Russia is stepping up pressure on Donbas by employing scorched-earth tactics — NYT
According to the NYT, Russian troops have intensified massive strikes on cities in the so-called “belt of fortresses” in Donetsk Oblast, particularly Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, in an effort to wear down Ukrainian defenses and tighten their control over the region.
Russian troops, with their numerical superiority and firepower, have focused on the cities of the so-called “belt of fortresses,” which also includes Kostiantynivka and Druzhkivka. After the occupiers captured Siversk in December, the defensive lines began to crack, and Russian forces advanced close enough to Sloviansk and Kramatorsk to regularly shell them with guided bombs and FPV drones.
Although there is no immediate threat of the cities falling, the constant attacks are destroying infrastructure and forcing thousands of civilians to flee to the west of the country, particularly to the center for displaced persons in Lozova. According to local officials, by April alone, about 1,000 people were leaving Sloviansk every week, and the city’s total population had dropped from 50,000 in March to less than 44,000.
Military personnel and volunteers report that Russia is increasingly resorting to brutal scorched-earth tactics. In April, the occupiers dropped a FAB-1500 bomb on Sloviansk for the first time, destroying nearly an entire neighborhood, and in June, the maternity ward of the city’s main hospital was forced to close due to shelling. Vadym Kostrytskyi, commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ 30th Separate Mechanized Brigade, noted that the enemy is attempting to cut off supply routes and is focusing on the complete destruction of populated areas.
According to volunteers from the East SOS organization, trips to Druzhkivka have already been suspended due to extreme danger, and the roads to Sloviansk and Kramatorsk are now being extensively equipped with protective nets against drones. Meanwhile, the main hospital in Sloviansk admits 10 to 15 civilians each week with injuries caused by drones and is currently preparing to operate under conditions of complete isolation.
The evacuation of local residents continues amid relentless attacks. Regional police officer Pavlo Dyachenko, who previously evacuated people from Bakhmut, Toretsk, Pokrovsk, Siversk, and Avdiivka, has documented yet another series of three waves of glide bomb strikes on the center of Kramatorsk, resulting in deaths under the rubble. Residents of neighboring Mykolaivka, whose homes have been completely destroyed by the explosions, confirm that the city has effectively been “wiped off the map.”
Despite pressure from the Trump administration to hand over Donbas to Russia and Vladimir Putin’s demands during peace talks, Kyiv insists on continuing the fight for the region. At the same time, military analysts note that at Russia’s current rate of advance, it will take years to capture these territories, since it took Moscow 18 months just to take Toretsk and 22 months to take Pokrovsk. However, constant shelling risks turning key cities in Donetsk Oblast into complete ruins even before the front line reaches them, according to a report in The New York Times.
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