Russian soldier in Popasna
On the night of May 16-17, explosions were heard in the Petrovsky district of the city of Donetsk, and Russian air defense forces were working in the area. In total, there were about 8 explosions. This situation may be justified by the confident offensive of Russian troops on the Luhansk-Donetsk front line as a whole.
Therefore, it is worth noting some hot spots in eastern Ukraine. At the moment, fighting is going on for the control of Belogorovka and in the Severodonetsk region in the Luhansk People’s Republic. The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) managed to blow up a bridge near Rubizhne leading to Severodonetsk. Russian troops are storming Toshkivka and Zolote and are actively mopping up Popasna. In Popasna, heavy casualties are observed on both sides.
To the north of Popasna, the Russians managed to advance beyond Komyshuvakha.
According to some reports from the spot, Russian troops entered the village of New-York, in the Donetsk People’s Republic.
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On May 16, the DPR units took control and moped up the village of Novoselovka-2 located to the north-east of Avdeevka. The fighting lasted about 3 days. About 2 platoons of the 25th brigade of the 110th regiment of the AFU were forced to leave their positions in the village. They reportedly attempted to flee at night in small groups. Many of them were destroyed by Russian fire.
To the south of Mariinka, Russian forces entered the village of Novomikhailovka
On the morning of May 16, the territory of explosions in Donetsk expanded. In addition to the Petrovsky district, strikes hit the Kuybyshevsky district. The Northern, Oktyabrsky districts, the area of Ploshadka, Hrabari and Gornyak were under threat.
In addition to military facilities, the war is affecting civilian facilities. Donetsk school №107 has once again become a target for the AFU. Alexei Kulemzin, head of the Donetsk administration, shared a video showing the scale of the destruction of the school.
An official representative of the DPR published a report on combat operations over the past 24 hours (from May 15 to 16). The report stated that during the day 36 Ukrainian soldiers, 4 mortars of 122 calibers, 2 armored vehicles, and 3 trucks of the AFU were destroyed. 1 BMP and 2 armored vehicles were captured.
Now the dominance of the Russian Federation in the area of Donetsk can be traced. Russian troops are actively storming local settlements where the AFU soldiers are entrenched. However, the Russian positions in this territory are not secured, so it is difficult to say who will seize the initiative in the nearest future.
