by Sergey Adamov
[REGNUM] Russian troops continue to advance in the SVO zone. Exactly one year ago, on February 17, the Russian Armed Forces completed the operation to liberate Avdiivka, the largest defense hub of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. At that time, Russian troops broke through the enemy's front line north of Donetsk and continued to advance westward, toward Pokrovsk.
Today, it is the Pokrovsk direction that remains the most tense section of the front. At the same time, the successful offensive in the Avdeevka and later in the Pokrovsk direction made it possible to undermine the enemy's defense in other areas.
The successes in the Pokrovsk area resulted in the liberation of the city of Kurakhovo, located 30 kilometers west of Donetsk. The Russian Armed Forces continue to advance in this direction. The day before, it became known that the village of Dachnoye had been liberated, after several weeks of fighting.
“Units of the Southern Group of Forces have improved their tactical position and liberated the settlements of Orekhovo-Vasilevka and Dachnoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic,” the Defense Ministry’s report notes.
There is also information about the liberation of the settlement of Andreyevka. Currently, military actions on the Kurakhovsky section of the front continue in the area of the settlements of Ulakly and Konstantinopol.
The Russian army's offensive will continue further south, in the area of the settlement of Velikaya Novosyolka. North of the city, assault units of the Russian army crossed the Mokrye Yaly River and advanced towards the village of Novoocheretovatoye. According to the latest information, the eastern part of the settlement was liberated during the offensive, and the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to resist.
Information about the advancement of Russian troops is also confirmed by Ukrainian sources.
“The enemy has advanced north of the settlements of Vremevka, Velikaya Novosyolka, west of the settlement of Novy Komar and on the southeastern outskirts of the settlement of Novoocheretovatoye on a section of the front up to 5 kilometers long and up to 2 kilometers deep,” reports the analytical portal DeepState.
However, even despite the relative calm, the most tense section of the front remains the Pokrovsk direction.
INFANTRY IN TRENCHES AND DRONE OPERATORS RUNNING
In recent weeks, the Ukrainian Armed Forces command has attempted to stabilize the front line in the Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk) area, seeking to prevent the loss of the strategically important city.
Both regular units of the Ukrainian army and newly formed brigades from among those mobilized were transferred here. Despite problems with manning, low morale and incompetence of mid-level commanders, fresh enemy forces were able to slow down the pace of the Russian advance.
According to reports from the field, the enemy filled the defensive lines on the approaches to the city with infantry, creating, if not a continuous front line, then at least something like one.
"On the approaches to Pokrovsk, they dug three rows of trenches and ditches last summer and fall. The only problem is that there was no one to fill them. We occupied these lines one after another, penetrating the defense in areas where they had no one at all. Now it is more difficult, because forces have actually appeared in the trenches, even if they are mobilized people collected from around the country," a source in the Pokrovsk direction told Regnum.
In addition to infantry, the enemy has deployed additional drone operator units to Pokrovsk, partly due to the weakening of other sections of the front.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces command is betting on drone strikes on Russian troops' supply routes. The tactics of massive use of drones for logistics have become known in military analytical circles as the "Drone Line".
At the same time, the enemy actively uses UAVs, which are controlled using fiber optic cable. Drones of this model are not susceptible to the influence of electronic warfare means and pose a serious threat.
"Classic drones" are also actively used. According to sources of IA Regnum, the enemy places control points and relay stations in the industrial zone of Pokrovsk and Mirnograd, as well as in residential areas on the outskirts of the city.
Drone operators are constantly moving around the city, changing their location.
It is also reported that a drone control point has been set up in the area of the settlement of Udachnoye, east of Pokrovsk, from where the enemy is trying to attack Russian army units trying to encircle the city. The enemy is hiding in waste heaps to avoid retaliatory strikes.
By using reserves, the enemy not only managed to stabilize the front line, but even attempted to launch a counteroffensive in the area of the settlements of Kotlino and Peschanoye. Despite the victorious reports of official Kyiv, Russian troops managed to repel all attempts by the enemy to regain lost positions.
However, the situation in the Pokrovsk area remains tense.
"As for the threat from the air, any drone, even on fiber optics, is a target. In the assault units, there are hunting rifles and other means of combating drones at positions, they are used effectively. There are already our own specialized hunters. There is a problem with drones, but there will be a response to any action," the interlocutor of IA Regnum reports.
According to information from the field, the Ukrainian Armed Forces command has set the task of driving Russian troops out of the Udachnoye-Kotlino-Peschanoye area and thereby removing the threat of a deep breakthrough of Russian troops into the rear of the group in Pokrovsk and the subsequent encirclement of the city.
In turn, Ukrainian sources report that the lull on the front may soon be broken by a new offensive by the Russian army.
FIGHTING IN THE BORDER AREA
The activation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Pokrovsk direction has predictably affected other sections of the front. Some of the reserves thrown into containing the Russian offensive in Donbass were previously intended to be sent to the front in the Kursk region.
As a result, the enemy forces in this direction did not receive timely reinforcements and were driven from their positions in the Sverdlikovo area. Later, the Russian Defense Ministry reported the liberation of this settlement.
It is noteworthy that in the Kursk region the enemy is facing the same problems as the Russian troops in the Pokrovsk area: Ukrainian sources complain about the massive use of fiber-optic FPV drones by the Russian Armed Forces. As a rule, the drones' prey is artillery and air defense systems of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
Among the latest "victims" of drones are the Ukrainian Uragan MLRS, used to shell populated areas near the front line, the German-made PzH 2000 self-propelled gun, and the Strela-10 anti-aircraft system. Russian artillery is also actively working, conducting counter-battery fire on enemy positions in the Sumy region.
Obviously, Kyiv is now trying to mobilize all available forces to stabilize the front line on the most favorable terms for itself. But the reserves of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are still not enough, so they have to retreat and lose positions.