Tag Archives: horlivka

National, Russia-Ukraine War

With Battlefront Frozen, Russia Terrorizes Civilians – July 15, 2022 Ukraine Update

[KYIV, Ukraine] – MTN It has been 3,060 days since Russia occupied Crimea on February 27, 2014.

Luhansk – We continue to assess Bilohorivka and Zolotarivka in the Luhansk oblast as contested. Neither belligerent has provided definitive proof they control either settlement.

A Russian ammunition depot in Kadiivka, Luhansk, was hit by High Mobility Artillery Rocket System (HIMARS) munitions. Multiple secondary explosions were recorded on video, with Grad or Smerch rockets launching from all directions. Thermite munitions were also launched from the burning depot, raining back down on the surrounding area.

Northeast Donetsk – Pro-Kremlin sources dismissed claims that the 2nd Army Corps of the Luhansk People’s Republic had advanced into and captured Siversk, calling the reports “premature.” The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that troop positions in Hryhorivka were shelled by Russian forces with artillery and rockets fired from Multiple Launch Rocket Systems (MLRS).

The July 13 Russian offensive on Verkhnokamyanske was costly, forcing Russian troops to pull back to reconsolidate units.

West of Popasna, Russian forces made a small advance on Bilohorivka [Donetsk] and were unsuccessful. The settlements of Berestove and Vesele were also shelled. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine claimed that Russian troops had been pushed out of Spirne.

The update posted on Telegram by FSB Colonel and war criminal Igor Girkin appears to be the most accurate assessment of current Russian combat operations. Russian forces are exhausted, lacking human capital and equipment, and are still in an operational pause.

Bakhmut – Russian forces shelled Pokrovske, Vesela Dolyna, Bakhmut, and Chasiv Yar to set conditions for a future offensive. The death toll from the Russian Short-Range Ballistic Missile (SRBM) strike on Chasiv Yar remained at 48.

In the Svitlodarsk Bulge, Russian forces attempt to advance on Kodema and Vershyna while shelling Luhanske, Zaitseve, and the Vuldehar Power Plant. None of the advances were successful.

Southwest Donetsk – Zaporizhia – Southwest of Horlivka, elements of the 1st Army Corps of the Donetsk People’s Republic were partially successful in advancing into Kamyanka but, by sunset, had been pushed back to the original line of conflict.

Ukraine has claimed that high-ranking Russian commanders were killed in targeted HIMARS attacks over the past week. Russian state media reported that two deputy commanders of the Russian 106th Airborne Division, Colonels Sergei Kuzminov and Andrey Vasiliev, were killed on July 9.

Otherwise, fighting was limited to artillery exchanges and airstrikes from Horlivka to Donetsk city to Velyka Novosilka in the Donetsk oblast and Hulyaipole to Orikhiv in the Zaporizhia oblast.

Mariupol – In Russia-occupied Mariupol, city streets and yards remain littered with unexploded ordnance and landmines. Local residents report that elements of the 1st Army Corps of the Donetsk People’s Republic and Chechen proxy forces stopped clearing mines and explosives from civilian areas.

Insurgents in Mariupol set the Satelit Factory on fire. Resistance leaders said, “It’s better to let it burn than to let the Russians loot and steal.”

Kherson – Russian and Ukrainian forces exchange artillery, rockets, and air strikes from Oleksandrivka [Mykoaliv] to Osokorivka. There weren’t any documented changes in territorial control.

There are strong indications that Ukrainian forces have started to advance south of Kyselivka.

Ukrainian Special Operation Forces raided a Russian POW camp at an undisclosed location in the Kherson oblast, rescuing Ukrainian POWs and civilian captives in the raid.

Mykolaiv – Ten Russian cruise missiles slammed into two universities in Mykolaiv. After one of the strikes, a video showed no additional fires, secondary explosions, military vehicles, or troop presence.

Dnipropetrovsk – A Russian cruise missile destroyed a school in Synelnykove. There were reports of casualties, but no additional information was given.

