Ukrainian Commander: Northern 'Pincer' of Russia's Donbas Offensive Has Been Crushed

Ukrainian forces have halted and effectively destroyed the northern flank of Russia's offensive in Donetsk region — the so-called "northern pincer" of a plan to encircle the region's fortified cities. This was stated by Ukrainian commander Andriy Biletsky, as quoted by Ukrainska Pravda.

According to him, Russian command had planned to encircle Donbas's fortified cities from two directions: from the south, via Dobropillia, and from the north, via Sviatohirsk, with the two groupings meant to link up near Barvinkove. The southern advance near Dobropillia was already stopped last year, and the situation there remains difficult but under control. As for the northern axis, Biletsky said it has been "practically halted and destroyed."

The Dispute Over Sviatohirsk

Two weeks ago, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that Russian troops had captured Sviatohirsk. Shortly afterward, however, Biletsky recorded a video right in the city center, with the Sviatohirsk Lavra visible in the background, to prove that the city remains under Ukrainian control.

The Ukrainian commander stressed that it is critical to paralyze the logistics and rear units of Russian forces in order to prevent them from renewing their offensive. He noted that Russian troops will now be forced to attack the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk and Druzhkivka-Kostiantynivka agglomerations head-on — and a frontal assault on these cities comes at a far higher cost, in both blood and resources, than trying to encircle and seize them without a fight.

Counteroffensive and Fierce Fighting

In Donetsk region, effectively only the fortified belt of cities remains under Ukrainian control. In late August, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced that reinforcements were being sent to the area under the command of Brigadier General Denys Prokopenko and Andriy Biletsky.

On the northern sector, Ukrainian forces launched a counteroffensive as part of an operation codenamed "Vivaldi." According to the Ukrainian side, troops managed to push Russian units out of infiltration zones covering roughly 75 square kilometers, while retaking control of an additional 10 square kilometers of territory. These claims cannot currently be independently verified.

Despite the gains in the north, other Ukrainian-held cities in the region remain under heavy pressure from Russian forces. The situation is most dire around Kostiantynivka and Pokrovsk. Russian forces seized Pokrovsk around the turn of the year, but fighting on its outskirts remains among the fiercest along the entire front line.

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Source: novinky.cz