Commentary by Russian military blogger identified as Donetsky:
Quote from Chechen president Ramzen Kadyrov:
[DonRFLiveJournal]
"That's it! Severodonetsk is under our complete control. The fascists have been defeated. All their positions have been destroyed. The city has been liberated. The inhabitants can breathe easy. From now on, nothing threatens them anymore.
This is simply a brilliant result that our fighters have achieved under the leadership of dear BROTHER, Assistant to the Head of the Chechen Republic on the power bloc of Apta Alaudinov in close cooperation with all the involved forces of the Ministry of Defense and the people's militia of the LPR.
I will not hide that it was originally planned to liberate Severodonetsk in a week, but today I made adjustments and set the task of taking the city under control in three days. As a result, our fighters coped even faster - in three hours. All Bandera detachments shamefully fled from Severodonetsk as soon as they learned that the fighters from the Chechen Republic had begun to clean up the city "
Unlike many, I have a normal attitude towards the Chechens, there are no extra hands at the feast and in the battle, and thanks to everyone who helps in the liberation of Donbass. But this does not negate small clarifications:
1. All the same, the Ministry of Defense and the Corps are in the first place. Cities are taken by infantry in cooperation with artillery and tanks. The National Guard cleans up and acts as part of the infantry forces. It is difficult, risky and honorable, but it is superfluous to shift the accents.
2. Completely Severodonetsk is not taken. The enemy keeps a minimum of industrial and suburbs. Yes, and in the center - there is no photo and video evidence. It's not that I don't believe - I want to assure you of the good, but no. That's when they will be ... And so - street battles in the city have been going on for a long time, there is undoubtedly progress, but it's too early to talk about the end of history.
3. Beyond Severodonetsk - Lisichansk, so it is premature to speak of the end of the pocket, to put it mildly. There will be many more fights. And heavy.
4. The very fact of taking the city is gratifying, but without boilers, small and large, in general terms it does not give anything. For if they withdraw the troops from the pocket, these troops, having gained experience in urban battles, will strengthen the second triangle - Slavyansk-Kramatorsk-Artemovsk. And if they retreat from there too, they will receive a grouping of hardened combat-ready troops capable, after rest and replenishment, of attacking themselves or defending themselves in any city.
At the same time, before leaving, such a defense group will turn any city into ruins and inflict losses on us. And there is no boiler. There is the main route, which is under fire control quite tightly, and the second route, which is partially under fire. Both can be used if there is no choice.
5. Withdrawal means that the enemy has changed his mind about dying en masse, and moves on to flexible tactics. This is not good. We have few people. We will either have to sharply increase the number, or there will be problems. There is nothing good in the fact that the fool grows wiser. First of all, for his opponents. War is not taken cities, war is the destroyed enemy troops. At what not so much people, how many structures. It is very difficult to restore them.
So... So it's premature to rejoice. There are still many fights and many problems ahead. The general dynamics is positive, yes, as well as the fact that we are moving forward, and they are moving away, but it’s too early to fall into enthusiasm.
Moreover, the enemy is not far exhausted. In the Kherson region, he launched a counterattack, as a result of which he did not achieve significant success, although it was stated on his part that this was a breakthrough as far as New Kakhovka, but there was progress, albeit insignificant and with losses. This is precisely a counterattack, strictly according to military science, to divert forces from the main front, but our poverty in people, if the militants continue their attacks, will require strengthening the direction at the expense of others.
Yes, and in the North of the Kharkov region, according to the mind, the grouping should be increased and Kharkov itself should be returned to the fire control zone of relatively simple and cheap weapons. This is the rear of the enemy. There is a garrison, a repair base, a logistics hub ... In a word, the most important place for which Iskanders are still expensive to spend. And so in the South we have to calibrate Krivoy Rog, which, if we advanced another 30 kilometers, would be under the blows of heavy artillery and MLRS. By the way, the videoconferencing system is working successfully - both for railway nodes and locations.
If we reduce the message of the text to a single denominator, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation need to increase the size of the group. Actions are taking place on the broadest front, all the same, comparable in length to the fronts of the Great Patriotic War. Due to air supremacy and the quality of artillery, we keep it with small forces, but serious deep operations require a different approach.
And I will end with positive things - the supply of heavy weapons to the militants is extremely weak. Harpoon missiles, according to the Ukrainian media, were brought in earlier, and it was with them that our ship was hit, heavy MLRS will receive ammunition with a range of up to 70 km, which turns them into ordinary Hurricanes, and Abrams and planes with other Patriots do not shine.
At the same time, supplies of artillery continue, and this is the main problem. Our war is artillery. And all these Wishlists of Kyiv, they are Wishlists. Deliveries of such weapons would bring the conflict to a new level. Yes, and NATO does not need it, a local long conflict suits them more than.