KYIV, Ukraine — Russia is deploying thousands of troops to southeastern Ukraine in an effort to secure a vital supply route that runs from the eastern Donbas region to Crimea and is threatened by Ukrainian forces stationed in and around it. strategically important town Vuhledar.
The town is located in intersection of the eastern front in the Donetsk region and the southern front in the Zaporizhzhia . region, not far from the only railway connecting the Donbas region and Crimea. That means Ukrainian forces in the area are within striking distance of the tracks, limiting Russia’s ability to move people and equipment between the two fronts and ultimately achieve their stated goals. was to capture all of the Donbas and defend the territory they had captured during the war. southern.
It also helps explain why limiting Ukraine’s ability to threaten railways is important to Moscow.
Ivan Yakovina, a Ukrainian journalist, said: “This can only be done in one way – capture and capture Vuhledar, which just ‘hangs’ on this railway. By capturing “the seemingly small and unimportant town,” Yakovina said, “Russia will receive a broad logistical artery along the entire front line and, accordingly, the ability to move troops quickly and rushing from one direction to another. “
In addition to controlling the Donbas, Moscow also intends to keep control of the land bridge to Crimea, a peninsula that Russia has occupied since 2014, and Kyiv’s hold on Vuhledar threatens both goals.
Russian forces won the land bridge to Crimea only after besieging the port city of Mariupol last year, located on the Sea of Azov in southern Ukraine and about 160 kilometers south of Vuhledar. The town’s importance has not been lost by the Kremlin, which just over a week ago began a fierce offensive aimed at dislodging Ukrainian troops from their fortified positions there.
Ukrainian officials say they have repelled the latest attacks, but warn that Russian forces, backed by newly mobilized troops, are trying to besiege the town.
The city’s deputy mayor, Maksym Verbovsky, told Ukrainian media outlet Suspline on Friday: “The Russians are not trying to break through Vuhledar’s defenses, but are trying to encircle the city from two sides. “They tried to advance to some nearby villages, but the Ukrainian army pushed them back to their old positions.”
The fighting has left another Ukrainian city in ruins.
Vuhlear “was destroyed,” Mr. Verbovsky said. “One hundred percent of the buildings were damaged. The whole infrastructure.”
Less than 500 civilians and just three children remain, he said, in what a year ago was a crowded industrial town of about 15,000 people.
Vuhledar takes its name, which translates as “coal gift”, from its suburban mine. Consisting of a cluster of high-rise apartment buildings extending upward from an open plain, the town’s elevation, exposure, and tall buildings give defenders a distinct advantage.
In November, the 155th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade of the Russian Pacific Fleet was accused of leading an attack on Vuhledar – with what was said to be catastrophic results. Mediazona, an independent Russian newspaper that tracks Russians killed in battle, published an interview with a Russian marine who said that more than 200 soldiers were killed in just three days. . Reports of the failure gained enough traction for the Kremlin to issue a statement denying the accounts.
Three months after that failed attack, Russian forces again attacked Vuhledar head-on.
On Saturday, fighting continued to rage across the eastern front and damage from Russian attacks on Ukrainian infrastructure continued to be felt. An accident at a vital power plant that was damaged by Russian attacks in the southern city of Odesa has resulted in a citywide blackout, with no indication of when power will return.
Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said in a statement: “The situation is very complicated, the scale of the accident is huge, it is impossible to quickly restore power, especially critical infrastructure.” He said generators are being raced to the city to try to reconnect critical infrastructure.
Natalya Yermak contribution report.
