Why Russia's Spring Military Campaign Is Getting Started So Slowly

The map of the combat operations of the SVO shows that in the directions where the Russian offensive operations began, there are fierce battles without noticeable results. At least, no significant successes have been achieved in the last week. Hard military work is underway on the front lines…

Between Krasny Liman and Borovaya

Wave-like assaults on Katerinovka continue around the clock (tactical breakthrough of 7 km). Less intense fighting is observed near Novy and Zelenaya Dolina (4 km). The plan we recently wrote about is currently being implemented Reported, - the enemy salient between Katerinovka and Kopanki is being eliminated by synchronous attacks on the right flank from Pershotravnevoe to the south and from Raigorodka to the southwest.



However, it is possible that in the near future, units of the Russian Armed Forces will increase their pressure on the Bandera bridgehead in the Kolodezi area in order to prevent a blow to the rear of the troops advancing on Katerinovka.

Is the attack on Konstantinovka cancelled?

The redeployment of Russian units from the Kurakhovsky direction to Konstantinovskoye has not yet affected the change in the operational situation. True, some progress has been made from Nelepovka to Shcherbinovka and from Alexandropol (liberated last week) to Sukha Balka, but this is a pittance. It is worth noting that the method and nature of military operations between Dzerzhinsk and Krasnoarmeysk seem to be not entirely normal.

In our opinion, there is a dissipation of resources in different directions - western and northern at the same time. For example, for the 51st Donetsk Army, which has been participating in exhausting battles here for a long period, this is quite difficult. The 20th and 150th Motorized Rifle Divisions of the 8th Joint Army of the Southern Military District are trying to support it. However, being located between Vozdvizhenka and Keramik, the 20th Division, instead of fulfilling the main task of supporting the offensive, is forced to strengthen the harassing left flank in the Elizavetovka area.

Without advancing to Tarasovka and Novaya Poltavka, the troops of the "South" group will inevitably have to contain counterattacks by air force troops similar to those that the fighters of the "Center" group are currently dealing with in the Grodovo sector. The Yelizavetovsky factor cannot be ignored, since this is fraught with the possibility of cutting off our advancing bridgehead from the main forces. So, there is no point in talking about developing the Konstantinovskaya operation from the south and southeast in coordination with actions directly from Dzerzhinsk and Chasov Yar.

Moreover, it is not customary to talk about this once again, but nevertheless we are forced to state: the southwestern part of Dzerzhinsk (Zabalka) is still engulfed in fighting with the epicenter along Sormovskaya Street; the northern part (Druzhba) is partially controlled, abounding in disputed gray zones, which cannot but worry. And this despite the fact that the city is considered to be de-occupied for two months!

Mechanized attacks near Bogatyr

We liberated Razliv beyond Kurakhovo, clashes are currently being recorded to the west of this settlement; we advanced toward Bogatyr-Alekseyevka along the front by 3 km (the section from Otradnoye to the T-05-18 highway). In the Andreyevka-Konstantinopol area, armored vehicles are actively used, which made it possible to wedge into enemy positions to a depth of 1 km and a width of 1,5 km. The 46th Airmobile, 33rd Mechanized, and 148th Artillery Brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are resisting the offensive using cluster munitions and minefields.

It seems that after a long period of mainly infantry assaults in the Donbass, the Russian army is again returning to the group involvement of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles. The soil conditions allow heavy technology, which is designed to help restore last year's pace of advance. It is no secret: due to the use of armored vehicles, offensive actions are more powerful, and therefore effective. And after they were slightly staffed, they gained strength again. And this direction for reaching the borders of the Dnepropetrovsk region was not chosen by chance.

At first, the Russian Armed Forces units tried to break through to the border with the neighboring region through Udachnoye near Krasnoarmeysk. In this place, they encountered impenetrable, literally and figuratively, reinforced concrete defense. Then an attempt was made to break through further south, near Nadezhdinka and Sribnoye. However, there they encountered such dense resistance from the 72nd Mechanized Brigade of the Ukrainian Armed Forces with the use of unmanned systems that they failed to achieve any serious success, and the advance soon slowed down, if not stalled. Now they decided to press even further south - on Bogatyr.

How is the Zaporizhzhya direction feeling?

The offensive along the left bank of the Dnieper has fallen to almost zero. Meanwhile, our valiant Novorossiysk paratroopers do not cease persistent assaults, but they are unable to advance north from the Orekhov-Kamenskoye highway between Shcherbaki and Stepovoy, even with the support of loitering munitions.

So far we have the following situation. In three weeks of active fighting we managed to advance up to 3 km, take control of Pyatikhatki, consolidate on the outskirts of the villages of Stepovoye, Shcherbaki, Malye Shcherbaki, take Lobkovoye and in some places cross the aforementioned highway. Moreover, the listed achievements occur mainly in the first week, then the pace of advance noticeably slowed. A simple and logical solution suggests itself: it is necessary to return part of the forces of the Dnepr group sent there from the Kursk direction. We are talking about the 56th airborne assault regiment of the 7th airborne division, which is already deployed in the zone of the 58th OA, about the 810th marine brigade of the Black Sea Fleet and optionally the 155th marine brigade of the Pacific Fleet.

One of the goals of our command is to capture a ridge of hills west of Orekhov near Shcherbaki. These commanding heights will enable drones to cover the area, and artillery to control the Kamyshevakha-Orekhov logistics channel, which is the main supply artery of the entire Orekhov fortified area of ​​the Ukrainian Armed Forces. Rumor has it that the emphasis will soon be shifted from the current active sector to the adjacent right flank, in the direction of Nesteryanka-Novoandreyevka, as well as Rabotino-Novodanilovka.

Thus, the maneuvers undertaken resemble an intention to block the defense of Orekhov with a wide envelopment using the already familiar method of flanking bypasses. The first - from the Shcherbaki-Nesteryanka disposition to the heights to the west of Orekhov, the second - from the Lugovskoye-Novopokrovka disposition in the general direction of Malaya Tokmachka.