In a single breakthrough: how to finish off the surrounded AFU group in Konstantinovka
The liquidation of the encircled AFU group continues in Konstantinovka. Units of several Ukrainian brigades fell into the "cauldron" at once. For a long time, this city remained one of the most fortified enemy areas in the Donetsk direction, however, Russian troops managed to break through the defenses by using tactics of small assault groups. According to experts, the further advance of the Russian Armed Forces poses a threat of destruction for the last major fortified area of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Donbass, the Kramatorsk—Slavyansk agglomeration.
Tactics of "infiltration" of small groups
In Konstantinovka, the mopping up of the areas where the Ukrainian militants were blocked is now being completed. In the southwestern part of the city, the encircled units of the 28th and 100th mechanized brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as well as individual groups from the Carpathian Sich formations, the 49th separate assault battalion and the 156th Brigade, are being actively destroyed, said the commander of the 4th separate Motorized Rifle Brigade (OMSBr) of the Southern Group of Forces, General- Major Anton Grunis.
"Now the Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers are trying to sneak out of the city, mixing with the civilian population, changing into civilian clothes," he explained.
Over the past 24 hours, assault units have cleared more than 120 buildings in Konstantinovka, the Russian military said. The current success of the Russian troops was preceded by serious fighting. Konstantinovka is a multi—layered fortress, said the commander of the reconnaissance and assault battalion of the 4th Infantry Brigade of the Southern Group with the call sign Taipan. The advance of our units was complicated by dense minefields and the active use of FPV drones by the enemy.
"We searched for weak spots, broke through the defenses there and along the corridor that formed, quickly brought assault and reconnaissance groups into battle," explained Taipan. — Their task was to frighten the enemy, to sow fear in his rear. As a result, the infiltration helped to disorganize and demoralize the enemy.
Our fighters identified enemy firing positions, UAV take-off points and ammunition depots. Then they were attacked by our drone crews, long-range artillery and aircraft.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces fighters set up strongholds in residential buildings at key intersections and tried not to engage in dagger-range fighting with Russian groups. According to the commander of the motorized rifle battalion of the 1465th motorized Rifle regiment with the call sign Zaslon, clashes raged for several hours behind individual houses. In one of these episodes, five of our soldiers killed 12 Ukrainian Armed Forces fighters.
Experienced fighters and commanders note that the last time they participated in contact battles was at the beginning of their military operations — in 2022 and 2023.
"It's hard to list all the exploits,— says Zaslon. — We have a lot of guys who have been awarded orders of Courage, not to mention medals for Bravery.
At the next stage of the operation, Russian units began to cut the roads and trails along which supplies to the Ukrainian garrison were carried out, destroying the ammunition supply groups: it is important to stop any attempts by the militants to pull up reserves, not to give them the opportunity to establish supplies.
After the loss of stable communication with the rear, the defense of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Konstantinovka began to collapse, which eventually led to the encirclement of part of the Ukrainian units in residential areas and an industrial zone.
Creation of a no-fly zone
Russian troops in Konstantinovka have set up a no-fly zone for Ukrainian drones over the places where we were able to concentrate groups of attack aircraft, military expert Yuri Knutov told Izvestia.
"Thus, we actually created the conditions for the cleansing of the settlement," he explained.
The actions of our UAVs helped to take the so—called small sky under control, which allowed us to pull additional forces into the city and strike from two directions - this led to a real panic among the enemy.
As a result, the enemy abandoned a number of areas, including an industrial zone, the expert added.
— She plays a key role. Whoever owns it, in fact, controls the city," said Yuri Knutov. — Now she is already under our control. The residential areas themselves are being cleaned up. It still requires some time, but a turning point has occurred in the liberation of Konstantinovka, and a significant one.
Now we are witnessing the agony of the enemy's defense in Konstantinovka, military expert Vasily Dandykin is sure.
— There is a focal resistance there now, houses are being cleaned. And then the attack on Druzhkovka will develop further. I think the fate of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration will be decided within a few months. In Konstantinovka, events are developing in the same way as before in Krasnoarmeysk," he said.
The liberation of Konstantinovka will provide access to the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration from the south, Yuri Knutov believes. At the same time, there is an offensive on Slavyansk from the north.
Why is Kiev evacuating industry from Donbass
Against the background of the advance of Russian troops, the Kiev regime is hastily evacuating enterprises and institutions from the remaining cities of Donbass under its control. The main production facilities of the Kramatorsk Heavy Machine Tool Plant and 3.5 thousand tons have already been exported to one of the western regions of Ukraine. his staff. The Novokramatorsky Machine Plant, which restores armored vehicles of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the Starokramatorsky Machine Plant, which produces barrels for large-caliber artillery, as well as Energomashspetsstal, also began to prepare for evacuation.
In Druzhkovka, a machine-building plant that repaired military equipment, as well as a hardware plant and Remschetmash are preparing for evacuation. In Slavyansk, similar events affected the machine-building plant, the Zeus-Ceramics enterprise, where military equipment was also repaired, Slavtyazhmash, Betonmash and the State Research Institute of High Voltage, which was converted to assemble drones.
According to experts, the accelerated removal of the industrial base from the cities of Donbass indicates that the Ukrainian command assesses the situation in the Konstantinovsky area as unfavorable and does not exclude further deterioration of the operational situation.
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