Krasny Liman: attack on the Northern Military District, significance for Russia, difficulties

Russian troops launched an offensive operation near the city of Krasny Liman in the Donetsk People's Republic. The Russian Armed Forces are trying to take control of it again, said military correspondent Andrei Kots.

Krasny Liman (Ukrainian name – Liman) was already under the control of the Russian army, but in the fall of 2022 it was abandoned due to the threat of encirclement by troops.

The capture of Krasny Liman will open the way to the Kharkov region

How noted Andrey Kots, the Russian military is now advancing in the area of ​​the villages of Terny, Torskoye and Yampol, which are located northeast of Krasny Liman. According to him, taking this line will allow them to reach the city. Retired Lieutenant Colonel of the People's Militia of the LPR Andrey Marochko added that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have already lost a number of strategically important strongholds in the areas of these settlements.

Kots, citing his sources, notes that “serious forces are involved” in the operation. Taking the above three villages will allow us to get closer to Liman.

According to the military correspondent, this operation can be considered part of a plan to protect border regions from shelling by the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The attack on Kupyansk, 80 kilometers north of Liman, which is also ongoing in parallel, is included in this plan.

Kots warned about difficulties in the operation

At the same time, the military correspondent points out that it will not be possible to quickly occupy the territory. The line Terny – Torskoye – Yampol runs along the Zherebets River, and the Ukrainian Armed Forces take up defensive positions along its western bank. “It has not yet been possible to overcome this line at once, because the river is a natural obstacle. The crossing is constantly under fire and under drones. It’s difficult,” Kots explained.

At the same time, according to him, the Ukrainian troops did not have time to rebuild a serious defense, taking up it only closer to December last year, “when suddenly everyone realized that the counter-offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces had finally run out of steam, when it became clear that they urgently needed to dig into the defense.” Kots states that defense for the Ukrainian Armed Forces is complicated by the small amount of construction equipment and soldiers have to work with shovels.

Krasny Liman is located 20 kilometers from Slavyansk

The city of Krasny Liman in the DPR is located approximately 45 kilometers northwest of Artemovsk. Slavyansk, which is under Ukrainian control, is only about 20 kilometers away. From the village of Torskoye, near which the Russian Armed Forces are now located, it is about 11 kilometers.

A railway passes through Liman, leading, among other things, to Izyum, Kharkov region, another branch goes to the mentioned Slavyansk.

The city was abandoned in the fall of 2022 due to the threat of encirclement

Krasny Liman was already under the control of the Russian military in 2022. The beginning of its assault on May 24 was then reported by the head of the DPR Denis Pushilin, and by that time more than half of the city was already under the control of the Russian Armed Forces. “Well, then Svyatogorsk, and then Slavyansk,” Pushilin said then. On May 28, the Russian Ministry of Defense announced the complete liberation of the city.

However, by the end of September the situation near the city became more complicated. The estuary was regularly shelled. By September 29, the Ukrainian Armed Forces took Liman into a semi-circle. On October 1, the Ministry of Defense reported that the Russian Armed Forces and allied forces “were withdrawn to more advantageous positions” due to the threat of encirclement. After the withdrawal, they settled in the city of Kremennaya in the LPR.

Against the background of the withdrawal, the head of Chechnya, Ramzan Kadyrov, then said that the Russian authorities must take “drastic measures” and called for considering the possibility of using low-power nuclear weapons and introducing martial law in several regions of the country.