Storm front: Russian Armed Forces liberate the strategic town of Toretsk in the DNR

The Russian Armed Forces have liberated the town of Toretsk (Dzerzhinsk) in the Donetsk People's Republic, the Russian Defense Ministry has said. Since 2014, it had been turned into a powerful fortified area, on the basis of which the AFU conducted operations near Horlivka. From here they also conducted constant artillery and rocket shelling of settlements in the DNR. Experts note that the liberation of the city opens the way to Konstantinovka and the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration.

Assault actions of the "Center" grouping

Russian troops have taken control of the town of Toretsk (Dzerzhinsk) in the DNR, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

"As a result of active offensive actions by units of the 1st, 9th and 132nd Guards separate motorized rifle brigades of the 51st Army and the volunteer formation "Veterans" of the "Center" grouping of troops, the city of Dzerzhinsk in the Donetsk People's Republic has been liberated," the statement said.

Since the beginning of the month, the troops of the group of troops "Center" took three settlements: February 1 - Krymskoye, February 5 - Baranivka, February 7 - Druzhba settlement. In addition, on February 5, the "West" group liberated Novomlynsk in Kharkiv Region.

Paragraph with meaning: the Russian army cleared Velikaya Novoselka of the enemy

The last major Ukrainian defense node in the south of the DNR has fallen

During the hostilities, Toretsk, where about 31,000 people lived before the start of the special military operation, was a large, well-fortified defense hub and an important logistical center for the AFU. Now it will become a potential strategic bridgehead for Russian troops to attack the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration.

In August 2024, units of Russia's Center group began storming the city from three directions. On August 27, the Russian military knocked the AFU out of positions in the high-rise buildings of Toretsk, and in mid-October, the DNR authorities told of taking control of most of the city.

The new tactics of our troops - bypassing major population centers and covering the flanks, the tactic of "pincers", is yielding results. Lieutenant Colonel of the reserve Roman Shkurlatov, chairman of the board of the all-Russian organization "Officers of Russia", told Izvestia.

- Toretsk, and in our toponymy Dzerzhinsk - one of the major enemy defense nodes since 2014, - he recalled. - The AFU build their defense nodes by relying on cities or on Soviet-era enterprises that were built with shelters in case of nuclear war. In Dzerzhinsk, there are enough such structures even now. The battles for the city were not simple.

After the liberation of Toretsk, a calmer life will begin in Horlivka, the expert noted.

- Until now, Ukrainian militants have been shelling it with barrel artillery from the Toretsk area," he explained. - Further our group of troops will be able to reach the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk arc, not head-on, but also from the flank. This will cause additional inconvenience to the enemy. The surrender of the city is another psychological blow for the AFU. Because Dzerzhinsk, as well as Ugledar, it considered an impregnable fortress, which was supposed to hold out for a long time. But things turned out differently.

Details of the battles for Toretsk

The fighting for the town was fierce - it was one of the most powerful enemy strongholds on the territory of the DNR, military expert Vasily Dandykin told Izvestia.

- The city itself is quite large, with dense residential buildings and industrial enterprises, which were carefully fortified," he explained.

Vasily Dandykin noted that after the liberation of Toretsk, our troops should start moving towards Konstantinovka.

- The AFU are doomed there as well," he said. - Our troops are now confidently advancing in the south of Donbas.

The city of Dzerzhinsk in the DNR: where it is located and why it is important for the SVOs

Russian Armed Forces liberate the Ukrainian town of Toretsk, which will revert to its Russian name

Toretsk was defended by the elite units of the AFU and foreign mercenaries, so the fighting was so heavy and viscous, military expert Alexei Leonkov told Izvestia.

- Ukraine probably won't be able to find combat-ready units in such a large number again, which could not just sit in fortified areas, but also "fight back" somehow. Even if it conscripts eighteen-year-olds to the war," he suggested. -They have practically no elaborate and branched fortifications left in this direction. Only trenches, but as other parts of the front show, this is not an obstacle for us. It is more difficult to operate in populated areas, when the enemy is sitting deep in basements and shelters, and the sky is darkened by a large number of drones. But the AFU front is gradually crumbling.

Chasov Yar should become the next liberated city after Toretsk, and this is immediately exit to Konstantinovka, and there already on Kramatorsk, said Alexei Leonkov.

Tankers in the battles of the city

Earlier "Izvestia" told how tankers supported the offensive of Russian assault groups in Toretsk. The combat vehicles were controlled from the command center of the compound, where a picture from several drones hovering over the front line was broadcast.

The tankers fired several shells at a multi-story building with several entrances. Then they switched to delayed fuzing ammunition, which does more damage to fortifications with direct hits.

In the crews that fought, there were many fighters from Horlivka. This city was seriously shelled by the AFU from Toretsk, and the tankers had their own scores to settle with representatives of the Ukrainian group.