Click to see full-size image
One of the bloodiest battlefields in Eastern Ukraine remains the Izyum area in the Kharkiv region. The Russian-led forces have established an important stronghold in the town and continue to expand their control zone in two main directions: to the south-east towards the cities of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk as well as to the south-west towards the town of Barvenkovo, which was turned into the main stronghold of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) in the region. In turn, Ukrainian forces continue their attempts to counter-attack the Russian grouping to the west of Izyum.
So far, the Russian-led forces managed to take control over the village of Dolgenkoe in the south-eastern direction.
On May 14th, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported an offensive of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in the direction of Bogorodichnoye and Krasnopolye. The villages are located about 6 and 12 kilometers south of Dolgenkoe. So far, no confirmation of the Russian control over the villages was reported. On May 15th, a counterattack of the Ukrainian units was repelled near Dolgenkoe.
The Russian control over the villages of Krasnopolye, Dolyna and Bogorodichnoe will cut the road leading to the west to the town of Svyatogorsk where Ukrainian units remain. Amid the Russian advance, the AFU grouping in the town risks being surrounded in the coming days.
Russian servicemen captured tankers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the area of Izyum:
To the south-west of Izyum, the clashes reached the Barvenkovo area, the large stronghold of Ukrainian forces. On May 15, clashes were reported on the south-eastern outskirts of the town in the village of Gusarovka. The Russian offensive is carried out from the village of Kurulki. So far, the clashes continue in the villages on the outskirts, while Barvenkovo remains under the AFU control. The advance of the Russian-led forces to Barvenkovo from the south-eastern directions cuts one of the roads heading from Barvenkovo to Slavyansk.
The bloody clashes continue. The both sides suffer losses, especially the defending AFU units. Corpses of the Ukrainian servicemen who were killed by the Russian heavy flamethrower system were left on the front lines:
In their turn, Ukrainian forces continue their attempts to cross the Seversky Donets River near the village of Protopovka to the west of Izyum and counterattack the flank of Russian forces advancing towards Slavyansk. The first attempts of counterattacks by the AFU units in the region were reported more than a week ago. So far, they have not led to any success.
The Russian positions were strengthened after the Russian troops took control over the village of Velikaya Kamishevaha located nearby, from where they could attack Ukrainian units on the left bank of the Seversky Donets River.
One of the Ukrainian attempts to cross the river was thwarted on May 14th, when the ponton crossing was destroyed by the Russian artillery. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation published footage of the destruction of the pontoon crossing of the AFU.
“While mechanised infantry units of the Russian Armed Forces were carrying out reconnaissance activity, an unmanned aviation crew detected a unit of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) with infantry combat vehicles trying to cross an installed pontoon.
The pontoon has been completely destroyed by artillery fire. The enemy’s vehicles that had succeeded in crossing the pontoons were destroyed by Russian artillery and infantry combat vehicle crews during the combat. Some vehicles of the AFU has been captured by the Russian servicemen.” the report of the Russian MoD reads.
The front lines in the area of Izyum remain one of the main battlefields of the war in Ukraine. The recent successes of the AFU near the city of Kharkiv allow to transfer more forces from the region to support the counter offensive near Izyum. However, the AFU are yet to slow down the advance of the Russian-led forces aimed at surrounding of the cities of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk.
