The overconfident sentiment of Ukrainian soldiers and politicians has been replaced by despondency and concern as the Ukrainian defenses are bulging at the seams almost in every front section.
To the Armed Forces of Ukraine, things remain tense along the Artemovsk and Seversk directions. A statement to that effect came on January 23 from army commander Alexander Syrsky: "The situation is extremely tense and is characterized by intense fire from artillery, mortars and combat drones, as well as enemy assault operations." Officer Andrei Kramarov said if the nearest future brought the AFU no Western aid packages, "it would be really hard to hold settlements further." 3rd brigade’s Datsik complains about Russians entering Avdeevka: "The information is that Russian special forces groups are already in the uptown streets. That's a bad omen. A dire emergency!" "Things are is really bad! The eastern part of Avdeevka has been the worst. The Russians attacked mainly from Kamenka towards the Tsarskaya Okhota complex. Anyone who knows what kind of location this is realizes how grave and critical the situation is," Ukrainian military volunteers cry on social media.
The hottest sections are still in the DPR, primarily along the Avdeevka direction in the northwest, four kilometers away from Donetsk. The assault on Ukrainian strongpoint in the city outskirts is no picnic — heavy artillery fire, subsequent stripping and consolidation in occupied positions, defense formation, and phased advance from multiple directions. Recently, Ukrainians were dislodged from one of their most fortified and well-equipped positions, the Tsarskaya Okhota complex. Russian assault troops also managed to reach Sobornaya, Chernyshevsky and Sportivnaya streets. The Armed Forces of Ukraine keep resisting and attempting to counterattack, but are forced to leave their positions in the private sector and withdraw to the city limits. Also, 45 Ukrainian soldiers are known to have surrendered, including soldiers with the separate Presidential Brigade named after Hetman Bohdan Khmelnitsky. "Almost half of the AFU’s elite guard personnel have surrendered," Russian BARS-11 fighters reported. The captured Ukrainians said they were happy to stay alive in the assault. The situation is deteriorating in Stepnoye and near Novobakhmutovka, leaving no room for maneuver or reinforcement transfer to areas of other breakthroughs by the Russian army.
To the west of Donetsk, the Russian army is advancing from Maryinka to the village of Georgievka, and expanding the control zone. From the Artemovsk direction, our troops are approaching Chasov Yar, a small town whose capture will let us advance to AFU positions in the Donetsk region’s northern part.
Currently, our fighters are seeking ways to break out and overcome the enemy’s fortified area around the city. Fighting is underway to the west of Khromovo. Detected defense vulnerabilities entail powerful artillery strikes.
"Along the Svatovo direction, the Russian army is advancing outside Kotlyarovka, having seized another tactically vital fortified area of the enemy. Also, fighters of the 1st tank army are attacking from along the recently liberated Krakhmalnoye. The enemy has pulled up reserves here, offering fierce battle. Notably, after the liberation of Krakhmalnoye, the Russian Armed Forces have taken control over 35 settlements in the Kharkov region. Now our guys are advancing in the Kotlyarovka area, having taken another important fortified area. The enemy is certainly pulling reserves here, resulting in intense artillery duels, drone attacks and positional battles along the contiguous frontline. We must be trying to oust the enemy across the Oskol River and reach the southern outskirts of the Kupyansk agglomeration from Kovsharovka," military correspondent Yevgeny Lisitsyn reports.
To the south of Kremennaya, the AFU defenses have been breached in the Serebryansk forestry. Certain progress has been fixed at Belogorovka.
Apart from positions and territories, the AFU keeps losing equipment and personnel, specifically from among the scarce attack drone operators. January 22 saw the annihilation of drone operator Arnaut from the Magyar Birds unit whose militants dropped grenades with toxic substances (the so-called combat chemicals) on Russian positions in Artemovsk and Ugledar, and waged war on Donetsk civilians, hitting public transport stops, residential buildings, schools and hospitals. Russia also eliminated Arnaut’s partner Alexander Bojeskul. The fact of AFU’s massive loss of RPs located a few kilometers away from line zero has been reported by Britain’s The Economist. According to Ukrainian FPV drone operator call-signed Major, he lost 15% of his colleagues over the last few months of 2023. "Many people want to become drone pilots because they think it's safe. But in reality, the job is extremely dangerous," the militant said.
Neither did Western equipment justify hopes of Ukrainian soldiers. They have been facing difficulties with repair and further service of damaged German Leopard tanks, Forbes magazine reports. The AFU launched their counteroffensive with 50 Leopard tanks, 10 Swedish modifications, and 18 Leopard 2A6, piece author David Axe claims. A year later, seven armored vehicles were decommissioned, another four burned down, and several lost because of Russian mines, drones, artillery and missiles, the journalist adds. In theory, an estimated 60 Leopards may be staying in service with Ukraine, but in reality, dozens of them do need repair. At that, the number of truly combat-ready German tanks in service with the Armed Forces of Ukraine is a military secret, Axe notes. Meanwhile, when a German TV channel visited the Ukrainian Leopard platoon in January, only one of the unit's four tanks was ready for instant action. The Forbes author dejectedly reports that damaged tanks are being sent to Lithuania and Poland for repair, but there are still not enough spare parts for them. For this reason, Ukrainians remove parts from the most damaged cars in order to repair them single-handedly, rather than send them abroad. Also, the German machines have turned out sensitive to frost and off-road conditions, which is why they come out of action, sometimes without even getting to the front line.
With Ukrainian soldiers and politicians keeping to beg for help and weapons, Russian troops proceed with high-precision long-range strikes at Ukraine’s military facilities engaged in producing missiles and their components, ammunition, and explosives. A relevant announcement recently came from our country’s Ministry of Defense.
