Is there an encirclement of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Velyka Novosilka: what military bloggers and the Ukrainian Armed Forces command say

23 January 22:47

In the Novopavlivka sector near Velyka Novosilka, Donetsk region, there is a risk of operational encirclement of the Defense Forces, but there is no question of a complete encirclement. This was reported by Viktor Tregubov, spokesman for the Khortytsia operational and strategic group of troops, on the air of the United News telethon, Komersant ukrainskyi reports

According to Tregubov, in the area of Velyka Novosilka , the Russians are using mixed assaults: they use both infantry and equipment. According to him, there are many problems in the area of Velyka Novosilka.

“There is no complete encirclement there. There is a risk of operational encirclement, but efforts are being made to prevent it and to prevent Russians from blocking the approaches to the village, although they are trying to take them under fire control,” said the spokesman.

According to him, the geographical location of Velyka Novosilka creates significant difficulties for the defense, in particular because of the river that runs through the village and complicates maneuvers. Tregubov emphasized that plans are currently being developed to overcome these difficulties.

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According to Tregubov, in this area, as in many others, Russian troops have an advantage, in particular in the number of personnel.

“They are constantly conducting rotations, adding personnel, replenishing the forces they already have deployed there, and they still have this resource. It is not as abundant as it used to be, they have started to save it in a certain way, perhaps for the first time during the war, especially in the Pokrovske direction, but this does not mean that they are in a difficulty in this regard. It means that they are not “swimming” in excessive resources,” Tregubov said.

What military bloggers say about the encirclement of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Velyka Novosilka

Military blogger Bohdan Myroshniko believes that the fighters will not be able to leave Velyka Novosilka as easily as the command says.

“There are no roads under control there for a long time. Everything is cut. The dirt roads are shot. The enemy has narrowed our defense zone to a rectangle of 2.5 by 4 kilometers. The “free” exit is not free at all. And it is accompanied by losses, because enemy drones, mines, drops and artillery are watching the escape routes around the clock. Logistics and evacuation are almost impossible for the same reasons. A complete encirclement is already forming there after the loss of Vremivka, not to mention the operational one,” he informed.

He clarified that the operational cordon around Velyka Novosilka has been in place for more than two weeks.

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“When I get in touch with the guys who are now defending there, I don’t know if they will get in touch again. And some say there is no operational environment,” the blogger summarized.

The same opinion is shared by Yuriy Butusov, editor-in-chief of Censor.NET, a military journalist.

“There is in fact an operational environment there, it can be seen on any map, the JFO is simply responding adequately to the current situation. The units of the 110th Mechanized Brigade and fighters of the attached units are in the operational environment,” he wrote.

Butusov also explained what operational encirclement means:

  1. “This means that there are no free routes of communication left, no combat vehicles will enter or leave, we have to walk, slowly, in the area of drone strikes.
  2. This means that it is impossible to evacuate the wounded. This means that there will be losses of missing persons.
  3. It means that those who are fighting there now and those who will be able to get out will suffer unjustified losses. And that some of those who get out will go to the NWC.
  4. This means that at the next convenient defense line, we will have fewer resilient fighters, because we will lose them in unfavorable operational conditions.

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“I hope that the command of the Velyka Novosilka tactical group and the command of the Donetsk operational and tactical command will define their position as soon as possible. I hope that the publicity will finally force the position of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, and the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, to be determined. I am writing this post in case of another criminal case, for the attention of the SBI and the SBU counterintelligence. Everyone has already written extraordinary combat reports, so that later they would not try to blame all the responsibility on some individual commanders,” Butusov summarized.

What the command of the “Khortytsia” Joint Forces Operation Center says

The command of the Khortytsia Operational and Strategic Grouping of Troops denied this information and said that everything is under control and measures are being taken to strengthen the units.

“Ukraine’s defense forces are engaged in exhausting battles with the superior enemy at their respective positions and borders. The actions of the soldiers are aimed at inflicting maximum losses on the enemy, preventing breakthroughs in defense and encirclement. The command is taking measures to strengthen the units, provide them with the necessary means of combat, strengthen and secure the flanks. Measures have also been planned for actions in case of aggravation of the tactical situation and possible options for its development,” the statement said.

The command called the spread of information about the formation of a cauldron in Velyka Novosilka an enemy information operation to undermine public sentiment, disorient and undermine confidence in the military leadership and the Defense Forces.

“As a result, it reduces the resilience of Ukraine’s defenders and facilitates their offensive. The enemy is using information as a weapon, skillfully hiding behind the sources of its supply,” the Khortytsia unit said.

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As reported by Kommersant, Ukrainian law enforcement officers detained two generals and one colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who failed to provide proper protection of the Kharkiv region during the Russian army’s offensive in May 2024.

A few hours before the official announcement of the detention, journalist Yuriy Butusov reported that the detainees were Brigadier General Yuriy Galushkin, former commander of the Kharkiv Operational and Tactical Directorate, and Lieutenant General Artur Horbenko, former commander of the 125th Lviv Brigade of the Terrorist Defense. Ukrainska Pravda also named the former commander of the 415th battalion, Colonel Ilya Lapin.

According to the SBU, the detained officials failed to prepare the defense of the border areas of Kharkiv region and lost control during the Russian offensive, which led to the seizure of part of the territory of the eastern region of Ukraine, where fierce fighting is currently taking place.

We would like to add that in early May 2024, the Russians launched an offensive against the Kharkiv region. They managed to occupy several villages, mostly in the “gray zone,” and started fighting for the city of Vovchansk.

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Дзвенислава Карплюк
Editor