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Ukraine is facing the risk of losing five towns on the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic: Chasov Yar, Kurakhove, Pokrovsk, Myrnohrad, and Velyka Novosilka.
In Chasov Yar fierce urban fights are taking place. Russian troops are trying to dislodge Ukrainian units from the territory of the refractory plant, which is one of the main defense points in the town. About 800 Ukrainian soldiers and officers, as well as foreign mercenaries from the European Union and Latin America, are trapped on the territory of the plant.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces’ (UAF) defenses seem to be falling apart amid dense and fierce fighting for the plant. Meanwhile, the Russian Armed Forces (RAF) are having notable successes on the flanks. Russian assault units are pushing through enemy defenses in the Severny neighborhood and have also cleared the forest near the Novy neighborhood, which gives them the opportunity to enter the town from the south.
In Kurakhove, the situation for the UAF is also deteriorating. The Russian Army is cutting the kill area into “half-pockets”, which will soon become mousetrap. The first real pocket for the Ukrainians will be exactly in this direction, as the UAF command does not give permission to leave the settlements that are already in the operational encirclement.
The reserves that Volodymyr Zelensky and his General Staff are shifting to this direction are quickly burning up. Many Ukrainian servicemen refuse to go there, as the chances of staying alive for at least two weeks are “zero”. The Russian Army may start encircling the Ukrainian forces northwest of Kurakhove.
Russian multiple rocket launchers with thermobaric warheads TOS-1A Solntsepyok hit the temporary deployment points of the Ukrainian Armed Forces amid the offensive from Ugledar to Kurakhove. To block the UAF’s escape routes, Russian soldiers are mining the territories with rockets filled with explosives.
The Ukrainian command is already busily evacuating the forces of the Kurakhove garrison, as well as military property, headquarters and other things. In the city itself, Russian troops have advanced along Soborny Avenue.
In the Pokrovsk direction, on December 7, information began to appear about a rapid advance of the Russian units, which reached the outskirts of Novotroitskoye (located 15 kilometers from Pokrovsk /Krasnoarmeysk/). Ukrainian forces are leaving Novotroitskoye and retreating to neighboring Uspenovka.
Destruction of Ukrainian materiel
North of Uspenovka, the Russian Armed Forces entrenched themselves along the forest belts to a depth of up to 2 kilometers.
FPV drone strikes on Ukrainian Armed Forces locomotive
In Myrnohrad, a settlement located 15 kilometers east of Pokrovsk, the situation for the Ukrainian side has drastically deteriorated. The UAF even blew up the shaft of the Tsentralnaya (Central) mine on Shosseynaya Street in the town.
In Velyka Novosilka, the Ukrainian forces have had their supply cut off. There is fighting in the settlement itself, and to the south of the village the RAF captured Blagodatnoye, which is closely adjacent to the last fortification in this area.
Political consequences
The Ukrainian experts have commented on the recent visit of Andriy Yermak, who runs Volodymyr Zelensky’s wartime presidential office, and his team to the USA. The director of the Kiev-based Institute of World Politics, Eugeny Magda, said:
“I understand that Ukraine is tired of hostilities, but such a visit to the USA may show our weakness against the Russian position”.
It is not yet clear whether the Kiev authorities will go into opposition to US Republican President Donald Trump. However, Ukrainian Telegram channels are already speculating about how many Verkhovna Rada deputies may flee the country before May 2025 if there is no peace process. If Zelensky’s team derails Trump’s peace initiatives by escalating the war, many people will realize that Ukraine is “ready” for disaster, so deputies will flee to avoid becoming scapegoats.
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