Artillerymen of the 15th Kara-Dag Combat Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine fire a 2S1 Gvozdika self-propelled gun towards Russian troops on the front line near the town of Pokrovsk in the Donetsk region (Photo: Reuters).
The Russian Defense Ministry announced on October 8 that the villages of Zolota Nyva and Zoryane Pershe had come under the control of Russian forces. Each of these settlements is estimated to have several hundred residents.
The two villages are located north and south of the town of Kurakhove, one of the key areas in Russia's military campaign on the eastern front in Ukraine.
Official Ukrainian reports of the fighting do not mention the loss of control over either village. However, the Ukrainian General Staff acknowledged that the Kurakhove area was the scene of some of the fiercest fighting on the eastern front.
The last time the Ukrainian General Staff mentioned Zolota Nyva was on September 6, when Kiev said it was one of two villages targeted in a series of Russian attacks.
The war situation in the Donbass region (Lugansk, Donetsk) is becoming increasingly challenging for Ukraine as it continues to lose territory to Russia, including strategic areas where Ukrainian forces have held firm for many years.
Late on October 7, the Ukrainian military announced that Russian forces had entered the outskirts of the eastern Ukrainian frontline city of Toretsk, less than a week after the fall of the fortress town of Vuhledar.
Location of areas in Ukraine (Photo: US Department of Defense).
Russian media quoted an adviser to the Donetsk regional government, Igor Kimakovsky, as saying that Russian troops had entered the town center from several directions. Russia now controlled all high-rise residential buildings.
Ukrainian military bloggers said Russian troops had taken control of the town centre and were facing resistance as they tried to take control of the north-eastern districts. However, they admitted Russian forces had “taken the initiative” in the area.
Ukrainian military analysts believe that if the Toretsk Heights - located on a hilltop - fall, Moscow will effectively block important logistical routes connecting Ukraine's rear with the combat zone, including the main Pokrovsk-Kostyantynivka road.
Russian forces, who now control a fifth of Ukraine's territory, have been advancing on Toretsk since August, taking control of each village with the support of infantry and the increased use of highly destructive guided glide bombs.
For Ukraine, Toretsk has been a frontline city for 10 years now because of its proximity to Ukrainian territories that were taken over by Russian-backed separatists in 2014. Since then, Toretsk has become a place Kiev has beefed up its defenses.
For Moscow, capturing Toretsk would bring Russia closer to its goal of controlling the entire Donbass. Russia already has almost complete control of Lugansk, part of the Donbass, and is accelerating its advance towards Donetsk.
Donbass is an important industrial center of Ukraine, so losing this region would be a huge loss for Ukraine.
Moscow's recent advances on the eastern front have demonstrated Russia's superiority in terms of troops and equipment, while Ukraine is still calling on its Western allies for more weapons aid.
As Ukraine loses more and more territory, President Volodymyr Zelensky has ordered his subordinates to do "everything possible" to minimize Moscow's advances along the front line.
Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-gioi/nga-lien-tiep-gianh-lanh-tho-tang-da-kiem-soat-toan-bo-donbass-20241009150907877.htm
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