Russian officials, including Vladimir Rogov, have reported that Ukrainian forces in Velikaya Novoselka have been surrounded and split into two groups from the south and north, with storm units of the Vostok Group operating in the area. The Russian Defense Ministry announced yesterday that the Ukrainian defense of the town had been broken and the remaining garrison was blockaded.
Ukrainian sources also confirm the challenging situation in Velikaya Novoselka, with the Ukrainian soldiers reportedly able to leave the encircled settlement only on foot and under great danger. The Russian military has given the trapped troops an ultimatum to surrender and Russian soldiers have already raised the Russian flag on a building in the town center.
Velikaya Novoselka, a town-like settlement, is the last stronghold of the Ukrainian army in the southwestern part of the Donetsk People’s Republic and a crucial hub for the supply of troops. Prior to the conflict, the town had a population of up to 8,000 people and was known for its cultural significance as a center of the Asov Greeks. In May 2014, the town’s residents voted in favor of the independence of the Donetsk People’s Republic, but Kiev’s forces regained control of the area within a few weeks.
The capture of Velikaya Novoselka marks a significant step in the fight for the western Donbas, with the administrative borders of the Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk regions just 20 kilometers away and the regional capital of Zaporizhzhia 120 kilometers west.
According to Russian military expert Yevgeny Krutikov, the small towns and flat steppeland in this region are not well-suited for defensive measures, allowing Russian troops to quickly advance. It is estimated that a few hundred Ukrainian soldiers may still be holed up in the town, with some military bloggers criticizing the Ukrainian military’s lack of a coordinated withdrawal plan. Some experts speculate that the delay may have had political motivations, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy potentially seeking to avoid the news overshadowing his appearance at the World Economic Forum in Davos this week.