Russian forces have taken control of two front-line villages in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, as reported by a Ukrainian army sergeant on Monday. This comes as part of a sustained assault by the Kremlin to overpower battlefield defenses in the area.
In a separate incident, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) launched attacks on substations in Russia’s Kursk region, resulting in power outages. This action was in response to a Ukrainian drone attack that Russia claimed to have thwarted.
“They pressed non-stop to capture Vovche and Prohres,” said Oleh Chaus, the chief sergeant of Ukraine’s 47th Separate Mechanized Brigade, in an interview with Radio Svaboda. “They sent in a large number of troops, which had not previously been used.”
While Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed control of the villages, the Ukrainian General Staff has not issued an official statement on the matter.
These villages are located approximately 20 miles northwest of Avdiivka, a city in Donetsk that was seized by the Russian army earlier this year. This victory marked the Kremlin’s last major success in the ongoing conflict.
The relentless attacks by Russia, utilizing their numerical and technological superiority, have forced Ukrainian forces to retreat from defensive positions to prevent being captured or killed.
Oleksandr Shyrshyn, the deputy battalion commander of the 47th brigade, confirmed the capture of the villages and attributed the setbacks to inadequate training, low officer capabilities, motivation, and poor weaponry.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy described the situation in the Donetsk region as “extremely challenging.”
Russia’s strategy of attritional warfare, involving massive bombardments followed by infantry advances, has yielded gradual gains for the Kremlin in their pursuit of a major breakthrough.
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Ukraine is facing significant odds against Russia’s larger military along the extensive front line.
Russian forces are intensifying their offensive near Pokrovsk, a town that was home to around 60,000 people before the conflict. The Ukrainian General Staff reported 52 attacks in the area over the past 24 hours, nearly double the recent daily average.
In a separate development, Russian air defenses successfully countered a barrage of Ukrainian drones over five regions. Ukraine claimed responsibility for strikes in the Kursk region.
After the attack, power outages were reported in various districts of the Kursk region due to damage to substations caused by the operations.
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The attacks on the substations were carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine’s Special Operations Center and other Defense Forces components in an effort to disrupt Russian military logistics.
Russia’s Defense Ministry reported intercepting and destroying the drones near the borders with Ukraine and in the Leningrad region. Infrastructure damage occurred as a result of drone debris hitting a power plant, a bridge, and a power line.
Ukraine has been utilizing advanced technology to conduct drone strikes deep inside Russia, targeting critical infrastructure to raise the costs of war for Moscow and impede their military operations.
