Fighting in Toretsk: line of contact runs through city centre

Toretsk, Donetsk Oblast, 12 November 2024. Photo: Getty Images

Fierce fighting continues in Toretsk, Donetsk Oblast, and the line of contact has divided the city in two. The Russians are using scorched earth tactics to try to destroy the city’s infrastructure and the positions of the Ukrainian military.

Source: Suspilne Donbas citing Mansur, the acting commander of the Tsunami Regiment; DeepState analytical project

Details: Mansur says the Russian forces are constantly conducting assault operations using FPV drones, ATVs, motorcycles and a significant amount of artillery.

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Quote from Mansur: “There are a lot of resources there. Especially everything related to FPV and attack drones. The enemy does a lot of damage with them. They also have a lot of artillery. The enemy is constantly carrying out assault operations, constantly working from different directions: from the north, from the south, and from the east. They use vehicles, mainly ATVs and motorcycles. So far, no armoured vehicles have been spotted. The fighting is going on in the city itself. The line of contact is somewhere in the centre of the city. We can say that the enemy and us cut the city in half.”

Details: Small-arms fire continues in the city, and the parties’ positions can be in neighbouring rooms of the same house.

Quote from DeepState: “Positions can literally be next to each other, and small arms fights can occur between the rooms of the house. The Russian infantry is moving deeper into the city, hiding among the rubble and buildings, making it difficult to hit them because they are almost everywhere.”

Details: The fiercest fighting occurs in the city centre, near the Tsentralna (Central) mine, in the Zabalka neighbourhood and near Shcherbynivka.

Quote from Mansur: “A motorised infantry brigade is working here, constantly replacing battalion after battalion. We destroy one battalion, and the second battalion arrives. We destroy it, and the third battalion comes.”

Details: The Russians are paying special attention to the destruction of high-rise buildings, using scorched earth tactics, which force Ukrainian defenders to retreat to shelters and then re-take their positions.

Quote: “The enemy is using the tactic of total destruction of all residential and non-residential buildings. They burn down and destroy the position, and the soldiers holding the defence there are forced to…