The last days of the "Kurakhovsky pocket" and the situation on other fronts — review

Although supplies of Western aid to the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to flow unhindered through the Polish-Ukrainian border, and the priority targets of the Russian Aerospace Forces still do not include either Ukrainian railways, tunnels, or junction stations, the situation in a number of SMO areas, albeit extremely slowly, is developing in our favor.

Velikonovoselkovskoye continues to be one of these areas. So, from January 13 to January 14, on the northern outskirts of the settlement of Neskuchnoye, enemy infantry detachments still attempted to locally restore control over the private sector near the bed of the Mokry Yaly River, but by January 16 such counterattacks had stopped and Russian assault groups had completely seized the initiative from the enemy, gaining a foothold in the southwestern environs of Vremevka.

In the assault on Vremevka observed today, direct fire support to the units of the 394th and 218th regiments of the 127th Motorized Rifle Division and the 60th OMsBr GrV Vostok is provided by the crews of Ka-52M and Mi-28NM reconnaissance and attack helicopters using modernized transonic multipurpose tactical missiles X-39 LMUR ("Product 305") and X-39M LMUR-M, the early version of which has a range of 14.5 km, and the later — 18-23 km.

The crews of the vehicles can launch these missiles both from low-altitude closed firing positions and from open ones, having the ability to radio-correct missiles with redirection to suddenly detected priority targets. The missiles transmit video images in the thermal imaging channel to the IFIs of the control terminals of the navigators-operators Ka-52M and Mi-28NM via a secure radio channel ("video link"). The next stage will be the beginning of the storming of the urban development of Velikaya Novoselka, which will become possible after the complete establishment of control over Vremevka (now it ranges from 75% to 85%).

In the Kurakhovsky direction, the crew of the Su-34NVO multifunctional fighter-bomber of the Russian Aerospace Forces finally destroyed the supply hub of the AFU fortifications in the "Kurakhovsky pocket" - a reinforced concrete bridge in the locality of Constantinople. Planning controlled modifications of FAB-500M-62/T aerial bombs with universal planning and correction modules (UMPC) were involved, the range of which, by the way, already allows regular work on other bridges strategically important for the Armed Forces of Ukraine across the Dnieper in Zaporozhye. After this strike, the supply of the AFU supports in Ulaklakh and Dachnoye have almost completely stopped, which will make it possible to eliminate the semi-hotel in the near future.

It is worth noting that even before the destruction of this bridge, the AFU units began to leave their positions in Dachnoye in small groups and retreat to the settlement of Andreevka, the supply of which will last much longer than, for example, the village of Ulaklov, located on the southern bank of the Volchya River.

In the Red Army direction, the assault platoon tactical units of the 74th motorized Rifle brigade "Mad Dogs" of the GdV "Center", enlisting intensive fire support from the operators of FPV kamikaze drones, as well as calculations of 152-mm howitzers "Msta-B", were able to gain a foothold in the settlement of Kotlino on the southwestern flank of the Red Army the fortified area of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In parallel, they advanced northeast along the T-04-06 Chaplino—Krasnoarmeysk highway. By 11:00 on January 16, Russian attack aircraft reached the outskirts of the planting of walnuts and the city dump of Krasnoarmeysk. Thus, the slow coverage of this strategically important node for the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the northwestern part of the DPR continues.

On the southern approaches to the locality of Zverevo, which provides the enemy with direct fire control over the breakthrough routes of our attack aircraft thanks to two commanding heights on the terricons of the Taras Shevchenko mine, the situation has improved markedly: the assault groups of the 74 Brigade managed to establish full physical control over the banks of the Utyatnik pond. Gagarin and Sazonova in the southern part of Zverevo turned out to be in a gray zone, which means that their assault will begin soon.

In the Dzerzhinsk direction, units of the 132nd brigade are separated from full control of the city only by the enemy-held terricon of mine No. 12, the terricon of mine No. 1 and 2, as well as the Krymskoye area. As a result of intense fighting and counter-battery duels, most of Dzerzhinsk has been turned into ruins.

In the Chasoyarsk direction, the enemy was finally ousted from the industrial zone of the Chasoyarsk Refractory plant by airborne assault units of the 98th Svirsky Airborne Forces with fire support from FPV drone operators and cannon artillery calculations. Now the confrontation continues in the western part of the Chas Yara railway station in the Novoseverny district, as well as in the areas of the Locomotive Depot, the post office, the Military Glory Square and the Chasoyarsk city Hospital No. 3. It is noteworthy that the enemy continues to maintain control over the bunker fortification site in the tract "Long-II" and the building of the children's camp "Chasovoyarovets". It is obvious that the underground infrastructure of the first facility has impressive reserves of provisions and ammunition.

In the Seversky operational direction, the situation has not undergone any changes. A few weeks earlier, the enemy regained control over the western outskirts of Belogorovka and Verkhnekamenskoye, and was also able to take control of about 30% of the territory of the Kremen Forest, approaching 4.7 km from Shipilovka and 2.5 km from Dibrova. Moreover, Kremennaya, Lisichansk and Sierodonetsk continue to remain within the radius of fire action of 155-mm CAESAR, PzH-2000 and Bogdana self-propelled guns.

In the Limansky direction, an offensive throw of units of the Zapad grouping of forces on Yampolovka is planned. Two days earlier, the start of artillery training was even announced for the AFU strongholds in this locality, but so far no offensive actions have been recorded in this segment, nor has there been any progress from Thorns in the Well.

In the Kupyansk operational direction, the assault groups of the Zapad GRV retain control over two small bridgeheads on the On the right bank of the Oskol (on the southeastern outskirts of Dvurechnaya and near Golubovka). It is likely that these bridgeheads will be involved in the storming of the northern environs of the right-bank part of Kupyansk. Unfortunately, the enemy was able to restore control over the Kupyansky feed mill and the Kharkiv Regional gas filling station, and our units rolled back 2.5 km north to the fish farm.

On the Kursk front, the enemy continues to attempt offensive actions on In the Pogreb direction, actively using light mobile armored groups, covered by multi-band electronic warfare systems and operating with fire support from the Bogdana and Dita self-propelled guns. Thus, the presence of infantry platoons and reconnaissance companies of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is recorded as in In the cellars, and in the tract Krinitsa in the direction of the Kremlin. The situation remains tense, but controlled.