Kharkiv – Northeast of Kharkiv, fighting was limited to Dementiivka, north of Kharkiv city. There was no change in territorial control.

Sumy – Russian forces stepped up cross-border attacks in the Sumy oblast, striking eight Ukrainian settlements. The towns of Myropil, Yunakivka, Esman, Nova Sloboda, Khotin, Shostka, Krasnopillia, and Velyka Pysarivka were attacked by artillery, mortars, MLRS, and small arms fire. There was no information on casualties.

Izyum – South of Izyum, Russian forces were pushed out of Kurlka by Ukrainian Special Operation Forces (SOF). There were no other territorial changes, with Russian forces once again attempting to secure the contested settlement of Bohorodychne. Ukrainian SOF, small units, and artillery continue to interdict Russian Ground Lines of Communication (GLOC – supply lines) on the western front of the Izyum axis.

Vinnytsia – The death toll in Vinnytsia from the Russian cruise missile attack remained at 23, with over 60 wounded. Nine people remain missing.

Daily Assessment

  1. The Russian Ministry of Defense is systematically terrorizing Ukraine’s civilian population, purposely targeting non-military targets and timing strikes in daytime hours to maximize casualties.
  2. The Kremlin, LNR leaders, and Pro-Russian accounts have significantly overstated Russian gains over the last week, which have been minor.
  3. Ukraine continues to progress steadily in the Kherson oblast advancing along the entire axis, where Russian forces continue to struggle to hold defensive positions.

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National, Russia-Ukraine War

Russia-Ukraine War Update for July 10, 2022

[KYIV, Ukraine] – MTN It has been 3,053 days since Russia occupied Crimea on February 27, 2014.

There was no change in territorial control across Ukraine, with fighting limited to reconnaissance, spoiling attacks, and ad hoc offensives with groups of soldiers from squad to company-sized.

Lysychansk – Severodonetsk – Fighting continued on the Luhansk-Donetsk oblast border. However, the operational tempo slowed significantly. Fighting for control of Bilohorivka continued, with Russian forces making incremental gains. Russian forces also attempted to advance on Hryhorivka but were unsuccessful.

Northeast Donetsk – Russian forces tried to advance into Zolotarivka and Verkhnokamyanske from the Verkhnokamyanka oil refinery and were unsuccessful. Pro-Russian social media account Rybar reported, “The Russian Federation Armed Forces are fighting on the eastern outskirts of Verkhnokamyanske,” aligning with the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and local reports.

There was no additional noteworthy combat activity south of the Verkhnokamyanka oil refinery to the Svitlodarsk bulge.

Russian forces fired artillery and rockets at Berestove, Ivano-Darivka, Novoselivka Verknokamianske, Siversk, Bilohorivka [Donetsk], Soledar, Fedorivka, Paraskoviivka, and Kurdiumivka. The Russian air force fired unguided rockets at the settlement of Spirne.

Ukrainian forces shelled Russian-occupied Yampil, Dibrova, Kreminna, Pshenychne, Vovchoyarivka, Mykolaivka, Oleksandropillia, and Komyshuvakha.

Southwest Donetsk – Zaporizhia – There were scattered artillery exchanges from Horlivka to Donetsk city to Velyka Novosilka in the Donetsk Oblast and Hulyaipole to Orikhiv in the Zaporizhia Oblast.

Elements of the 1st Army Corps of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DNR) attacked Ukrainian positions in Avdiivka and Marinka. Neither attack was successful.

NATO-provided High Mobility Rocket Artillery System (HIMARS) rockets hit eleven high-value targets in the Donetsk region overnight. An ammunition depot in Russia-controlled Chystiakove, 75 kilometers behind the known line of conflict, was destroyed.

Ukrainian forces also destroyed an ammunition depot in Shakhtarsk, 65 kilometers behind the known line of conflict. There are massive secondary explosions, including surface-to-air missiles, and local officials are evacuating the city.

An ammunition depot in Russian-controlled Zuhres, east of Donetsk, was also destroyed in a rocket attack.

