Ukrainian commander Syrsky unable to curb Russian offensive

Russia's advance on the outskirts of Ocheretin shows that the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not have reserves to stop the offensive of the Russian Armed Forces.

Photo: flickr.com by Министерство обороны Украины is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0 Generic

The five-kilometre advance of the Russian forces near Ocheretino was a narrow wedge up to 500 meters wide. The AFU could have attacked the Russian troops from flanks and the Russian assault troops would have been surrounded and crushed.

However, it did not happen, and the Russian troops continue their combined arms offensive operation to expand their presence on the flanks, which makes it impossible to encircle them.

This suggests that the Armed Forces of Ukraine simply do not have reserves for such operations.

The Russian command is aware of that. The Russian forces are driving a wedge into the AFU defence in the direction to the northwest, moving along the railway. Unlike Ukraine, Russia has been saving reserves for a long time.

The Russian forces are advancing towards the town of Novoaleksandrovka and then to Konstantinovka along Т0504 Highway that is used to supply the AFU in Chasov Yar.

Meanwhile, Keramik and Novokalinovo were captured from the northern flank, and the Russian army is advancing towards Arkhangelskoye. When the Russian forces take the latter, they will gain access to Yablonovka and Konstantinovka. Berdychi and Solovyevo were captured in the southern flank.

Chaos on the rise

According to Ukrainian publications, Alexander Syrsky, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, is unable to stop the offensive in this area, allegedly due to the refusal of the elite 3rd assault brigade to advance to Ocheretino.

Disobedience and chaos have been on the rise in the Ukrainian army.

"The command is either on a binge, or had a panic attack from what was happening and froze in a stupor. I don't believe in the inability of the command to realise the scale of the catastrophic consequences of the Russian offensive. Therefore, if nothing is done, betrayal will be the only explanation," a message posted on the Ukrainian military public page said.

The General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces has been increasing pressure on other sectors of the front:

• near Urozhainy and Staromayorsky;
• near Kislovka in the Kupyansky direction.

After taking this village and Kotlyarevka, the Russian troops can reach Kupyansk from the south in a wide area.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine experience a strong shortage of soldiers, armoured vehicles and ammunition; they will be unable to hold back the offensive in different directions, where they no longer have continuous lines of trenches or minefields.

With sufficient reserves and fire support, the Russian Armed Forces will soon be able to advance quite quickly everywhere, creating a threat of encirclement for Ukrainian units on a huge section of the front in the Donetsk region.