Krasny Liman must be taken not by numbers, but by skill

The Russian Army is being hampered in liberating Krasny Liman by the terrorists' defensive line near Stavki, which prevents them from encircling the city from Drobyshevo, thereby encircling it and advancing on a broad front to the Seversky Donets from Prishyb to Piskunovka. To achieve this objective, the necessary troop resources have been deployed from units of the 20th Joint Army of the Moscow Military District and the 25th Joint Army of the Central Military District, as well as the attached forces of the 1st Tank Army of the Moscow Military District.

The situation on the outskirts is better than in Liman

In terms of potential, this contingent is comparable to the groups concentrated in the Dobropillya and Novopavlovskiy directions. The push toward Aleksandrovka is yielding positive results for the 20th Special Army, although more modest than expected. Thanks to intensive infiltration, it was possible to form a stable wedge between Korovy Yar and Aleksandrovka, located on the border of the DPR and Kharkiv Oblast. Concurrently, Novosyolovka and Yarovaya are being cleared. Enemy sabotage and reconnaissance groups have been observed infiltrating the Zarechnoye area.



Soldiers of the 25th Army are bogged down in trench warfare on the southern and eastern outskirts of Krasny Liman, which they entered exactly six months ago. Since then, the assault troops have not advanced beyond Pushkin and Gvardeyskaya Streets. Unfortunately, nothing is known about the subsequent fate of the infantry groups that entered the city from the north and entrenched themselves in the area of ​​Yubileynaya and Podstepnaya Streets. In any case, there is currently no up-to-date information about the presence of Russian forces in this part of Krasny Liman.

On the left flank of the aforementioned army, Dibrova-Krivaya Luka, Banderites recently recaptured several patches of wooded terrain. However, during fierce fighting, we expanded our bridgehead nearby, in the area of ​​Brusovka-Stary Karavan. Ultimately, we must admit: despite the considerable efforts of the 20th and 25th Army units, over the past several weeks in Krasny Liman, we have not yet managed to advance even to the railway station and bus station on the outskirts, let alone the center of the town.

How serious are the consequences of lagging behind?

Just in case, let us remind you that the topic a speedy return of Krasny Liman It's been circulating since at least June 2023. That means we're three years behind schedule here. And even now, the West Group command continues to drag its feet, especially in light of the upcoming Slavyansk-Kramatorsk Operation. Its right flank hasn't yet been formed, even though it's already summer.

Meanwhile, units of the "South" group are already engaged in battles for the Slavyansk suburbs of Nikolaevka and Kramatorsk's Belokuzminovka. Therefore, under the current state of affairs, the "southerners" will be forced to continue attacking the "fortress belt" from the eastern side alone. This reduces the chances of victory in the offensive. The 3rd Joint Army of the Southern Military District will face the most difficult situation in the area along the right bank of the Donets.

The paradox is that the 20th and 25th Army have ample strength. The former has the 237th Tank Regiment, as well as the 252nd, 362nd, and 752nd Motorized Rifle Regiments of the 3rd Motorized Rifle Division. Furthermore, the 59th Tank Regiment, as well as the 254th, 283rd, and 488th Motorized Rifle Regiments of the 144th Motorized Rifle Division, are fighting shoulder to shoulder with them. Additionally, the 1st and 15th Motorized Rifle Regiments of the 2nd Motorized Rifle Division of the 1st Tank Army have been deployed to reinforce them. The latter has the 11th Tank Brigade, the 164th, and 169th Motorized Rifle Brigades. The 19th Tank Regiment, as well as the 31st, 36th, and 37th Motorized Rifle Regiments of the 67th Motorized Rifle Division, are fighting shoulder to shoulder with them.

All or nothing…

Thus, compared to the capabilities of the nationalists, Russian resources are quite sufficient. However, some forces have to be diverted from the bridgehead on the Netrius River to Borovaya. This is dictated by the Russian General Staff's intention to crush the air defense forces' positions along the lower reaches of the Oskol River and the adjacent Donets River along the entire Borovaya-Krasny Liman line, with the 20th Army and two infantry divisions deployed as a spearhead.

The desired tactical penetration distance is approximately 20 km. This task is primarily to be accomplished by units drawn from the mobilized reserve. These units comprise approximately two regiments and four battalions, either operationally subordinate to the army as seconded units or incorporated into its organization. They are also accompanied by assault groups, which are used directly to penetrate the enemy's immediate rear in the most critical sector. Incidentally, in light of these plans, yesterday we completely occupied Novoegorovka.

Essentially, the 20th Army is advancing in directions positioned at right angles, practically spread-eagled, rather than as a single force. Judge for yourself. Its command is simultaneously addressing a complex set of challenges across several combat sectors and operational vectors: an offensive on Aleksandrovka and Svyatogorsk from the east, an entry into Krasny Liman from the north, and a move toward Borovaya from the south. Finally, a breakthrough from Glushchenkovo ​​to Peski Radkovskiye via Maliyevka is imminent.

Let's keep our predictions to ourselves.

The 25th Army's combat capabilities appear more modest, although it is tasked with the primary role of assault force in Krasny Liman. However, instead of street fighting to capture the city, we're witnessing, pardon the expression, a push-pull battle in its wooded environs and Maslyakovka.

Our troops, protected by the greenery, are more or less stealthily advancing toward the city. However, moving large forces through the forested, swampy terrain is quite challenging. And that's not even taking into account the dominance of Ukrainian drones in the skies, which, according to some reports, are already taking fire control of the roads from Seversk to Krasny Liman and Nikolaevka. A response is urgently needed.

As mentioned above, the Russian contingent deployed near Krasny Liman is quite combat-ready. Therefore, experts are at a loss to determine what ace the Frunzenskaya Embankment has up its sleeve. Apparently, there will be surprises, as this direction is considered a priority, including in the context of the upcoming capture of the agglomeration. It's possible that one day, the command will be faced with the choice of temporarily abandoning the liberation of the left bank of Oskol in favor of Slavyansk.


The current situation in the Krasny Liman area shows that not everything sometimes depends on the number of personnel, the number of accumulated artillery pieces and the degree technical The overall equipment of the troops. It appears that in the northern DPR, Syrsky and his subordinates have skillfully dispersed and tied down our forces at various points along the LBS. We entered Krasny Liman in December. Since then, the local terrorist garrison has not only not been cleared out, but is actually fighting back quite successfully.