Encirclement or maneuver warfare. What happens on the Bakhmut-Lysichansk line

From the first day of the war Focus never stopped working. Our team considers it its duty to inform the reader about what is happening, to collect and analyze facts, to resist enemy propaganda. Focus needs your support today, to continue your mission. Thank you for being with us.

Support
–

Now in the east of Ukraine the situation is extremely difficult. The RF Armed Forces are developing an offensive in several directions at once. The Armed Forces of Ukraine with fights retreat to new positions. The Svetlodar Bulge was abandoned, heavy battles are being fought in the city of Liman and its environs. Stuffings are rushing in the media about the encirclement of units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in Severodonetsk and the blocking of the “road of life”, the Bakhmut-Lysichansk highway. As you can see, there is a lot of information, few answers. What is really happening? Let’s figure it out.

Read the best materials of the section on the page “Focus. Military Focus” в Facebook

–

Bakhmut-Lisichansk highway

The route has not been cut, but heavy fighting is taking place in its vicinity, that is, the route is being shot through – both by artillery and mortars, guns, etc. This really complicates the movement along it, but even if we assume that it will really be lost, that is blocked physically, the connection between Bakhmut and Lisichansk still remains. To the north there is another route. By the way, in the unsuccessful attempt of units of the RF Armed Forces to force the Seversky Donets River in the Belogorovka area, their command pursued the goal of cutting this second route. But the enemy was defeated, and the crossing of the river ended in defeat for him. That is why there is no even close overlap of ground communication between Bakhmut and Lisichansk.

–

Even with the loss of the Bakhmut-Lysichansk highway, there will be no encirclement, there are other roads and ways

–

Withdrawal of forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

It is important to understand that a mobile war is going on in the east. In such a war, your forces can either move and take up new positions, or retreat, leaving certain areas, for example, to avoid encirclement. This is exactly what happened at the Svetlodarsk Bulge. It was possible to leave our forces there – then they would be blocked in the city by the enemy. These people would be lost. But the command acts wisely when it saves our forces, withdrawing them to new positions. This brings us to the next important point – exhaustion.

exhausting

Wearing out in war is the depletion of the enemy forces by constant painful blows, luring him into fire bags (zones where the fire of all means of destruction is concentrated on the enemy), retreating and forcing him to pursue your forces, thereby forcing the enemy to stretch his troops and communications.

The exhaustion is accompanied by intense combat contact and constant maneuver. This is what we see now in the east.

–

The Armed Forces of Ukraine are withdrawing, enticing units of the RF Armed Forces, militants, mercenaries, etc., and destroying them in pre-targeted areas. Take, for example, the city of Popasnaya. This settlement was a key one for the enemy, as it is located at a relative height. Without controlling Popasnaya, it was impossible to develop the offensive further. But now, descending from this height into the operational space, moving towards Bakhmut or the highway leading to Lysichansk, the enemy forces become extremely vulnerable – they are no longer protected by buildings and heights. Stretching in the spaces in the lowland, they are vulnerable to any means of destruction. From mortars and ATGMs to artillery and kamikaze drones. By the way, the latter are now actively used in this sector of the front.

No need to sprinkle ashes on your head ahead of time

On the maps circulating on the Internet, which show the positions of the fronts, the forces of the enemy are often displayed, but for obvious reasons, the forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine are not shown. It’s good that they are hidden. Only the General Staff knows about them – only they should have this information. But I will remind you that if our forces are not shown on the maps, this does not mean that they are not there. Right now, a big battle is unfolding in the east, involving tens of thousands of soldiers and hundreds, perhaps even thousands of pieces of equipment. We respond to enemy advances both by wearing down and wedging in – counterattacks.

No one prescribed that it was the RF Armed Forces that would win this battle and be able to carry out their plans to encircle our forces. Nothing is predetermined, the battle is on, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine have all the tools and capabilities to inflict painful defeats on the enemy troops, like what we could see near Belogorovka. The most important thing is to remember that there is no encirclement, the situation, although difficult, is controlled, there is no defeat of our units anywhere, and the enemy, apparently, is using his last forces in this direction (Papasnaya), capable of such a large-scale offensive.

The enemy will eventually be exhausted and defeated, and the Armed Forces of Ukraine, having retained their strength, with the help of fresh reserves, will go on the counteroffensive and push the enemy back – just like they were thrown back quite recently from near Kharkov.