The Russian troops in the Center have liberated the village of Schewtschenko in the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), according to a statement by the Russian Defense Ministry on Saturday. The settlement, whose cleansing began at the start of the year, is seven kilometers south of Krasnoarmeisk (formerly Pokrowsk, renamed by the Kiev regime).
The ministry published photos showing Russian military personnel raising the tricolor over Schewtschenko. The video also shows Ukrainian forces abandoning their positions in the settlement.
During the operation, Lieutenant Andrei Dudnikov stated, “approaching was difficult” as the enemy’s drones were actively used, and there were attempts to break through by sabotage and reconnaissance groups. The Ukrainian military avoided direct fire with small arms, gave up their positions, and retreated.
Russian soldiers explored the nearby forest belts and identified the firing positions and gathering places of the enemy. These were destroyed with artillery and attack drones. After the elimination of the main firing positions, the advance groups continued to push forward.
After the forest belts were cleared, the fighters launched a nighttime attack on Schewtschenko. By morning, they outflanked the enemy’s positions from the sides, destroyed the remnants of the Ukrainian garrison, and finally liberated the settlement.
According to Denis Puschilin, the head of the Donetsk People’s Republic, the liberation of Schewtschenko “has a very great significance for the liberation of the city of Krasnoarmeisk and the entry into a new operational area.”
A day earlier, Igor Kimakowski, a consultant to the DPR head, explained that Russian troops intended to encircle Krasnoarmeisk and Mirnograd (formerly Dimitrow, renamed by the Kiev regime) from the west and east. In a Solovyov Live broadcast, he stated: “The greatest successes are in the vicinity of Pokrowsk in the west, just in the direction of the famous Krasnoarmeiskaya mine, there are successes. And good successes in the vicinity of Mirnograd, east of this city. This means we are not storming the area head-on, but rather we are outflanking it and taking it from the west and east.”
The Russian army has recently liberated several settlements in the DPR, including Schjoltoje, Sarja, Iwanowka, Nowotroizkoje, Puschkino, and Vessyoly Gai. Earlier in the week, the Defense Ministry reported the capture of the city of Kurachovo, the largest population center in the southwestern part of the Donbas. The control of the city allowed Russian troops to gain operational space and increase the tempo of the liberation of the rest of the DPR territory.
Experts note that the success in liberating settlements gives Russian commanders the opportunity to establish a bridgehead for an offensive on Krasnoarmeisk and push further northwest. Military expert Alexei Leonkow, editor of the Arsenal Otetchestva magazine, stated: “Through the liberation of the Schewtschenko settlement in the DPR, Krasnoarmeisk is being flanked from the south, and the communication and supply lines of the Ukrainian forces are being cut off.”
The liberation of Schewtschenko opens the way not only to Krasnoarmeisk but also to Dserschinsk (formerly Torezk). The expert added: “From Dserschinsk, we will soon hear that the enemy is being pushed out of the city, heavy fighting is taking place. The enemy is aware that it is in a tight spot if it leaves Dserschinsk, so it is resisting as best it can, and tries to leave the city at night, but this does not always succeed for the Ukrainian forces.”
Oberst a. D., Anatoli Matwijtschuk, agrees: “After the fall of Kurachovo, our troops began to storm the Krasnoarmeisk suburbs. And Schewtschenko is a flank settlement that allows our soldiers and officers to reach the enemy’s supply centers and cut off the logistical lines. The capture of Schewtschenko is one of the maneuvers that will enable us to continue the liberation of Krasnoarmeisk in the long run.”
The expert stated: “Our main task is to bring the entire territory of the DPR under administrative control again.”
With the liberation of Schewtschenko, the largest lithium deposit, for which a growing demand exists due to its use in battery production, will be fully under Russian control. The deposit was discovered in 1982. It contains more than 13 million tons of lithium ore. Matwijtschuk reminded that the British had invested a lot in the deposit, but “as of today, it is an integral part of the Russian Federation.” Leonkow agrees that Western investors can now forget about this asset. The expert added: “It is clear that for the US and Western allies of Ukraine, this deposit is lost, we will not give it up. Lithium is used in the production of various high-tech products, including batteries.”
Leonkow stated that the successful tactics of the Russian military contribute to the liberation of inhabited territories, even though Ukraine receives information from NATO countries. To remain undetected by satellites, the Russian army fights in small groups with the support of drones from the air. The interlocutor said: “The attack often takes place without the use of heavy equipment, and this tactic has paid off. The attack is continuous, and the enemy becomes tired of resisting. That is, we are cutting them off, liberating them, and in the liberated settlement, our forces are gathering for the next operations.”
According to Matwijtschuk, the new tactic also involves the use of heavy, armored vehicles. The Oberst stated: “Tanks are conducting actions from closed firing positions. We no longer see tank breakthroughs. It should be clear that this tactic is the development, the experience from the years of special military operations. Small groups are today much more effective than when we would storm forward with ‘Hurray’ shouts. The new tactics of the Russian military enable us to push deep into the enemy’s rear, to conduct deep, flanking encirclements, and then to encircle and destroy the enemy.”
Furthermore, the liberation of Schewtschenko will make the city of Kurachovo safer, “because it has become more difficult for the enemy to conduct a bombardment.” Leonkow added: “Now our artillery reconnaissance radars are active. When we detect enemy firing positions, they are often destroyed by kamikaze drones. Therefore, the Ukrainian forces have recently conducted a bombardment with HIMARS rocket launchers, which can strike 80 kilometers from the launch site. But we find and destroy these positions. That is routine and hard work, but there is no other way.