Dialing down the aerial bombing and dialing up the drone strikes, the Russian Center Group of Forces is pummeling the supply lines of the Ukrainian 19th Army Corps in and around the town of Druzhkivka, the next obstacle and last to a Russian advance on Kramatorsk.
The Kramatorsk-Sloviansk urban conglomeration is the last big free settlement in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast. Capturing Kramatorsk and Sloviansk is one of Russia’s top priorities as the wider war on Ukraine grinds into its 54th month. Defending them is one of Ukraine’s top priorities.
There are several possible paths for the Russians as they aim to lay siege to Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. They could close on the cities from the north via the town of Lyman or from the northeast via the town of Mykolaivka.
But if they approach from the south, they’ve got to punch through Druzhkivka, three miles south of Kramatorsk. They’re making progress, albeit slowly and at great cost.
There are two routes toward Druzhkivka. The Russians could march through the ruins of Kostyantynivka, six miles southeast of Druzhkivka. Or they could assault Druzhkivka from the southwest via the village of Novomykolaivka.
A recent Russian push toward Novomykolaivka ended in defeat amid a flurry of Ukrainian first-person-view drones. “As of today, the settlement is under Ukrainian control,” mapper Playfra noted. The Russian Center Grouping of Forces is now trying again to get past Novomykolaivka by bypassing it on the right, according to Playfra.
