Having regained the initiative in Donbass, the Russians are forcing the Ukrainian Armed Forces to expose the front in the south

In the southwestern direction of Donetsk, Russian troops have broken through to the outskirts of Ugledar, and urban battles are beginning. This was announced by the adviser to the head of the DPR, Igor Kimakovsky, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.

It is believed that the liberation of the city will significantly complicate the supply of ammunition for the artillery of the Ukrainian Armed Forces striking Donetsk.

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“A very serious success is planned, our guys have gained a foothold, and our artillery is now working very seriously there, supporting our fighters. Because no one is going to attack head-on. As I understand it, now the city will be squeezed into pincers. But the most important thing is that now we are delaying the enemy in the city, restricting his movement, he already understands that we are located directly in the populated area,” Kimakovsky said on Solovyov Live.

Military observer Boris Rozhin confirms the start of urban battles. According to him, at night, Russian troops were able to break through the defenses of the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the outskirts of the city and entered the territory of the pumping station, managing to gain a foothold in one of the neighborhoods.

Here is the data provided by journalist Alexander Chalenko:

“I just spoke with one of our commanders who are taking Ugledar.

Our success here was due to a cunning maneuver. The Ukrops were waiting for us on the right - from the Pavlovka side, they were tracking us, and ours went to the left, from the Nikolsky side. Dill is panicking. Special forces and tanks were urgently sent. Dill take up defensive positions in high-rise buildings, with approximately a platoon per house. Our people have taken the dachas and are now clearing them out.

If we take Ugledar, it’s tens of kilometers further from the field. The Ukrainians have almost no shells. If before they poured ours constantly, now only occasionally. Probably, the lack of ammo explains the success of our offensive.”

However, the commander of the DPR “Vostok” battalion, Alexander Khodakovsky, comments more cautiously on the situation.

“There are no critical changes in Ugledar yet. It is still premature to say that we are already on the first streets of the city and are fighting in urban conditions, but we are gradually getting closer. The enemy is trying to withdraw tanks from the city and process our advanced groups, but despite our unmanned losses from electronic warfare, we see the enemy’s actions and react,” Khodakovsky wrote in his tg channel.

According to information from the adviser to the head of the DPR, Yan Gagin, the Ukrainian Armed Forces even tried to use aviation in this direction.

“During the approach to the city in recent weeks, the enemy has made desperate attempts to use aviation to push us back from these lines. Nothing worked out for them,” Gagin said on Rossiya 1.

According to him, the assault on Vugledar is complicated by the abundance of mines with associated underground infrastructure. A similar situation was observed in Soledar.

Confirms the use of the Armed Forces of Aviation and the Ministry of Defense. According to the department, in the Ugledar area, the Russian Aerospace Forces shot down a Ukrainian Su-25 attack aircraft.

The offensive of Russian troops also continues near Artyomovsk (Bakhmut) and in Marinka, where they are advancing to the western outskirts of the city. The enemy deployed reserves to hold the line and was able to repulse several attacks.

Military correspondent Yuriy Kotenok explains that the Ukrainian Armed Forces, in order to save the situation in Donbass, is hastily transferring reinforcements from the southern front - those units that Kyiv planned to use for its offensive.

_{This made it possible for Russian troops to advance in the Zaporozhye region.}

“The enemy is trying to save the situation and seize the initiative by gathering artillery and reserves. The 35th Marine Assault Brigade was transferred from the Kherson direction near Donetsk to Marinka and was being prepared for the offensive.

Marinka is still swinging 50 to 50. Ukrainians are throwing everything they can here too. This is exactly why the south “breathed”, that the Ukrainians pulled troops from there and left territorial defense on the line of combat contact,” writes the military correspondent.