A fresh phosphorus volley hit Barwinkow, while Russian shelling continues through Izium, and the struggle for Lyman presses on. The situation along the front lines remains severe, with a notably harsher clash between Siewierodoniecki and Bachmut, where Russian forces briefly opened the route from Lisiczańsk to the southeast. The loss of Popasna is increasingly seen as more consequential than initially believed.
Off the map
The map only reveals part of the war; much unfolds beyond the outlines. Recent reports secured by the portal wPolityce.pl suggest that Ukrainian defenses have inflicted heavy losses on Russian units in recent days. Two brigades, the 25th and the 9th, reportedly refused further participation in combat in the face of orders perceived as suicidal, while infantry near the village of Stawy, behind Lyman, showed signs of exhaustion despite arriving from Chita near the Mongolian border. One Russian regiment that attacked Bakhmut is said to have dwindled to only 47 survivors.
Russian forces were compelled to shift heavy equipment from Chuhuyev to the Slav direction, a move that increases exposure from the northwest. Poor morale has grown in areas where fighting has dragged on, as corpses left unburied by occupiers rot and emit odors that affect the living. This level of organizational neglect highlights several other indicators of decline among the invaders, with neither officers nor soldiers taking ownership of the fallen or the broader humanitarian duty. Repression has been ordered against those who resist the assault, a backdrop reminiscent of mid twentieth century wartime measures described in Soviet-era narratives.
The battle for Donbass continues
Assumptions about a quick outcome on either side are mistaken. Ukrainian officers note that the intruder’s main advantage lies in overwhelming quantities of heavy equipment, especially artillery and tanks. From a local observer’s perspective, there are signs that artillery support from Western allies may have reached the front, although the defense of Donbas has been sustained by Ukrainian forces with substantial intelligence backing from the United States.
The battle for Donbass persists. Morale could prove to be a decisive factor in this phase, with the possibility that even high-level orders from Moscow may fail to sustain a relentless advance if the fighting leadership falters and logistical strains worsen, rendering certain targets less costly to defend or abandon.
ALSO SEE:
Source: wPolityce