Military Overview: Russian Offensive On Seversk Brings First Victories (Videos, Map Update)

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The Russian military continues offensive operations in various directions around one of the last large Ukrainian strongholds in Donbass, the city of Seversk. On January 18, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that Russian forces had taken control of the village of Veseloe in the Donetsk People Republic.

Seversk and Chasov Yar remain the two cities, which allow the Ukrainian military to defend the Slavyansk-Kramatosk urban agglomeration, which is the last stronghold under the Kiev’s control on the territory of the former Donetsk region, currently the DPR.

Earlier, during the battles in Lisichansk and Severodonetsk, the Ukrainian grouping in Seversk served as a reserve aimed to reinforce Ukrainian defense. As a result of the rapid advance of Russian forces, the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) have completely switched to defense.

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The stronghold in Seversk is of strategic importance. Ukrainian forces there are covering the northeastern flank of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk urban agglomeration. They also hold defenses on the flank of the Bakhmut–Slavyansk highway, control of which allows the Ukrainian military to continue its defense in the Bakhmut area.

After the Russian retreat from Krasny Liman in the summer of 2022, the AFU command turned Seversk into a heavily fortified stronghold, pumping it with troops, artillery and equipment. The entire region is covered by a chain of strongpoints and several lines of defense along the entire length of the front from the east.

The frontlines in the region have remained almost unchanged after the Russian military retreated from Krasny Liman towards Kremenaya, and the threat of Russian offensive on Seversk from the north disappeared. During the active battles for Bakhmut and Soledar, the command of the Ukrainian Seversk reserve group twice attempted to counterattack from the north, from Zvanovka and Fedorovka; but after Wagner’s artillery burned at least two Ukrainian columns of armored vehicles, the AFU command abandoned attempts to attack from this direction.

At the end of 2023, Russian forces resumed offensive operations in the region.

In December, Russian forces launched offensive operations in the areas of the villages of Veseloe, Spornoe, Belogorovka, as well as in the Serebryansky forestry south of Kremennaya. The headquarters of the reserve group in Seversk was reportedly destroyed as a result of Russian airstrikes in late December. During the month, Russian strikes destroyed a number of AFU fortifications south of Fedorovka, Razdolovka and in the Veseloe area. There were attacks along the railway, as well as in the area of Spornoe. Russian forces managed to break through the main lines of Ukrainian defense in several areas.

The attacks have already brought new victories. The village of Veseloe located about 10 kilometers to the south-east of Seversk came under the Russian control. The control of the settlement allowed Russian forces to improve their positions in the region. The frontline was straightened along the Nikolaevka-Razdolovka-Veseloe line. Thus, the Russian military crossed the Sukhaya Plotva river, which had previously served as the front line between the warring sides.

The control of Veseloe also allows the Russian military to reach the southern flank on the Ukrainian grouping in Spornoe, where clashes continue. Russian artillery is pounding Ukrainian servicemen hiding in the ruins of the settlement.

On January 18, more Russian gains were reported in the area of Belogorovka, where they entered the eastern outskirts of the village. Fighting broke out on the territory of the local pumping station.

Now Ukrainian forces are trying to hold back the Russian offensive on Seversk from the south along the Vasyukovka – Nikolaevka–Razdolovka line in order to prevent their breakthrough to Zvanovka, where a strategically important road is located. Therefore, the Ukrainian forces are hastily erecting new fortifications east of Nikolaevka. To defend the road from Rai-Alexandrovka to Svyato-Pokrovskoye/Zvanovka, the AFU built more fortifications along it which are located mainly at heights. If the Russians break through the Ukrainian defense there and the road is cut, large forces of the AFU in Seversk will find themselves in a tactical encirclement.

Currently, the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine deployed in this area reportedly include:

• the 119th and 241st Air Defense Brigades (two battalions),
• the 25th, 55th and 414th Separate Rifle Battalions,
• the 30th and 54th Mechanized Brigades (four battalions),
• they are covered by the 26th and 40th Artillery Brigades,
• volunteer groups of UAV operators “UNA-UNSO”.

The grouping of the AFU in the Seversk region is subordinated to the command of the Ukrainian operational-strategic group “Khortytsya”.

After the failure of Ukrainian counteroffensive, Kiev turned to strategic defense. As a result, the Ukrainian command admitted the possibility of losing Seversk and Chasov Yar, including by the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Zaluzhny. Russian and Western analysts admit the possibility of Seversk coming under Russian control, even with minor losses in the Russian army.

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