In Both Word and Deed: Putin’s Missile Ultimatum To The West And The Russian Troops’ Breakthrough Into The Kurakhove City

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The highlight of the past 24 hours was the launch by the Russian Armed Forces of the medium-range ballistic missile “Oreshnik” (speed – 10 Mach or about 3 kilometers per second) and the ultimatum addressed by the Russian President Vladimir Putin not only to Ukraine, but also to its Western bosses, who officially authorized the use of ATACMS and Storm Shadow missiles on Russian territory. The Yuzhmash missile factory in Dnepr (Dnepropetrovsk), which has been producing missile equipment since the Soviet era, was hit. Shortly before the strike, Moscow warned Washington about the launch to avoid accidentally starting a nuclear war. From the media perspective, this case was out of the ordinary, and Western politicians, as well as the public, reacted violently to it.

Against this background, Russian forces continue their successful advance in three areas near the Kurakhove (Donetsk Region), isolating the Ukrainian garrison in the city from three directions at once and increasingly tightening the encirclement ring. The Ukrainian side’s efforts to organize mine barriers separating the eastern and central parts of the city have not yielded any results.

A Russian artillery brigade successfully detected an M113 armored personnel carrier of the Ukrainian armed forces near the city of Kurakhove. With the help of target illumination from an Orlan-30 UAV, the vehicle was destroyed by a Krasnopol precision-guided artillery munition

In the Kurakhove city, Ukrainians are trying to evacuate heavy Bradleys fighting vehicles using other Bradleys

On the northern flank, Russian troops have taken most of the Novodmitrivka area, and are holding about half of Sontsivka, the capture of which will open the way to Starye Terny. At the same time, the Russian fighters captured Novoselidovka and the fields west of it: the movement of Russian infantry has been detected in the settlement itself, while the battles have shifted to the south.

Russian troops are conducting a cleanup operation in Novoselidovka

On the northern shore of the Kurakhovo reservoir, Russian units from the 5th Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade stormed Novaya Ilyinka and engaged in fighting for Berestki, moving along towards Stary Terny, which opens the way to the rear of Ukrainian positions in the center of Kurakhove.

Novaya Ilyinka under the control of Russian troops

In Kurakhove itself, Russian troops planted flags at the Maryinka district power plant, just inside the city.

A Russian flag in one of the central districts of Kurakhove

The Kurakhove direction. After the blowing up of the reservoir dam by the Ukrainian armed forces, the water is already coming down. The vehicles are crossing the area

Unconfirmed reports say that fighting is already taking place near the Kurakhove grain elevator and the bus station, located in the city center near the bridge to Novaya Ilyinka. To the southeast, Russian assault groupes are advancing along dry areas on hilltops. Some time ago, the they took control of an important stronghold that leads to the southern outskirts of the city.

To the south, Russian troops finally captured the settlement of Dalneye, and a Russian armored vehicle raid in the fields north of Ilyinka succeeded in establishing a more precise front configuration at the Dalneye-Pobeda frontier.

South of Kurakhove. Taking of the settlement of Dalneye. Russian flags were raised on its western outskirts

Reconnaissance of Ukrainian positions

Meanwhile, on the southern flank, from the direction of Bogoyavlenka, a successful attack by a Russian assault group of the 2nd Battalion of the 39th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade was reported. The fighters expanded the zone of control and occupied part of the Ukrainian positions in the Lesnaya Dacha grove south of Vesely Gai, the complete clearing of which will make it possible to bypass the Ukrainian armed forces’ fortifications near Yelizavetivka from the rear.

A Russian assault group bursts into a Ukrainian stronghold in the Elizavetivka forest at full speed, advancing towards Vesely Gai

Along with this, a few days earlier, Russian troops entered Trudovoye and planted a flag on the southern outskirts of the village. At the moment, fighting continues there. To the west, the zone of control has been expanded in the fields near Maksimovka and along the O0510 highway, where Ukrainian forces are attempting to launch counterattacks and shell the forward defense lines of the Russian army.

By and large, in the Kurakhove direction, the Russian Armed Forces have advanced with a broad front north of Antonovka. The intensity of the fighting remains high in Dalneye and Kurakhove. From the bulge near Dalneye, Russian troops are turning their flank towards the villages near the Sukhi Yaly River, approaching from the north.

MORE ON THE TOPIC:

• New Videos Show Launch Of Russian Oreshnik Missile
• Russian Oreshnik Entered Battle: Putin Revealed Details Of Attack In Dnipro
• Slowly But Steadily: The Russian Army Is Advancing Along Entire Front Line

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