AFU Prepare Frontline Breakthrough Along Svatove-Kreminna Line

Russian "mobics" do not withstand attacks.

The Armed Forces of Ukraine transferred fresh units to the Luhansk sector of the front, as a result, the Russian Armed Forces suffered counterattacks and their defence break in the south of Svatove.

On December 8, the Ukrainian army cut the Svatove-Kreminna highway and is trying to move further east. If the Armed Forces of Ukraine find weaknesses in the Russian defence south of Svatove, then the offensive will most likely begin almost simultaneously with active operations in other axes, according to dialog.ua.

According to Russian officers deployed in the Luhansk region, a full-fledged defence breakthrough in this area will lead to the fact that the Russian Armed Forces will move away from Lysychansk and risk losing Kreminna, Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk.

So far, progress has been slow, including due to the muddy ground and the unwillingness of the Ukrainian command to lose too many people and military equipment. But this offensive, with limited forces, is also successful.

On December 9, the command of the group of troops of the Russian Armed Forces was forced to send three motorized rifle brigades to positions south of Svatove in order to avoid a breakthrough. This was reported by the Volya Russian military Telegram channel, citing its own sources in the Russian Armed Forces.

The occupiers admit that the situation at the front is difficult. “Intense fighting has been going on there for the last week. First, our infantry was thrown forward, they checked where the defence of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was stronger. In several places, they were taken by surprise at first. There is no real frontline. A couple of villages were occupied. The headquarters again dreamed of reaching Jerebets. That time we faced counterattacks and lost all the recently occupied villages. The day before yesterday and yesterday, the Armed Forces of Ukraine drove our motorized riflemen off the road to Kreminna in small shock groups and moved forward. Brigades are being deployed here from Mostki and Starobilsk. The command is confident that the mobics will gain combat experience and their morale will rise sharply. In fact, the mobics suffer heavy losses, mainly from artillery and mortar fire, while still moving into position. I have already said that if the Armed Forces of Ukraine make a breakthrough here, they will break through our defences. But I don't believe they will. A lot of troops were caught up in the LPR, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are facing serious losses. They will solve their problem if they want to, but they don’t want to, because they are afraid to lose 5-7 thousand people,” says the commander of the Russian army unit located in the LPR.

South of Svatove on December 9-10, fighting continued. Section of the Svatove-Kreminna highway under the control of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Offensive operations by forces of subunits and companies continue.

Ukrainian officers note that the Armed Forces of Ukraine use the universal tactic of inflicting maximum damage with precise attacks on the Russians. “To attack here and there, just to advance, is not our strategy. We are now safely solving our problems in the north of the Luhansk region. It became more difficult because the Russians deployed large reinforcements. It slowed us down, but it won't stop us. We just need to plan carefully. And the key is not in success in one axis, but in organized actions at once in all the enemy's vulnerabilities, and the enemy has many. Precise attacks are the best way to identify these places. This is what we are doing now,” says the Ukrainian Staff officer.

If the Armed Forces of Ukraine find weaknesses in the Russian defence south of Svatove, then the offensive will most likely begin almost simultaneously with active operations in other axes.

According to Russian officers stationed in the Luhansk region, a full-fledged breakthrough of the defence in this area will lead to the fact that the Russian Armed Forces will move away from Lysychansk and risk losing Kreminna, Lysychansk and Sievierodonetsk.

“This is very likely that there will be such developments. The military command of the Russian Federation is sure that there will be enough troops there, but we see their quality. In addition, we did not have, and still do not have, any plan or strategy. We just stupidly keep the nameless forest plantations, just as stupidly we go to clean up the villages. We are beaten and retreat. Thoughtless and senseless grinding of people into minced meat. The defence must be formed with an eye on a further offensive. Nobody here aims that far. Each division takes its positions, often without coordinating this with its neighbours. There are no ideas. Yelda (nickname of the commander of the group, General Surovikin - ed.) is now carried away by the attack on Bakhmut, he is not interested in us. Therefore, this is no anarchy, of course, but a mess. If you ask the battalion commanders who is standing nearby and what tasks, they will shrug their shoulders. ‘We are on the defensive’ they will answer. We have to independently build interaction and try to form defensive positions so that we can act, and not meekly sit in the mud on the ground,” says the commander of one of the Russian units stationed in the Svatovo region.

Officers of both armies note that the intensity of the fierce fighting is increasing day by day. The Russian Armed Forces have begun to use aviation and are again actively using kamikaze drones, albeit to a limited extent in this area. The Armed Forces of Ukraine use American and European MLRS, destroying command and observation posts and depots.