Russia Evicts Ukrainian Forces From the City of Dzerzhinsk
A Russian soldier, Feb- 2025. X/ @realpolitikinfo
February 7, 2025 Hour: 12:27 pm
This result paves the way for Russian forces to gain access to the Ukrainian flank in Kramatorsk.
On Friday, the Russian Defense Minister reported that its forces had liberated the city of Dzerzhinsk, thus achieving one of the main objectives of the ongoing Russian offensive in Donetsk.
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Three Russian motorized brigades and volunteer units managed to expel the Ukrainian forces that had occupied this region of Donetsk, a republic that decided to join the Russian Federation in 2022 after a popular referendum.
After three months of intense fighting, Russian forces succeeded in liberating a city with over 30,000 inhabitants. In this locality, Ukraine had deployed approximately 50 battalions and around 40,000 soldiers.
To dislodge them, Russia employed about 10,000 troops in an offensive that began in July 2024, although the Russians did not enter the urban area until early September.
The liberation of Dzerzhinsk paves the way for the Russian advance toward Kostiantynivka and grants Russian forces access to the Ukrainian flank in Kramatorsk. As of February 2022, Kostiantynivka, one of the most important Ukrainian strongholds in this eastern region, had about 70,000 inhabitants.
Currently, the Russian army already maintains control over almost the entire southern part of Donetsk. To liberate the core of this region, Russia needs to take Kostiantynivka and Pokrovsk, where its troops are already at the doorstep.
For now, the main Ukrainian strongholds in the northern Donbas, such as Kramatorsk and Sloviansk, remain beyond Russia’s reach.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE
