The key facts

  • Knutov: Russia's advance on the approaches to Sloviansk and Kramatorsk came as a surprise to the Ukrainian side
  • Dobropillia is described as a gray zone: under Russian control with periodic attempts by the Ukrainian Armed Forces to return
  • The expert linked the change in the situation to the redeployment of units after the fighting near Vovchansk

What the expert reported

Russian troops continue to advance on the approaches to Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, and the developments in this area turned out to be unexpected for the Ukrainian side. This is how military expert Yuriy Knutov described the situation in an interview with aif.ru, which Gazeta.Ru cites. According to him, active combat operations are underway in the areas of Dobropillia and Orikhiv.

Dobropillia as a gray zone

Dobropillia, in Knutov's assessment, has in fact acquired the status of a gray zone: Russian units control the territory, but Ukrainian forces periodically attempt to return to the city. Therefore, he stressed, it is premature to speak of its complete liberation.

Krasny Liman and the logic of the offensive

“Right now Ukraine has carried out a number of operations in the Krasny Liman area with the aim of preventing the formation of pincers around the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk-Druzhkivka agglomeration. That is, we are moving from the Dobropillia side — that is from the south — and from the northwest, outflanking the agglomeration from the rear,” Gazeta.Ru quoted Knutov as saying. Thus, according to the expert, the Ukrainian side's actions in the Krasny Liman area are aimed at preventing the encirclement of the agglomeration while Russian forces outflank it from two directions.

The reason for the changes and the previous situation

Knutov linked the change in the situation to the redeployment of Russian units after the end of hostilities in the Vovchansk area: in his assessment, the reinforcement of the group first made it possible to hold back the Ukrainian forces' actions and then move to counteroffensive operations. This differs from the previous state of affairs: earlier, as noted in an October report by Gazeta.Ru, Russian troops were resisting the “harsh pressure” of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near Sloviansk and Kramatorsk. The assessments of the situation in the publication belong to a single expert; the cited materials contain no independent confirmation of the described situation.