Russian Army Is Eliminating Ukrainian Forces Trapped in Dobropolye (Videos)

File image.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said on September 24 that forces from the Tsentr [Center] Group of Forces were continuing operations against the Ukrainian force encircled in Dobropolye while advancing toward Oleksandrivka in the direction of Donetsk.

In a statement, the ministry called the direction “one of the key” areas for achieving what it described as the full liberation of Donbas, saying advances there were crucial to the offensive operations of Russian forces.

It said the capture of Dobropolye would significantly increase the threat to Ukraine’s main fortified area in Donetsk region, the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk-Druzhkivka agglomeration.

The ministry described Dobropolye as “a powerful fortified area” that Ukrainian forces had used to strike the flanks and rear of Russian units advancing toward Druzhkivka. It also said the city was an important transportation hub and part of a major Ukrainian supply route from Dnipropetrovsk region.

Capturing the city would disrupt what the ministry called the Ukrainian army’s “well-established support system,” affecting supply lines across Donbas rather than individual routes, it added.

The ministry said Russian forces were also gaining control of dominant terrain around Dobropolye, which it claimed would allow them to accelerate their advance toward the border of Donetsk region. It noted Ukrainian forces were attempting to break the encirclement and prevent Russian troops from completing the capture of the city.

According to the statement, Russian forces have been repelling those attacks while Ukrainian troops are suffering significant losses. The ministry claimed that between 30 and 50 Ukrainian personnel were neutralized daily.

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Fighting around Dobropolye has accelerated over the past several days. On September 21, Denis Pushilin, the head of Russia-installed authorities in Donetsk region, said Russian forces were advancing toward the city from two directions, with troops approaching from the southwest and northeast.

Later on September 22, the defense ministry said the Tsentr Group had completed the encirclement of what it called a major Ukrainian defensive hub in the city and had begun destroying the force trapped inside. The ministry said Ukrainian units had made several attempts to break out of the encirclement but that all had been repelled.

Ukraine reported increasing Russian pressure in Dobropolye, but has not acknowledged that its forces there have been encircled. Reinforcements, including elements from the far-right nationalist Azov Brigade, were dispatched to the city. However, they suffered heavy losses and failed to break up the Russian pincer. All in all, the city could come under Russian control within a few weeks, if not days.

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