18 Jan: Russian Command Ran Away From Kreminna - Reporting from Ukraine

[TexasTowelie]

Day 329: January 18

One of the most important fights is taking place in the Luhansk region, in particular, near Kreminna. Ukrainian officials declared that the Ukrainians launched an offensive operation right before the new year.

Last time I told you that the Ukrainians pushed the Russians out of Dibrova and concentrated their efforts on attacking through the forest. I also noted that despite the fact that the Russians were pushed out of Dibrova, the Ukrainians did not move in, as it is under tight surveillance, and everyone there is met with rapid artillery fire.

Ukrainian artillery is also very active. The Spokesman for the Eastern Group of Forces has constantly been reporting about the destruction of ammunition depots around Kreminna, fuel storage facilities, and command posts. And this interdiction campaign brought some results. First of all, Russian commanders basically abandoned Kreminna and moved to Rubizhne. Secondly, Russian tanks started to experience shortages of fuel and lubricants, which affected the number of tanks that they could deploy at one time. And as the Luhansk region is the area of resistibility of the 1st Guard Tank Army, the Russians relocated a lot of tanks here. The Russians have released many videos featuring their hangars with dozens of tanks, so Ukrainian Intelligence and artillery are constantly working on identifying and destroying these warehouses.

Apart from artillery duels, a lot of action takes place in the forest. The Ukrainian side has published a lot of videos of forest battles, which show high-intensity fighting. This goes along with various reports of Ukrainian progress from all sides. Ukrainian sources report that the Ukrainians are very close to the southern outskirts of Kreminna. A BARS-13 commander claimed that Ukrainian forces are constantly probing Russian defensive positions south of Kreminna, and around a week ago, a Russian source published footage showing Russian forces fighting against a Ukrainian assault in the vicinity of Kreminna. The Russian Ministry of Defense indirectly confirmed that Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups operate near Kuzmyne. The British Ministry of Defense noted that Ukrainian forces are continuing to advance on the eastern edge of Kreminna.

In order to counteract Ukrainian efforts, the Russians are doing three things. Firstly, according to the Ukrainian Head of the Luhansk region, Russian forces have begun to deploy more experienced military personnel, rather than more mobilized personnel, to fight in the Kreminna area due to fears that Russian forces may lose the settlement. These reinforcements include a substantial number of Wagner Group personnel, as well as Russian airborne forces. Secondly, instead of purely defending their positions, the Russians are imposing constant encounter battles when both parties are attacking each other simultaneously. This is obviously a very costly tactic because if the Russians were just defending, they would have smaller losses, but it is effective in the way that it does slow down Ukrainian progress a lot. Thirdly, the Russians are trying to undermine Ukrainian defense in Bilohorivka and destroy all the pontoon crossings leading to the forest, although here, they are the least successful.

Overall, the most successful axis of Ukrainian advance has been the forest. Many sources indicate that the Ukrainians are reaching the eastern edges of Kreminna and defensive positions nearby. Artillery is playing a key role as well and made some very-well fortified positions simply untenable. The fact that the Russian command was moved away from the city is also a very good signal. If the Ukrainians manage to develop the same success to the north of Kreminna as well, then the Ukrainians can start storming the city.

[PortTack]

1. Good news! the orcs pull their command out, like Kherson and other cities Ukraine has reclaimed