Frontline report: Ukrainian defenses hold as Russia launches assault on key coal mine near Donetsk’s Vuhledar

06 September 2024. Today there are a lot of updates from the Kurakhove direction, Donetsk Oblast.

Here, in a daring maneuver, Russian forces have launched a bold assault on the Pivdenno-Donbaska coal mine, a crucial stronghold just two kilometers from Vuhledar.

As the battle unfolds, the fate of this industrial complex hangs in the balance, with both sides acutely aware that its capture could dramatically alter the entire Vuhledar front. Vuhledar remains one of the most symbolically significant strongholds in Ukrainian hands in this direction. Two key factors underscore its importance. Firstly, Vuhledar is situated at a dominant height, and its residential areas, featuring high-rise buildings or citadels, have allowed Ukrainian forces to establish formidable bastions, dominating a vast area of the Russian advance. Secondly, since the war’s outset, Vuhledar has been a crucial supply center due to its proximity to two major roads: the T0509 from Velyka Novosilka and the T5024 from Vuhledar to Kostiantynivka.

Russian assault tactics and shifting strategy

Over the past two years, Russian forces have repeatedly attempted to capture Vuhledar using frontal mechanized assaults from the south, suffering catastrophic losses. In recent days, Russian forces have resumed assault operations on Vuhledar and the nearby locality of Vodiane. Extensive artillery preparation has been done over the whole area, with satellite data confirming the extraordinary intensity of Russian artillery discharges. Crucially, the Russian strategy has shifted from frontal assault efforts to an encirclement attempt from the south and northeast. To the northeast, Russian forces managed to move the front line to the T0532 road itself and have also crossed and taken positions beyond it at limited points.

This effectively renders the road mostly unusable as a logistical supply route for Ukraine. At the same time, an attack from the south aimed at Prechystivka has also put under severe pressure the T0509 road as a supply road to Ukrainian forces.

Ukrainian countermeasures and defensive routes

Fortunately, Ukrainian forces still can rely on the road descending from Bohoyavlenka as the primary logistical route. Moreover, due to dry weather conditions, Ukrainians could rely on uncountable dirty tracks to complement the main route. With these alternatives, the Ukrainians are still far from facing personnel and equipment supply problems to Vuhledar. A prominent Russian military analyst has recently claimed that Russian forces have crossed the road southeast of Vodiane and are now trying to advance toward this settlement with a relatively broad front. Some Russian sources suggest that initial Russian forces have even managed to enter the northern area of Vodiane, albeit in a very limited manner.

Russian advances on Pivdenno-Donbaska Mine and Ukrainian resistance

Of particular concern, Russian forces have also advanced towards the Pivdenno-Donbaska mine number one, located just two and a half kilometers northwest of Vuhledar. This complex, one of Ukraine’s most important coal mines, opened in 1973 and has galleries almost half a kilometer deep. Its industrial facilities have served as a support bastion for Vuhledar in countless Russian frontal assaults over the past two years. Geolocated images recently published by Ukrainian sources show the landing of Russian infantry, supported by a BMP-2, which initiates the storming of an industrial site belonging to the Pivdenno-Donbaska mine.

The BMP-2 vehicle was reportedly hit in the side but managed to withdraw.

While this isolated landing attempt appears to be a mere exploratory probe than part of a broader effort, the diligent Ukrainian response based mainly on FPV drones demonstrates that the defense of Vuhedlar and its surroundings is still based on the same principles that have made it an impassable bastion for more than two years, that is, significant reconnaissance efforts for an early warning, the efficient combination of minefields, ATGMs, artillery force and particularly FPV drones, which together have managed to successfully stop all Russian mechanized attacks. The original, uncensored combat footage of this operation can be found on Reporting From Ukraine’s Telegram channel..

Strategic importance of Pivdenno-Donbaska Mine

The potential loss of the Pivdenno-Donbaska mine could be critical for several reasons. Firstly, the mine area not only has robust high industrial buildings but also includes a notable waste heap. If we look at the topographic map, we can observe that this terrikon (a coal mine’s spoil tip) forms an artificial elevated area from which Russian forces could monitor and control Ukrainian movements and potentially threaten Ukraine’s defense efforts.

Implications of the coalmine’s capture

Secondly, the industrial zone of the mine, being just 2.5 km away, could provide Russian forces with a very convenient location for accumulating forces and mechanized equipment, enabling a direct offensive against Vuhledar itself. However, for this very same reason, Ukrainian forces undoubtedly rely on the mine’s vast storage capacity to accumulate ammunition and personal provisions, so the seizure of the mine and its industrial area will certainly present huge challenges to the Russian infantry trying to gain control of it.

Holding the mine and Vuhledar is critical for Ukrainian forces because if Russians finally capture Vuhledar, they will open operational space behind it, given the absence of significant populations and fortification lines in that area.

Current status and future outlook

The next potential bastions of Vuhledar that could play a similar role would be local, like Novoukrainka, which is also located in the hill. Overall the situation around Vuhledar remains tense but far from critical. Russian forces are making incremental progress in their encirclement attempts, potentially threatening this key Ukrainian stronghold in the coming weeks. However, Ukrainian forces maintain not only the full logistic supply capacity to the settlement but also every defense tactic element in order to slow down and contain these renovated Russian efforts until depletion. The coming days will be crucial in determining whether Ukrainian forces can maintain their hold on Vuhledar and the surrounding area or if Russian forces will achieve a significant breakthrough in this sector.

In our daily frontline report, we pair up with the military blogger Reporting from Ukraine to keep you informed about what is happening on the battlefield in the Russo-Ukrainian war.

Related:

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• ISW: Russian forces push toward Donetsk Oblast’s Vuhledar, Kurakhove to tie up Ukrainian reinforcements for Pokrovsk
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• Frontline report: Russians make significant advances toward Pokrovsk amid heavy fighting