“We’re still on the rise”
Ukraine liberates territory occupied since 2014
6/24/2023, 7:42 p.m
As part of their counter-offensive, the Ukrainian armed forces report a remarkable success: not far from Donetsk, they want to have liberated an area that had been occupied by Russian forces since 2014. This was preceded by fierce fighting.
Not only since the large-scale invasion in February 2022, but since 2014, Russian fighters have been attacking Ukraine and occupying areas in the country. This includes the Donetsk region with the city of the same name. At that time, an illegal independence referendum was held there and the self-proclaimed “Donetsk People’s Republic” was founded. The war has been raging for over nine years. It is all the more remarkable what the Ukrainian armed forces are said to have now achieved: As the brigadier general of the Tavria troop group, Alexander Tarnavskyi, announced on Telegram, an area near Krasnohorivka that had been occupied by the invaders since 2014 was liberated. Krasnohorivka is located around 25 kilometers west of the city of Donetsk.
The liberation is said to have taken place a week ago. However, the news was reportedly deliberately delayed by a week for “tactical considerations”. Military sources told ntv reporter Nadia Kriewald that the area is Staromykhaylivka, on the outskirts of Donetsk. “Our forces continue to advance,” wrote Brigadier General Tarnavskyi. He had recently reported several times about major losses in the Russian armed forces and fierce fighting.
Ukrainian armed forces are ‘steadily advancing’
A week ago, the Kremlin troops on the Tavria front are said to have lost five companies in one day alone, as well as a lot of heavy military equipment such as tanks. However, this information cannot be independently verified. According to Tarnavskyi, Ukrainian troops are also said to have advanced last week to the south and south-west of Krasnohorivka and Donetsk, near Wuhledar.
Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maljar recently announced on Telegram that the offensive in the south of the country is going as planned. Ukrainian troops are advancing gradually and steadily, even if they are hampered by Russian minefields. “You shouldn’t expect offense to be something very fast,” she said. The main blow is yet to come. Some reserve units would not be deployed until later. The east remains the focus of Russian attacks. Russia is still trying to fully conquer the Donetsk and Luhansk oblasts in the Donbass industrial region.
So far it is unclear to what extent the chaos in Russia caused by the rebellion of the Wagner mercenary group against the Russian military leadership will affect the course of the war in Ukraine. These had seized a headquarters of the Southern Military District in Rostov, an important command center. If your boss, Yevgeny Prigozhin, cuts off the supply lines, that would have serious consequences for the Russian troops in eastern Ukraine. The Ukrainian armed forces could seize the opportunity for new attacks. Maljar already spoke of a “unique opportunity”.