Deep State: Kurakhove remains epicenter of fighting, nearly 700 clashes in two weeks
Russian troops are concentrating their efforts on the Kurakhove area, storming the city from multiple directions in an attempt to capture a key highway.
According to the analytical project DeepState, the Kurakhove direction remains the most difficult on the front, with 690 combat clashes reported over the past two weeks, the analytical monitoring group Deep State reported on 15 November.
The situation remains difficult in the Pokrovsk direction, where 435 combat clashes occurred. However, DeepState reports there have been few changes in this area.
Russia continues its efforts to capture the remaining areas of Donetsk Oblast, focusing on Pokrovsk and Kurakhove. As Russia widely utilizes the “meat assault” tactics of frontal attacks, it keeps making incremental gains despite heavy losses. Zelenskyy said in late October that Russian forces outnumbered Ukrainians 8:1 in some areas, forcing retreats.
According to Deep State, significant Russian troops’ activity is also observed in the directions of Kupiansk, Vremivka, and Lyman.
On 11 November, the analytical group reported that the Russian forces were storming Kurakhove from the north, south, and east, flanking to control the N15 Zaporizhzhia-Donetsk highway, which is logistically necessary for the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
On the same day, the Russian occupying forces destroyed the dam of the Kurakhove reservoir. The head of the Kurakhove Military-Civil Administration, Roman Padun, said that villages located along the Vovcha River are recording a rise in water levels.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported that Russian troops could have struck the dam of the Kurakhove reservoir to cause significant and prolonged flooding west of it, which would have facilitated Russia’s efforts to encircle Ukrainian troops north and south of Kurakhove.
The ISW reported on 13 November that the Russian army had advanced within the boundaries of Kurakhove and south of it during two mechanized assaults.
Read also:
- ISW: Russians advance near Kurakhove and Toretsk
- Russians damage Kurakhove Reservoir dam in Donetsk Oblast
- Russian troops escalate flanking assaults on Kurakhove, targeting key routes
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