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What's going on in the Debaltseve pocket?


Zveroboy1

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It is a bit hard to make sense of what is going on.

 

It seems that the separatists have captured the small town of Vuhlehirsk on the west side of the pocket and also the village of Nikishyne in the south east sector in the last two weeks. Civilians are being evacuated from Debaltseve.

 

Are these reports accurate at all?

Is this the beginning of a serious push to close the pocket, or just minor fighting to gnaw at its edges with no operational significance? Perhaps only to be in a better position at the negotiation table?

What is the Ukrainian army doing? Is it elsewhere or preparing a counter offensive?

 

Inquiring minds want to know. I don't want this to turn into a political thread, just curious about what the situation is and how it is evolving.

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As far as I understand, the separatists staged a fairly large offensive meant to pinch off the Debaltsevo salient.  As a repetition of Illovaysk, it was meant to surround and reduce the Ukrainian forces there.  However, the operation was at best a partial success.  Reportedly the separatist casualties have been heavy - or at least heavier than in many similar operations priviously.  There has been several explanations offered for this:

1) Lack of support from Russian army units, unlike in Illovaysk

2) Lack of coordination between infantry and armored units

3) Actual sabotage by the Russian government, meant to destroy specific units participating in the offence - units in question reportedly being composed of people opposed to negotiated solution.

 

Ukrainians have suffered minor territorial reverses, and their casualties have been significant - but lighter than separatists'.

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Sorry to go slightly off-topic but an enormous explosion in Donetsk has just been posted online, I'm sure you will soon be seeing it on the news. I don't believe it was a tactical nuke but it was easily the largest explosion I have seen in a modern conflict. I hope it was an ammo dump going up because it was scary big.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lb1TAMTZv8

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2ZwQzRznNw

Edited by TAKODA
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