According to the commander of the Ukrainian Unmanned Systems Forces, Robert Browdie, currently the so-called the death zone on both sides of the front is approximately 20-25 km wide. It is because of this fundamental change that Putin's troops have virtually come to a standstill.
— Opponents who lose momentum are our number one target. We are constantly destroying them. For example, in Czasiw Yar, our troops can destroy the enemy's rear from a distance of over 15 km. They don't even approach in vehicles because they are afraid, says Zaporozhets.
For this reason, the Russians, who are suffering massive losses, have adopted a different, surprising tactic.
Russian troops, according to Zaporozhets, are now more often trying to infiltrate the front line and move to the Ukrainian rear using small groups of infantry on motorcycles and quads.
The city, only 15 km away from the front line, becomes the target of new, more brutal Russian tactics. The Russians are able to bomb the city not only from the air, but more and more often they also attack it using drones, which can get close to its suburbs also thanks to the use of fiber optics.
The nature of the war in recent months has also radically changed the appearance of Kramatorsk. Protective nets are gradually appearing on the streets. In the city you can also come across signs warning civilians about the increased risk of drones.
Road to KramatorskRex Features/East News/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock/East News
Kramatorsk, but also neighboring Sloviansk, has been talked about as the target of another Russian offensive for several weeks.
“Once you enter it, you don't know if you will get out”
The Kremlin wants to take over the remaining part of the Donetsk Oblast, which is still controlled by Ukraine. During the negotiations, Moscow insisted that the Ukrainians withdraw from this territory on their own, but it is constantly trying to achieve this also on the battlefield.
Aktuality.sk talked to the spokesman of the 11th army corps of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Dmytro Zaporozhets, about the situation in the city and on the section of the front near these two cities.
If Ukrainian troops wanted to advance, they would have to have a minimum advantage of 3:1, according to Zaporozhets.
— Taking into account the current course of the war, even a ratio of 10:1 would be insufficient on some sections of the front. Can we hypothetically liberate Seversk? No, because the Russians have too many forces there today. For us, it is more important to maintain territories and conduct counterattacks so that the enemy does not have a chance to entrench himself somewhere, he says.
The main problem is the “death zones” he describes.
— Once you enter it, you don't know if you'll get out. This applies to everyone. Our enemy does not distinguish whether you are a civilian or a soldier – he destroys everything that moves – describes Zaporozhets.
The fact that the range of Russian combat drones is expanding and the air force is able to attack cities on the front line also has a devastating impact on the civilian population. Tens of thousands of people still live in Kramatorsk and neighboring Sloviansk, even though the authorities are calling for them to move to safer areas of Ukraine.
“The Russians will not ease the pressure”
In some parts of both counties, forced evacuation of families with children has been in force for months. The number of inhabitants of Kramatorsk decreased dramatically. Before the war, this industrial center had approximately 150,000 inhabitants. inhabitants, today approximately 58 thousand remain there. people.
The current population consists mainly of seniors, but also of displaced people who sought refuge in Kramatorsk after fleeing other destroyed towns and villages in the region.
— Civilians feel that spring has finally come, everything is blooming and green. This gives hope. In reality, however, the situation is getting worse. This is especially visible in Sloviansk, which is now a priority for the Russians. The number of air attacks has doubled and drones, especially those controlled by fiber optics, are reaching every part of the city. Neighborhoods suffer from FPV drone attacks [z ang. “First Person View”, czyli umożliwiających pilotowi widok z perspektywy pierwszej osoby] and the same applies to Kramatorsk, says Lieutenant Colonel Zaporozhets.
Through airstrikes, they are trying to overload Ukrainian air defense and increase the pace of the offensive. Their goal is probably to capture the heights near Slavyansk, which would allow them to strategically control and shell Ukrainian logistic routes.
— The Russians will not ease the pressure. Peace negotiations quieted down and attention began to focus more on the Middle East. The Russians know that there is nothing stopping them from continuing to exert pressure. This offensive campaign began back in 2022. It has not stopped since then. This is exhausting pressure, which they can afford thanks to the superiority in the number of soldiers, comments Zaporozhets.
Whether cities such as Kramatorsk and Slovyansk will withstand a Russian attack, according to him, depends on what efforts the Russians ultimately make.
— The number of soldiers is crucial. Drones can fight on both sides, but it is the foot soldier who ultimately takes territory, followed by others. In the meantime, tactical aviation destroys buildings and the enemy moves on scorched earth. I think that the bloodiest battle of this war – if it happens – may one day take place near Kramatorsk, says Zaporozhets.
— There are many industrial facilities in the city, it can survive for a relatively long time. Kramatorsk is a symbol of the Donetsk region, he adds.
According to him, the Russians even have plans for Kramatorsk – they want to make it the second capital of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic. “This is also why they do not destroy this city so actively, unlike the neighboring Slavyansk. They understand that in order to capture Kramatorsk, they must first destroy Slavyansk so that there is not even a shadow of resistance there.”
According to American military analyst Michael Koffman, the Russians do not have sufficient forces to launch a larger, direct attack on the Slaviansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration this year. However, the threat to these cities is that the Russian army may manage to get so close to them that Russian drones will increasingly begin to fly over the streets.
“This would lead to evacuation, and the cities would share the fate of Pokrovsk at the turn of 2024 and 2025. Ukraine controls the city, but the city is losing its vitality,” Koffman said in an interview for Suspilne.