An ammunition depot in Ilovaisk, southeast of Donetsk, was also destroyed. There was a massive explosion after four rockets hit the ammunition stockpile. The blast shattered windows up to 7 kilometers away.

A Russian ammunition depot was also destroyed at the Kalinin Mine in Horlivka. The Kalinin Mine is the largest coal mine in Ukraine.

NASA Fire Information for Resource Management System (FIRMS) indicated the Kirovs’kyi fuel depot, hit by artillery or HIMARS-delivered rockets three days ago, continued to burn.

In Mariupol, at least three Russian Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) engineers were killed in the area of the Azovstal Metallurgical Plant. Efforts to demine Azovstal and the Illich Iron and Steelworks caused an accident setting off a large explosion and secondary fires from ammunition cooking off.

Adviser to the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Anton Gerashchenko, reported that the Almaz-Antey Company in Russia had drawn the ire of the Russian Ministry of Defense over the inability of Russian S-400 air defense systems to intercept High Mobility Rocket Artillery Systems munitions. It is reported that the head of the company, former Russian prime minister Mykhailo Fradkov, assured the Kremlin the S-400 antiaircraft system would be capable of intercepting rockets launched from the NATO M-142 Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS). We cannot verify the report’s veracity, but we can verify that the Pantsir-1, S-300, and S-400 air defense systems have been very ineffective against the HIMARS launched rockets.

Kherson – Russian forces sent squad-sized reconnaissance units toward Olhyne and Knyazivka. Both groups were discovered and eliminated. Russian forces continue to struggle to hold defensive positions across Kherson with the volume of artillery, rocket, and missile strikes slowing.

Russian forces fired six S-300 surface-to-air antiaircraft missiles, using them in a surface-to-surface capacity. The S300 has limited capabilities as a surface-to-surface weapon, but the fragmentation warhead and inertial guidance systems are not suited for this role.

Dnipropetrovsk – Three missiles struck the settlement of Radushne.

Kharkiv – Northwest and north of Kharkiv, Russian forces conducted reconnaissance in force and spoiling attacks on Dementiivka and Male Vesele. Neither attack was successful. There were reports of Ukrainian forces advancing toward the Russian stronghold of Kozacha Lopan. We cannot confirm the veracity of the report.

Izyum – Russian forces made piecemeal attacks on the settlements of Krasnopillia and Dolyna. Neither attack was successful. Russian forces shelled Chepil, Bohorodychne, Dibrovne, Adamivka, and Slovyansk.

Sumy – Russia and Ukraine continue to exchange cross-border shelling in the Sumy oblast. The settlements of Shalyhyne, Khotin, Esman, and Myropillia were attacked, with five civilians injured.

Odesa – Black Sea – Ukraine has reopened the Danube-Black Sea Canal after emergency restoration work to abandoned Soviet-era river ports and infrastructure. The canal’s opening will permit grain to be loaded at one newly restored river port. Bulk carriers could sail south from Ukraine to the Bosphorus Strait and beyond.

Beyond Ukraine – Ukrainian ground forces started building minefields on the border with Belarus and installing engineered barriers. Belarus has ongoing military exercises planned to end on July 8 but were extended through July 15 – 16.

Daily Assessment

  1. Russian forces do not have a short-term answer to the NATO-provided M142 HIMARS rocket attacks, devastating ammunition depots, command and control, and critical transit hubs in Kherson, Zaporizhia, Donetsk, and Kharkiv.
  2. After the operational pause concludes, we maintain that Siversk is the most likely location for major fighting in northeastern Donetsk.
  3. Supply interdiction by Ukrainian forces is impacting Russian military operations in Kherson.

To read the rest of our report, become a Patreon! For as little as $5 a month, you get access to the daily Russia-Ukraine War Situation Report. The report provides analysis, maps, detailed information about all the axes in Ukraine, international developments, information about war crimes and human rights, and economic news. As an added benefit, you get access to flash reports, breaking news, and our Discord server.

Become a Patreon today!