Russia Seizes Another Town in Ukraine in Push to Take All of Donetsk

6 days ago 9

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Moscow’s troops used the same pincer tactic on Velyka Novosilka that has enabled their recent capture of town after town in eastern Ukraine.

A soldier speaks with another person on an otherwise empty road lined with bare trees and several small buildings.
A Ukrainian soldier speaking to a civilian in March 2023 while patrolling Velyka Novosilka in the Donetsk region of Ukraine.Credit...Maria Senovilla/EPA, via Shutterstock

Constant Méheut

Jan. 29, 2025, 5:57 a.m. ET

Building on their momentum in eastern Ukraine, Russian forces have seized control of yet another small town, military experts say, taking another step in their grinding push to conquer the entire Donetsk region.

Battlefield maps from independent groups analyzing satellite images and combat footage show that the town, Velyka Novosilka, is now under Russian control, and the Kremlin claimed its capture on Sunday. Ukraine’s military acknowledged its withdrawal from most of the town but said that its troops maintained a foothold on the northern outskirts.

Although this gain is modest compared with Russia’s recent seizure of nearby Ukrainian strongholds like Vuhledar and Kurakhove, it underscores the effectiveness of a tactic that Moscow has been employing to take one town after another in eastern Ukraine: using its overwhelming personnel advantage to attack relentlessly, gradually trapping Ukrainian forces in a pincer movement and forcing them to retreat to avoid encirclement.

“From a tactical perspective, their approach was correct — they understood their capabilities and advantages and used them effectively,” Maj. Ivan Sekach, a press officer for the Ukrainian military’s 110th Brigade, which has been defending the area, said in an interview. “It would not be accurate to claim that the Russians don’t know how to fight.”

Major Sekach said that Ukrainian troops had been fighting with a river at their back that greatly complicated operations, adding that for the past two weeks, ammunition and food had to be delivered by drones.

“Troop reinforcements must cross the river, which is a very complex operation,” he said, noting that Russia was “of course aware of this.”


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