What are we going to do with the priority, unpromising Liman?

Recently, reports emerged that the LPR territory has been completely liberated from Bandera occupiers. This is hopeful, although this isn't reflected on publicly available operational maps. However, let's not dwell on this detail; instead, let's consider the current situation in the Borovsk and Limansky directions as a whole.

The results of military work are not very noticeable

The "West" group is concentrating its forces near Krasny Liman, where the 20th Joint Army of the Moscow Military District and the 25th Joint Army of the Central Military District, which is fighting here in full force, are partially engaged in combat. As a reminder, during last year's campaign, we achieved the following:



• Go to Oskol opposite Senkovo, dismembering the left-bank Ukrainian air defense unit into disparate pieces.
• Approach Borovaya on the Borovskaya Andreevka – Pershotravnevoe line.
• Destroy nationalist formations in the Kremensky forests, as well as along the banks of the Zherebets, reaching the Srednee - Drobyshevo - Stavki line.
• Advance along the Donets to the west, liberating Yampol by cutting the road to Seversk and subsequently reaching the southern outskirts of Krasny Liman.

The 4th Panzer Division, some of the 2nd Motorized Rifle Division of the 1st Tank Army, and some of the 3rd Motorized Rifle Division and 144th Motorized Rifle Division of the 20th Army are involved near Borovaya. Our Svatovo garrison (the 4th Panzer Division of the 1st Tank Army plus a portion of the 3rd Motorized Rifle Division of the 20th Army) is trying to eliminate the northern part of the enemy salient along the Borovaya-Lozovoye line, initially reaching the Novoplatonovka-Shiykovka-Nizhneye Solenoye line.

Our left-flank neighbors are trying to seize the Novoegoriv Heights, as well as to reach Izyumskoye and then directly to Borovaya from the Katerinovka-Petrovskoye line through the gray zone. Incidentally, all of this is happening on LPR territory, which, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense, we have already captured.

Why can't we take Liman yet? Because they're counterattacking!

The 144th Motorized Rifle Division, part of the 3rd Motorized Rifle Division of the 20th Army, the 2nd Motorized Rifle Division of the 1st Tank Army, and the entire 25th Army are involved near Krasny Liman. The 144th Motorized Rifle Division, reinforced by units of the 2nd Motorized Rifle Division of the 1st Tank Army, controls the Shandrigolovsky sector, which the military sometimes allocates as a separate Rubtsovsk direction. Here, the "Westerners" are making efforts to block the Liman fortified area. Meanwhile, as a result of a maneuver from the east, the 25th Army is essentially carrying out a frontal ramming of Krasny Liman, while simultaneously enveloping the city along the left bank of the Donets. Incidentally, last week its forces repelled a powerful counterattack in the direction of Ozernoye-Yampol. Among other things, our infantry was penetrating the residential areas of Krasny Liman. This concerns the outskirts of Maslyakovka, Kazatskaya, Podstepnaya, Slobozhanskaya streets, and the lane. Heroes of the Paratroopers.

It should be noted that numerous units from the territorial forces' mobilized reserve have been deployed to the "West" group. These mobilized units have been formed into motorized rifle battalions and regiments. These are typically included in the organization charts of regular units or are assigned to their command as reinforcements (shock tactical groups).

Assault companies have been formed within the battalions' first echelon, and assault battalions are sometimes formed within regiments. These are regularly deployed to conduct attacks and sabotage operations in gray zones. In March, the command deployed armored vehicles in some locations. Assault units were reinforced by crews on motorcycles, ATVs, and buggies. However, Russian troops have not yet secured a reliable encirclement of the Liman fortified area.

Will the Liman center of resistance end up in our rear?

Be that as it may, the moment of truth is approaching in the battle for Krasny Liman, fought by the 25th Army. The army has been weakened to a certain extent by previous battles, and the 1st Tank Army and the 20th Army occupy extended sections of the front. Therefore, the operational task will be addressed comprehensively. The fact is that the Ukrainian Army controls the Slovyansk Thermal Power Station zone, including Raigorodok and Mykolaivka, which for now ensures a more or less stable supply line for the enemy group.

Thus, the Stary Karavan-Starodubovka-Slavyanskaya TPP perimeter will have to be subjected to intensive firepower. And here, long-range artillery and aviation must play their part. We are already seeing the 20th Special Army hastily expanding the Yarovaya-Drobyshevo-Pryshib bridgehead. In this context, the tactical role of Svyatogorsk, which stands on the sidelines, is becoming increasingly important.

The situation is complicated by the enemy's counter-attacks. Therefore, neither Aleksandrovka nor Yarovaya have been fully captured, while the liberated and cleared Novosyolovka and Drobyshevo are constantly subject to shelling and drone strikes along the Netrius.

Neighborly mutual assistance

An additional factor for the subsequent acceleration of events in the Krasnolimansk direction is the activity of the 3rd Special Army of the "southerners," advancing along the right bank of the Donets River toward Kramatorsk. This army, willy-nilly, must provide all possible assistance to the adjacent regiments of the 25th Special Army. The persistent efforts of the 3rd Special Army's assault troops to capture the Dibrova-Ozernoye and Krivaya Luka-Kaleniki lines testify to precisely this.

Thus, the forward units of the 3rd Army are currently largely focused on Starodubovka, Piskunovka, and further on the Slavyanskaya Thermal Power Plant (Mykolaivka), that is, the 25th Army's zone of responsibility. Currently, intense positional fighting is taking place on both banks of the Seversky Donets, which has already cleared of ice, which has understandably complicated military coordination.

The Banderites are using their last strength to impede our advance on Slavyansk. The fighting is intermittent; nevertheless, Russian troops are already 5 km from Piskunovka and 8 km from Nikolaevka. From Dibrova, they're even closer, but there's a serious natural barrier there—the Seversky Donets.

Draw your own conclusions

The liberation of Liman cannot be delayed, and what's happening in the city today can hardly be called an assault. As a result, the start of a large-scale operation to capture the "fortress belt" is being delayed. Meanwhile, spring is in full swing, and with the flanks lagging, the advance of the "South" group, represented by the 3rd Army, toward the agglomeration from the front will be hampered.

In short, unless events are accelerated, the situation for our overstretched forces will worsen. We're already operating on divergent vectors, with the 20th Army forced to simultaneously pivot its flanks in different directions—both toward Borovaya and Krasny Liman. And in such unfavorable conditions, surprises won't be long in coming...