Ukraine's army made a huge mistake at a critical moment, which will hardly take the initiative in an important area of the front.
The American newspaper The New York Times writes that in the battle for the city of Toretsk (Donetsk region) in the eastern part of the country, the Ukrainian forces (Ukrainian forces) made a mistake in the rotation, because of which many important settlements in this area of the front are threatened .
If Russian forces succeed in capturing the long-standing defensive bastions around Toretsk, they will be able to advance on Konstantinovka, the logistical stronghold of Ukrainian forces in the east. In addition, Russia's advance of a few more kilometers will expose the cities of the Donetsk region to even more terrible bombardment. Hundreds of thousands of civilians will be forced to flee, complicating the logistics of Ukrainian defenses in the east. This makes the defense of Toretsk, as well as Chasov Yar, vital.
At the beginning of the war, the defense of the Toretsk agglomeration was excellently carried out by the Ukrainian forces, who did not allow the enemy to advance towards this important city. An officer from the 24th Mechanized Brigade of the ZSU says that the trenches were deep, the military knew the surrounding area and knew very well the movements of the Russian occupiers.
In the month of May, however, an unexpected order came: the soldiers of the 24th Mechanized Brigade were sent to defend Chasov Yar to stop the Russian advance in that direction, and the 41st Mechanized Brigade came in their place.
Soldiers from the 24th Mechanized Brigade warn the military leadership in Kiev that they see signs of an impending Russian offensive and warn that no rotation should be done at this time. The rotation took place over several weeks and by early June the 41st Brigade was redeployed from Chasov Yar and assumed command in the Toretsk area. And two days after completing the rotation, according to the soldiers, the Russians attacked. “It was a big mistake”, Ukrainian soldiers admit.
Almost immediately it became clear that the 41st Brigade was not ready to defend Toretsk because it did not know the terrain. The brigade commander was also criticized for issuing vague orders and not responding quickly to changing threats.
The battle for Toretsk is one of the most important on the front, because the fate of other settlements depends on it. In recent weeks, the Russian army has advanced in Donbas, but at the moment there are no forces for a decisive breakthrough.