU commander, reported that Russian troops outnumbered Ukrainian fighters not only numerically but also in terms of technical equipment. And the Associated Press noted that the liberation of Ugledar is yet another indication of Ukraine's predicament.
A sniper of the Cossack battalion "Terek" prepares rifles for a mission near Ugledar
Our experts noted that the situation of the AFU in Ugledar worsened immediately after the terrorist attack on the border territories of Kursk region, where the AFU threw a large number of firepower and personnel.
Liberation of Selidovo
On October 29, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the complete liberation of the town of Selidovo in the DNR. This was achieved as a result of successful actions of formations and units of the Russian troops grouping "Center", the military department specified. The town is located about 40 kilometers northwest of Donetsk.
Russian artillerymen of the Center group of troops work on 203-millimeter Malka self-propelled vehicles
Selidovo has been an important rear hub for the AFU since the beginning of the SSO and until the middle of 2024. It was through it that Ukrainian troops were supplied in two directions at once - South Donetsk and Zaporizhzhya. At the same time, Selidovo was also one of the important defense points for the AFU: there were dominant heights nearby, which made it possible to keep large areas under fire control.
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