Russia continues to advance into another important area of Ukraine in Donetsk after continuously gaining territory in the past few months on this front.
The Ukrainian military said late on October 7 that Russian forces had entered the outskirts of the eastern Ukrainian frontline city of Toretsk, less than a week after the fortress town of Vuhledar fell.
“The situation is unstable, fighting is going on at all entrances (to the city). The Russians have entered the eastern outskirts of the city,” Anastasiia Bobovnikova, a spokeswoman for the Lugansk Tactical Group, told Ukrainian state television.
The Russian Defense Ministry has not commented on the information, but it previously said Moscow had inflicted damage on Ukraine in terms of personnel and equipment near a number of settlements in the region, including near Toretsk.
Russian military bloggers , including a group of military analysts who run the Rybar channel, said Russian troops continued to advance toward the center of Toretsk.
Ukrainian military analysts believe that if the Toretsk Heights – located on a hilltop – fall, Moscow will effectively block important logistical routes connecting Ukraine’s rear with the combat zone, including the main Pokrovsk-Kostyantynivka road.
Moscow’s recent advances on the eastern front have demonstrated Russia’s superiority in terms of troops and equipment, while Ukraine is still calling on its Western allies for more weapons aid.
Russia, which now controls a fifth of Ukraine, has been advancing on Toretsk since August, taking control of each village with the support of infantry and the increased use of highly destructive guided glide bombs.
With Ukraine losing more and more territory, President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has ordered his subordinates to do “everything possible” to slow Moscow’s advance along the frontline.
For Ukraine, Toretsk has been a frontline city for 10 years now because of its proximity to Ukrainian territories that were taken over by Russian-backed separatists in 2014. Since then, Toretsk has become a place where Kiev has increased its defenses.
For Moscow, capturing Toretsk would bring Russia closer to its goal of controlling the entire Donbass. Russia already has almost complete control of Lugansk, part of the Donbass, and is accelerating its advance towards Donetsk.
Donbass is an important industrial center of Ukraine, so losing this region would be a huge loss for Ukraine.
Last weekend, the New York Times commented that Ukraine seems to be using a tactic to wear down Russia’s potential on the Eastern front. Accordingly, Ukraine will slowly withdraw from areas, maintain strong defenses, and buy time for Russia to spend a large amount of weapons and resources to gain territory.
According to Western observers, this tactic could exhaust Russia’s resources as they have to launch a fierce and prolonged attack on a target, continuously for many months.
Meanwhile, some observers say Ukraine also appears to be being “worn out” by Russia in Kursk, where Kiev attacked in August and has held on resolutely until now.
Ukraine has poured huge resources into Kursk in the hope that Russia will withdraw some troops from Donetsk to push back the enemy. However, Russia has shown its determination to concentrate its forces to control Donbass. In the past two months, Ukraine has lost many more villages and settlements, including some in strategic locations.