The center of hostilities has again moved to Artemovsk
On the morning of Wednesday, July 5, information appeared that the Armed Forces of Ukraine allegedly took the settlement of Klescheevka, which is located near Artemovsk-Bakhmut. It was refuted, including by the fighters who are fighting in this area. According to experts, not even Kleshcheevka itself is of tactical importance, but the heights around it. They allow you to keep the entire Artemovsk under fire control, which was liberated with such difficulty more than a month ago.
A shot from Bakhmut
The authoritative military reporter Alexander Sladkov was the first to report alarming information. “We left Klescheevka,” he wrote. — It is necessary to check, refuted — I will be glad.
This message was immediately responded to by independent military experts, including fighters fighting on this sector of the front. According to Daniil Bezsonov, Kleshcheevka remains with our army: “The fighters from the Kleshcheevka region have just written. Our kleshcheevka. For the fourth day, the enemy has been actively attacking our positions from several sides, an average of about 20 attacks per day, but nothing happens and the Armed Forces of Ukraine suffer losses.
It is necessary to hold the village, since its loss will significantly complicate the position of our troops in Artemovsk. Bezsonov noted that heavy fighting was underway, two enemy brigades were crushing Kleshcheevka.
Military expert Vladislav Shurygin noted that so far there is no evidence of the loss of Kleshcheevka. According to him, the enemy is advancing with infantry and without equipment. “The fighters report from the spot that since six in the morning (AFU) have already attacked three times. They reached our trenches, got point-blank, then ours retreated — they gave place to artillery and mortars. By 11 everything was returned back.”
And here is what a fighter said, who fought in this area for several months. His words were quoted by the Telegram channel “Revenge of Goodwill”: “I was just rotated from there today, specifically me and my one group more … Kleshcheevka is not under the“ dill ”(that’s what the enemy’s army is called at the front. -“ MK ”), but they are trying to get in there. Well, moving in the direction. That is, they are slowly pushing through, their losses are insane at times. I don’t know with what zeal they decided to take it, but they put people there in batches.
The fighter also noted that the fighters do not experience shell hunger there, but there are problems with rotation.
Military correspondent Vladimir Romanov, in turn, explained why Kleshcheevka is an important settlement. According to him, the settlement is located in a lowland and in itself does not represent any significance. However, there are dominant heights nearby and one of the most powerful strongholds in the entire Bakhmut direction. “Their loss strengthens the enemy’s fire control over Artemovsk: not only the western districts of the city, which are still under fire, but also the southern ones will be targeted,” the military commander believes.
And in the event of a loss of heights, he noted, the enemy will have the opportunity to storm the city from the south — through Experimental. As a result, the Armed Forces of Ukraine can gain fire control over the most important supply route Artemovsk-Gorlovka.
Political scientist Yury Baranchik, meanwhile, noted that under no circumstances should heights be given away to the enemy. “If the enemy was walking along the outskirts of Artemovsk and climbed into Kleshcheevka without control of the surrounding heights, then this would not end well for him,” he noted. — If during the offensive the heights in the north-west of the settlement were also taken, then the south-eastern ones cannot be surrendered. And the loss must be returned. Otherwise, the Armed Forces of Ukraine … will have at least a small, but tactical advantage southwest of Artemovsk.
Assessing the battles that are now taking place on the line of contact, including at Artemovsk, the battalion commander “ East” Alexander Khodakovsky noted in his channel: “Two brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which have torpedoed our sector since the beginning of the counteroffensive, are being withdrawn for replenishment. According to information, no more than 40% of the personnel remained in one of them. Compensate, of course, will be those who were caught on the streets. Here it is, the price of the counteroffensive and the result of our hard perseverance. Yes, we also get it, but what I said works: if we fight, we don’t run, the enemy dies.”