Russian troops proceed to advance in jap Ukraine, making vital progress within the western Donetsk area. Now they might method and threaten essential Ukrainian land communication strains working within the jap areas of Dnipropetrovsk and Zaporizhzhia.
Russian forces are making tactical progress within the western Donetsk area of jap Ukraine. They are actually advancing in direction of the outskirts of Velyka Novosilka, a settlement simply east of the border space between Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia.
With the present tempo of Moscow’s progress, the Washington-based assume tank Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has recognized a number of potential programs of motion for the Russian army command.
Russian troops may transfer west from Kurakhove, alongside the H15 highway, the place they’ve already taken some positions. This would give Moscow’s forces a stronger place from which to encompass a series of settlements alongside the freeway northwest and northeast of Vuhledar.
They may additionally proceed to advance west alongside the highway to Andriivka whereas attacking the pocket northeast of Vuhledar, making an attempt to push Ukrainian troops to retreat west to keep away from encirclement.
Such a maneuver may enable Russian troops to grab tactical positions within the space and degree the entrance line from Sontsivka to Kostyantynopolske, pushing them about 23 km east of the border of the Donetsk-Dnipropetrovsk area on the closest level.
Conquering all the territory of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Luhansk areas inside their administrative borders has been the Kremlin’s high precedence since Russia’s preliminary invasion greater than a decade in the past.
The ISW notes that Russia would want to beat greater than 8,000 sq. kilometers of territory to attain the Kremlin’s purpose of conquering all of Donetsk alone.
But on the identical time, the Reuters information company reported that the present tempo of Russia’s advance into Ukraine is the quickest because the first days of the full-scale invasion in early 2022.
Is the town of Zaporizhzhia at risk?
Ukrainian army officers proceed to warn of potential Russian floor operations in opposition to the town of Zaporizhzhia, about 30 kilometers from the present entrance line.
The timing and doable scope of this potential offensive additionally stay unclear attributable to Ukraine’s incursion into Russia’s Kursk area.
A Ukrainian brigade commander said that the raid on Kursk stopped preliminary Russian plans for an assault on the town of Zaporizhzhia and that the Russian army command redeployed virtually half of the 20,000-30,000 Russian troops initially amassed for the assault on Zaporizhzhia within the Kursk area.
The battalion commander famous that continued Russian efforts in Kursk may delay an offensive on Zaporizhzhia and that Russian forces may additionally conduct the assault with a smaller grouping of forces than initially deliberate.
The Economist, citing Ukrainian intelligence sources, reported Sunday that Russian forces had been making ready for a future offensive operation with as much as 130,000 troops in opposition to the town.
Intensified air assaults
Meanwhile, Russia launched 188 drones in opposition to most areas of Ukraine in a single day, the Ukrainian Air Force stated on Tuesday, describing it as a file variety of drones deployed in a single strike. The air alert within the Kiev area alone lasted greater than seven hours all through the evening.
Most of the drones had been intercepted, in response to authorities, however condominium buildings and demanding infrastructure, such because the nationwide electrical energy grid, had been broken. No casualties had been instantly reported within the 17 focused areas.
ANNOUNCEMENTUkraine is dealing with a tough winter – its third, within the context of a full-scale invasion and Moscow’s efforts to destroy the nation’s vitality infrastructure and weaken Ukrainians’ will to withstand.
Additional sources • AP
