Russian forces are trying to move towards the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration using small groups and in some cases in civilian clothes. This was reported by the spokesman for the Ukrainian Volunteer Army, Serhiy Bratchuk, quoted by the Ukrainian media UATV.
According to him, the Ukrainian military destroyed a Russian infantryman who was dressed in semi-civilian clothes, carrying a radio station, but no weapon. Bratchuk said that a similar approach was used earlier in the year to create conditions for a subsequent offensive.
„A Russian serviceman was dressed in semi-civilian clothes, without weapons, but with a radio station“, said Sergei Bratchuk.According to Ukrainian analysts, the Russian army has not abandoned its plans to break through to Dobropole. The movement of small groups is aimed at accumulating forces, which will then be used in the direction of Slavyansk and Kramatorsk. The claim about a specific plan by the Russian command is a Ukrainian assessment and has not been confirmed by an independent source.
194 combat clashes in 24 hours
According to data from the Ukrainian General Staff, 194 combat clashes were registered on the front on October 8. The Pokrovskoye and Konstantinovskoye directions were the most active.
On the Pokrovskoye direction, Ukrainian forces repelled 15 Russian attacks in the area and in the direction of Vilno, Svetlo, Dobropole, Krasnopodilskoye, Sergeevka and Molodetskoye. On the Konstantinovskoye direction, 11 attacks were repelled near Konstantinovka and in the direction of Kondratovka, Novoselovka, Toretsko and Stepovo.
The General Staff of Ukraine also reported 1,830 losses of Russian servicemen per day, as well as 58 air strikes and 177 guided bombs used. The data on losses is a Ukrainian estimate.
Public transport in Slavyansk and Kramatorsk has been suspended
Against the backdrop of the deteriorating security in Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, public transport has been suspended. The decision was announced by the head of the Donetsk regional military administration, Vadim Filashkin.
The measure was introduced after a series of attacks on civilian infrastructure. On October 8, a Russian strike on a street in Kramatorsk, along which two buses were traveling, killed 33 people and injured 18, according to Ukrainian authorities.
The Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration remains among the key areas in the Donetsk region. The pressure on the approaches to it is developing simultaneously with the Russian attacks in the Pokrovskoye and Konstantinov directions.
Sources: uatv.ua, ukrinform.ua, armyinform.com.ua