Russians close to cutting Pokrovsk-Konstantinovka highway, – Dikiy

The military expert hopes that the Russian offensive in the Pokrovsky direction will slow down.

The situation in the Pokrovsk direction is extremely threatening, because the Russian invaders are close to cutting off the important Pokrovsk-Konstantinovka highway. This was stated by the veteran of the Russian-Ukrainian war, former company commander of the Aidar battalion Yevgeny Diky on the air of Radio NV.

Dikiy noted that “very heavy fighting” should be expected in the Pokrovsky direction.

“It definitely won’t get any easier there now. The situation there is really very threatening. It’s an extremely unpleasant situation. The Russians have very little time left to cut off the Pokrovsk-Konstantinovka highway. They are really very close to it,” Dikiy emphasized.

At the same time, the military expert noted that recently Western media reported that 12 thousand fighters are holding the defense on the Pokrovsk direction from the Ukrainian side, and on the Russian side, the group that is advancing consists of 40 thousand. He considers these figures plausible.

Also, in his opinion, it is no longer a secret that the Defense Forces have sent reserves to this direction.

“This direction became threatening several weeks ago. There was a very serious advance of the enemy there. We threw reserves there. And even where we threw reserves and are desperately trying to hold back the enemy, the ratio (of troops) is 1 to 3 in favor of the enemy,” Diky emphasized.

As the expert added, the results of the Ukrainian mobilization are not currently being felt at the front, especially in June and July.

“Those who are being recruited now, they will not come to the front immediately. This is correct. Now no one sends anyone into battle with less than two months of preparation,” said Diky.

According to him, while mobilization in the rear is moving forward a little, at the front the defensive positions are held by the same tired and exhausted units that fought before.

Diky noted that things are difficult everywhere on the front now, but the Pokrovsk direction is the most difficult and threatening.

“There is also unpleasant news in Chasov Yar. The Russians were held back for a long time along the canal. A water barrier is always a great thing in defense. But, unfortunately, that is already in the past. The Russians were able to cross the canal, and fighting is already taking place west of the canal in the central part of what is left of the city of Chasov Yar. There is no real city there anymore. Fighting is taking place in the central part of these ruins. All the same, the Russians are advancing very slowly there, as always in urban areas. The nature of the fighting in Chasov Yar itself is that advancement is measured not in kilometers or even blocks, but in houses,” Diky reported.

He added that this situation has both pros and cons. In particular, in urban development, the Ukrainian advantage in artillery accuracy and drone launching is to some extent leveled out. At the same time, the Russians are greatly helped by their advantage in manpower.

“They just crawl like cockroaches. And you know, there aren’t enough slippers to slap all these battering rams on these cockroaches. That is, they suffer terrible losses, but like cockroaches, they crawl from different sides,” Diky emphasized.

At the same time, urban development, on the other hand, has advantages for defense, because each relatively intact building and basement serves as a shelter. Defense is flexible and mobile.

“And therefore, battles in the built-up areas always last a long time. Let’s remember Bakhmut, Soledar and Avdiivka. All these cities took months to take. And I’m afraid that in the Pokrovsk direction, our only chance to stop this enemy offensive is when they reach the urban development,” noted Diky.

He clarified that he was not referring directly to the urban development of Pokrovsk, but to those settlements that are located in front of Pokrovsk.

“I think that there will be a serious chance to hold them off for a long time only when they reach these smaller settlements and when the kind of fighting that I just described begins. Fighting in urban areas, when the advance will not be in kilometers, but in houses,” the expert noted.

He hopes that Novogrodovka could become such a settlement.

(C)UNIAN 2024