Selydove in June 2024. Photo: Getty Images
When carrying out its offensives on the town of Selydove in Donetsk Oblast, Russian forces are not using armoured vehicles but are storming the town in small groups over a wide front.
Source: Lieutenant Colonel Vitalii Mylovydov, press officer of the 15th Operational Assignment Brigade of the National Guard (the Kara-Dag Brigade), during a Radio Liberty broadcast
Quote: “A very large number of them come from different directions; they manage to infiltrate the settlement, try to gain a foothold in residential areas, and then continue their further actions. That is, groups that enter partially, and even if it is just two or three servicemen of the Russian Federation who have reached the building, they occupy the house and wait until more of them accumulate in order to counter our infantry units with a numerical advantage.”
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Details: Mylovydov said that Russian forces were bombarding the town with aerial bombs, drones and artillery but were not completely destroying it, as they did with other towns in Donetsk Oblast.
He suggested that this is being done to use the infrastructure and geographical location of Selydove to attack Pokrovsk in the future.
In turn, Ruslan Mykula, an analyst at the Deep State monitoring project, noted that the capture of Selydove could provide the Russians with cover for the group’s left flank as it moves towards Pokrovsk.
“Selydove is a very large town with many basements where a huge number of personnel could be stationed, where they could hide equipment and light vehicles. In fact, Selydove would improve their logistics and allow them to bring in more manpower and equipment to continue their assault on Pokrovsk,” he said.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) stressed that Russian troops had made “significant tactical gains” in recent days in and around Selydove. Analysts noted that the advance of Russian troops in Selydove, as well as their territorial gains to the south and north of the city, may soon force Ukrainian forces to retreat from the area.
Donbas.Realii, a Radio Liberty project, wrote that Selydove is seen by military experts as the “last bastion” of the Ukrainian defence forces before Pokrovsk. If it is captured, the Russian forces will secure their flanks from Ukrainian counterattacks and will be able to launch an assault on the city of Pokrovsk.
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