Outpost on the heights: how the Armed Forces of Ukraine are holding back the enemy’s breakthrough to Sloviansk in difficult terrain

The Russian army does not stop assault operations on the Donetsk front. Relatively recently, the enemy has intensified attacks in the Slavyansk direction. Over the past day, as reported by the General Staff, the enemy carried out 19 assault operations in the areas of Kryva Luka, Zakitne and Riznykovka, as well as in the directions of Piskunivka, Mykolaivka and Rai-Oleksandrivka.

The situation in the defense zone remains difficult. In addition to attempts to advance using the cover of heavy and light equipment, the enemy is constantly trying to infiltrate the inter-position space and accumulate artillery and UAVs near temporarily occupied cities and towns. Strikes and remote mining of logistical routes, which complicates the movement of Ukrainian soldiers, also do not stop.

The occupiers continue to exert pressure on several sections of the front: from the Zakitne district in the north to the Malynivka and Minkivka districts in the south, trying to advance towards Sloviansk and Kramatorsk.

I would like to note that currently one of the biggest challenges for the Armed Forces of Ukraine in this direction is the partial control of Russian troops over the dominant heights in the Rai-Oleksandrivka area.

The dominant heights in the Rai-Oleksandrivka area are of crucial tactical importance for control over the Slavyansk direction. The terrain of this area is highly rugged, as the village is located on the right bank of the Sukha River and is surrounded by the hills of the Donetsk Range with average heights of about 165–187 meters above sea level.

Since the front line runs along the lowlands and the channel of the Seversky Donets-Donbas Canal, the hills near Rai-Oleksandrivka serve as a natural defensive line for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. They prevent the enemy from launching a large-scale offensive into the flank of the Ukrainian Defense Forces group.

However, partial control over the heights gives the occupiers a significant tactical advantage, as it allows for more effective use of FPV drones due to the expansion of the radio horizon. As a result, Russian troops can establish fire control over the rear areas of Ukrainian units, the positions of the defenders in the Lyman area, and create the prerequisites for further advancement towards Sloviansk. They are trying to use the positions to adjust artillery and expand the bridgehead across the Seversky Donets – Donbas canal.

It is precisely the neutralization of this threat that will become one of the main tasks for the recently appointed Commander-in-Chief, Mykhailo Drapaty. The situation must be resolved promptly.

At the same time, the fighting in the Lyman direction does not cease, from which the enemy also seeks to reach Sloviansk. In the Lyman direction, attempts to penetrate the Ukrainian defenses were repelled. The invaders attacked fifteen times in the Lyman, Stavki and Ozerne areas, as well as in the direction of Novoselivka.

The presence of Russian troops directly in Lyman itself has not yet been recorded. The eastern outskirts of the city are the so-called “gray zone”. The enemy is conducting assault operations in the direction of Lyman and Yampol. Currently, these settlements remain under the control of the Defense Forces of Ukraine.

According to the spokesman for the Joint Forces Group, Viktor Tregubov, this is a key point of effort on the part of the occupiers. Precisely because it is very important for them to create a bridgehead in the Lyman for advancing towards the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration. “Nevertheless, despite great attempts, they are currently unable to do so,” he noted.

Currently, the redeployment of additional units from the deep regions of the occupied Luhansk region has been recorded in this direction. These are not planned rotations, but operational reserves. This is about the accumulation of units of UAV operators and so-called “assault fighters”.

That is, they will try to resolve the issue according to the standard scheme: first take fire control of the location, and then, by controlling the dominant heights, resolve the issue of a simultaneous offensive in both the Liman and Slavyansk directions. These are the main threats to our troops.

However, over the past week, there have been strikes on the enemy’s rear infrastructure in the occupied areas of Luhansk region. This indicates that the Armed Forces of Ukraine understand the threats that the occupiers are currently trying to implement by increasing the size of their group and improving rear logistics.

One of the main issues remains logistics. That is, it is necessary to solve a number of issues simultaneously, in particular, strengthening fire control over the enemy’s logistics, and not at tactical, but at operational depth. The second issue is the neutralization of Russian activity in the Rai-Oleksandrivka area. Unfortunately, the situation that is currently developing in that area remains dominant in this direction, on which the further development of hostilities will depend.

In the neighboring Kramatorsk direction, infiltration of enemy units is being recorded. The point is that the Russian military has nevertheless established itself behind the Seversky Donets – Donbas canal.

Unfortunately, the area of presence is expanding. Accordingly, the question of neutralizing their presence and preventing the expansion of the bridgehead arises again.

The fighting in these areas is part of the occupiers’ main plan – to reach the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration. They are cutting off and actually leveling the front line, creating the prerequisites for a future offensive.

This is the so-called umbrella effect – the ability to attack simultaneously along the entire length of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration. That is, attacks will be carried out simultaneously both in the direction of Druzhkivka and in the direction of Kramatorsk. And, accordingly, in the Rai-Oleksandrivka area, they put pressure on Slavyansk.

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