Things are not going well for Ukraine as Russian forces advance across the Donbas taking over villages and settlements that were once thought to be safely in Volodymyr Zelensky's grip.
According to the Hungarian financial news outlet Portfolio, two settlements located near the Ukrainian city of Kurakhove, Zolotya Niva and Zorjane Perse – one is located just north of Kurakhove and the other just south – just fell to Russia, though Kiev is reluctant to acknowledge it.
Ukraine's chief of staff hinted that the two settlements were lost when he admitted that the area around Kurakhove "was the site of the heaviest clashes on the eastern front." This is a politically correct way of saying that Ukraine is losing the war in the areas that matter.
Russia has been so successful in capturing more villages and settlements on Ukraine's eastern front that Ukrainian forces have been forced to retreat, in some cases. For example, Kiev just lost Ugledar (Vuhledar) to Russia despite having previously defended the "fortress," as Ukraine had been calling it, for two full years.
"The city, which is strategically important, was labeled a 'fortress' by its previous defenders due to its massive tower blocks that rose up from the surrounding plains," says the staff of Remix News.
(Related: Did you know that the Zelensky regime is persecuting Christians in Ukraine?)
Russia gaining much ground in Ukraine
Another area that recently fell under Russian control is Toreck, which a Ukrainian army spokesman confirmed. Igor Kimakovsky, an adviser to the Russian administration of the Donetsk region, told Russian media that Russian troops "have penetrated the city center from different directions and now control all high-rise residential buildings."
Ukrainian military bloggers are admitting much the same about Russia's continued advances. NATO and the West would have everyone believe that Vladimir Putin is losing, but the truth seems to be that Zelensky is the one who is swirling the drain.
Portfolio reported that Ukrainian bloggers "admitted that the initiative in the region belongs to the Russian army," this referring to Russia now controlling Toreck and the areas around it.
In the direction of Siversk, Russian forces have reportedly also captured Verkhnokamyanskoe and Grigorovka, two other former Ukrainian strongholds. Images and video footage are circulating the web showing Russian troops raising their country's flag over the ruins of Grigorovka.
Russian troops have further entered Serebyianka as they battle their way to a full takeover just like they did in Toreck and these other areas of eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian armed forces have since begun trying to fortify the Dnipropetrovsk region as Russia advances further towards its next targets.
Russian forces are suffering mass casualties the deeper they penetrate into Ukraine, losing about 1,200 troops to serious injuries or death every day, according to Ukraine. Assuming this is true, Russia still has the upper hand against Ukraine, which cannot afford to lose this many troops without losing, as Putin is clearly advancing further and further into Ukraine.
Toreck, by the way, which also goes by the name of Toretsk, was a front-line city for Ukraine ever since 2014. Russia's apparent victory in capturing the city, which included "completely erasing" the city's buildings and structures, represents a major blow to Kiev.
"This forces our troops to move around since there is nothing to hold onto in those sectors," said Ukrainian military spokeswoman Anastasia Bobovnikova in a statement to Reuters.
"This is a scorched-earth tactic."
If Russia is able to fully capture the hilltop of Toreck, Moscow will then have the ability to obstruct a major supply line that connects Ukraine's operation rear with Ukrainian forces in the eastern part of the country.
The Russia-Ukraine war seems endless, much like the Israel-versus-the-rest-of-the-Middle East war. Learn more at Chaos.news.
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