LOSING BATTLE FOR THE VUHLEHIRSKA POWER PLANT, UKRAINE COUNTERATTACKS IN KHERSON REGION

On July 25th, the military of the Donetsk People’s Republic declared the beginning of the mop up operations in the Vuhlehirska power station located on the western outskirts of Svetlodars0k. The area of the power plant was a hotspot of the Ukrainian war for two months. The city of Svetlodarsk came under DPR control on May 24th. Since then, Ukrainian forces managed to upgrade their defensive positions in the strategic facility and reinforce them. While Ukrainian forces held control of the plant, there was high risk of provocations aimed at blaming the Russian military for an ecological disaster. On the eve of the Russian mop up operation, the mayor of Gorlovka announced the complete blocking of the power plant. The Ukrainian military lost the opportunity to deliver reinforcements to their positions. At the same time, the Russian military advanced in the village of Novoluganskoye located to to south of the plant. The Ukrainian side reported on the withdrawal of the AFU from the Vuhlehirska power station to avoid the full encirclement of the grouping. Meanwhile on the outskirts of Bakhmut, the Russian assault on the village of Pokrovskoye began. At the same time, allied forces launched an assault on the village of Bakhmutskoye on the southeastern outskirts of Soledar. Thus far, no gains have been confirmed. The Armed Forces of Ukraine continue their attempts to counter attack in the east of the country. After several operations of the Ukrainian military failed, they built an additional crossing over the Ingulets River in the area of Andreevka in the northern Kherson region. Fierce clashes were reported in the area. On the morning of July 25th, the deputy head of the administration of the Kherson region claimed that Ukrainian troops had failed in their counterattack. Moreover, high-speed landing boats of the Ukrainian sabotage group attempted to disembark into the territory of the Kherson region. As a result of the failed operation, two landing boats of the Ukrainian navy with saboteurs on board were destroyed in the area of the Dnieper estuary. Unable to develop any successful counteroffensive on the front lines, the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue shelling civilians in the DPR and LPR. On July 24, Ukrainian forces struck at the villages of Stakhanov and Krasny Luch in the Luhansk People’s Republic. Three US-made HIMARS MLRS missiles found unexploded in Krasny Luch. In total, 6 such missiles were fired but only three of them exploded, which indicates the low effectiveness of one of the newest American made MLRS.