Russian troops "changed a lot" on the battlefield, besieging Poltavka and attacking Zaporizhzhia.
Russian troops advanced south of Malaya Tokmachka, only 7.5 km west of Orekhiv, and took control of the village of Shcherbinovka west of Toretsk; took control of Poltavka.
Báo Khoa học và Đời sống•22/07/2025
Russian troops on the Ukrainian front are attacking across the entire Ukrainian front, from the Sumy front in the north to the Kherson front in the south. In the area controlled by the Dnieper Army Group on the Zaporizhzhia front, Russian troops have advanced about a kilometer south of the village of Malaya Tokmachka. At the same time, the Russian army (RFAF) surrounded the station of the same name, thus, the distance from the RFAF's forward position to the eastern flank of the city of Orekhiv (Orekhovo) was shortened - now only 7.5 km. It should be remembered that Orekhiv is the center of the Ukrainian army's summer counteroffensive in 2023.
Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry reported that units of the Dnipro RFAF Group of Forces defeated several brigades of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) in the villages of Antonovka, Belozerki in the Kherson region and Mala Tokmachka in the Zaporizhzhia region; eliminating 60 Ukrainian troops from combat. Russia's Rybar channel also reported that the Dnipro RFAF Group had broken through the AFU's strong defense line at the village of Mala Tokmachka, which they had held for more than three years. During Ukraine's summer 2023 counteroffensive, Mala Tokmachka was the bridgehead for the AFU to attack the Rabotino opening. In October 2022, the Zaporizhzhia Oblast of Ukraine became part of the Russian Federation, following a referendum organized by Moscow. More than 75% of Zaporizhzhia is now controlled by Russia; but the northern part, with the administrative center of Zaporizhzhia, remains controlled by Kiev. The Zaporizhzhia front is showing signs of “heating up” in the RFAF’s summer offensive campaign. The Zaporizhzhia front area has been temporarily frozen since the failure of Ukraine’s 2023 summer counteroffensive in November 2023. The AFU even sent elite units to reinforce other fronts. Meanwhile, on the Toretsk front, the 103rd Regiment of the 150th Motorized Rifle Division, together with troops of the 20th Regiment of the RFAF Central Group, took control of the village of Shcherbinovka, located west of the city of Toretsk.
Shcherbinovka was a fortified stronghold, in order for the AFU to prevent the Russian army from completely controlling the city of Toretsk, Kiev had concentrated a lot of forces here, in order to be able to hold this stronghold. But after the Ukrainian army withdrew from Petrovka, the fate of the Ukrainian garrison in Shcherbinovka was almost decided. However, in this case, an organized withdrawal of the Ukrainian army from the Shcherbinovka stronghold was very difficult, because the retreat routes were under the control of Russian firepower. In fact, this stronghold had long been surrounded by Russian forces on three sides, and was the focus of RFAF firepower. In addition, units of the RFAF Southern Group of Forces have also begun attacking the village of Aleksandro-Shultino, developing an offensive from the Toretsk bridgehead towards Konstantinovka. Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry confirmed that they had taken control of the village of Belaya Gora, located to the right of Aleksandro-Shultino. These are two villages on the southern outskirts of the city of Kostiantynivka. It is clear that the situation on the Toretsk front is rapidly changing in favor of the RFAF. One of the important developments is the attack by Russian units on Yablonivka (circled in red) in the Oleksandro-Klynovo direction, which puts Ukrainian units south of the Kleban-Bytskoye reservoir (in blue) in an extremely dangerous position.
The RFAF's control of the village of Belaya Gora is important, given the potential for the upcoming battle for Konstantinovka, as it allows the Russians to approach the city from another direction. In addition, control of the village would pose a threat from the southern flank to the remnants of Ukrainian units in the Chasov Yar area. Also south of Kostiantynivka, the Military Summary channel reported that there is currently fighting within the boundaries of the village of Poltavka, where Russian troops have used the previously captured Popov Yar bridgehead to attack Poltavka. At the same time, they are organizing a sweep of Ukrainian troops still hiding in nearby forest belts. It should be noted that the village of Poltavka, located southwest of the city of Konstantinovka, is the largest logistics center of the AFU in the Donetsk region that they still control. And in fact, Poltavka is the key to the connection between Pokrovsk and Slavyansk-Kramatorsk. The RFAF's control of Poltavka would allow them to begin encircling Konstantinovka from the west, forming a semicircle around one of the AFU's largest defensive lines. However, to complete the encirclement, the RFAF would need to take control of the village of Rusin Yar, and Russian assault units were already approaching this village.
Thus, it can be seen that not only the encirclement of the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad urban area by RFAF has been formed, but also the 16 km long encirclement of RFAF with Kostiantynivka that RFAF has spread from the west (Chasov Yar), south (Toretsk) and west as it is now. It can be seen that the process of fighting the enemy to create a siege by RFAF, for the city of Kostiantynivka is almost completed. (photo source Military Review, Ukrinform, Liveuamap, Rybar).
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