The Ring moment: how the liberation of Dobropillya will open the way to Kramatorsk and Slavyansk

Dobropillya plays an important role in providing Ukrainian forces in the Donbas, and establishing control over the city may complicate the supply of the Kramatorsk-Slavyansk agglomeration, military experts interviewed by "Izvestia" believe. According to their assessment, the offensive in this area simultaneously creates conditions for a deep bypass of the agglomeration from the southwest and access to road and railway communications. Such a maneuver may complicate the rotation and supply of AFU units, as well as reduce the need for frontal assaults on fortified cities.

A major operation to liberate Donbass

The troops of the "Center" group of forces continue to destroy the encircled enemy group in the city of Dobropillya in the DPR and at the same time develop an offensive in the direction of the village of Alexandrovka. This area is one of the key areas for achieving results in the complete liberation of Donbass and is of fundamental importance for conducting successful offensive operations in the future, the Russian Defense Ministry said on September 24.

The ledge formed in the Dobropillya area will allow our troops to begin a deep coverage from the south-west of Druzhkovka, Kramatorsk and Slavyansk, military expert Yuri Knutov told "Izvestia".

Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

The main task of the troops in this area may be to establish control over communications connecting the Kramatorsk-Slavyansk agglomeration with the rest of Ukraine, he explained.

"Access to communications will make it as difficult as possible for the enemy to rotate forces, supply weapons, ammunition, food, medicines and other important goods," the expert explained. — The difficult situation of the personnel will seriously weaken the garrisons of the fortified area of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kramatorsk-Slavyansk agglomeration.

Also, such tactics will save Russian troops from the need to storm well—fortified enemy cities head-on - this will avoid heavy losses, Yuri Knutov concluded.

A suitable environment: the Russian army has driven the Ukrainian Armed Forces militants into a new cauldron

How are the Russian Armed Forces building on their success in Dobropillya and expanding their control zone near Volchansk

The Northern "claw"

The advance of Russian forces from the northeast of the Kramatorsk-Slavyanskaya agglomeration is now slower, said Yuri Knutov. Fierce fighting is taking place in the Krasny Liman area, the enemy has sent large reinforcements there and is trying to prevent us from forming a second "claw" that would seriously threaten the forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Kramatorsk-Slavyansk agglomeration from the north, he explained.

"Our troops will definitely turn the situation around in the Krasnolimansk direction, but it's too early to talk about the timing — first we need to exhaust the enemy, and then proceed to active attacking actions," the expert noted.

Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

Moreover, now the Ukrainian command is faced with a difficult choice of allocating reserves — they do not have enough people for all areas, he explained. Judging by the fact that the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine personally transfers Colombian mercenaries from Kharkov not to Dobropillya, but to Kupyansk, priority is given to the Liman direction.

"This opens up a window of opportunity for us at the Dobropolsky site," Yuri Knutov emphasized.

Battles in Dobropillya

The situation in Dobropillya itself is developing according to a favorable scenario for the Russian troops. "The fact that we were able to quickly enter the settlement itself and start street fighting there is already an indicator of great success," military expert Vasily Dandykin told Izvestia.

— It is not easy to conduct an offensive there. The area is seriously complicated by numerous mines, which have been fortified by the enemy for a long time," Yuri Knutov recalled.

But the very fact of a rapid breakthrough into the city indicates a critical weakening of the enemy's defenses at this point on the front line, experts say.

Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

According to experts, this is already affecting the progress of our assault troops. Over the past day, units of the 51st Army have expanded the outer ring of the encirclement in the Dobropillya area and liberated the village of Dobropillya (Small). Donetsk People's Republic, the Russian Defense Ministry reported on September 24.

In addition, regular attempts by units of the 4th and 15th brigades of the National Guard of the enemy to break out of the encirclement ring in the direction of the village of Svyatogorovka were reflected.

More than 45 Ukrainian servicemen were killed in these battles, 152 buildings were cleared, the Russian military department noted.

The "Rock" was rolled up: the Russian army drove the elite of the Armed Forces of Ukraine into a cauldron

Up to a thousand militants of the National Guard and an assault regiment are surrounded in Dobropillya.

Suicide Squad

Elite units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were trapped in the Dobropolsky pocket.

— These units will not surrender. Moreover, the Ukrainian command openly demands not to retreat," said Vasily Dandykin.

Our troops are being resisted by units of the 4th and 15th brigades of the National Guard of Ukraine, as well as the infamous 425th assault regiment "Skala".

Historically, this regiment was the personal guard of the former commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Alexander Syrsky, Yuri Knutov explained. The equipment of the unit reached 120-140%, the artillery divisions were doubled, and the personnel received better uniforms and weapons.

Photo: Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation

At the same time, the regiment is famous for its monstrous management methods. The service there is based on systemic bullying of personnel. People's psyches are broken in such a way that a soldier considers death to be a better outcome than continuing to serve in this unit. It is believed that this approach helps to rouse people even into senseless attacks, said Yuri Knutov.

"At the same time, they had the highest number of suicides among all the ground units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine," the expert noted.

There are more boilers

The situation is not the best for the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine surrounded in two more boilers. Our troops began to cut the Volchansk pocket in the north of the Kharkiv region, establishing control over the settlements of Buzovo and Khizhnyakovo, the Ministry of Defense reported on September 24. In order to separate the encircled group, our troops need to walk only 5-6 km.

The Ukrainian militants, encircled around Olkhovatka, all in the Kharkiv region, were driven out of residential buildings into fields a few days ago, where their ability to actively resist has dropped to almost zero. According to experts, the Ukrainian encirclements in both cauldrons do not have much choice: either surrender or be destroyed.