Ukrainian Army Defeats Convoy Of Russian Equipment Near Svatove
- 4.03.2023, 10:39
How the situation changed on the front by March 4.
The Russians suffered significant losses in equipment near Svatove, and fierce fighting continues in Bakhmut. It has now moved into the industrial area, as well as into the eastern and southern parts of the city
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports this.
The situation in Kharkiv and Luhansk Oblasts
On March 3, Russian troops continued their offensive at the Kupyansk-Svatove-Kreminna line. Western media reported that Ukrainian officials ordered the mandatory evacuation of vulnerable civilians from Kupyansk due to Russian shelling of the area.
A Russian source claims that Russian troops have advanced in the area of Sinkivka (8 km north of Kupyansk), and expands on statements by so-called "LPR" officer Andrei Marochka that civilians are leaving Kupyansk en masse on the eve of Russian offensive operations near the city .
Luhansk regional chairman Serhiy Haidai says that Ukrainian troops struck a convoy of Russian equipment near Svatove on the night of March 3, causing Russian troops to suffer significant losses in equipment. Haidai also notes that Russian troops in Kreminna have increasingly resorted to using heavy equipment, such as the Terminator BMPTs, as they have not been successful in conducting effective attacks in small groups.
A Russian military blogger published video footage of units of the 76th and 98th Guards Airborne (VDV) divisions in the Kreminna district and claimed that elements of BARS-13 (Combat Reserve) were also operating in this sector. The Ukrainian General Staff reports that Russian forces were conducting unsuccessful offensives near Belohorivka (10 km south of Kreminna).
Fighting in Donbas
Russian forces continued ground attacks in and around Bakhmut as Ukrainian forces appeared to be preparing for a controlled withdrawal from at least part of the city on March 3.
The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces repelled attacks on Bakhmut itself; north of Bakhmut near Vasyukovka (13 km north); and northwest of Bakhmut near Dubovo-Vasylivka (6 km northwest), Orekhovo-Vasylivka (10 km northwest), Hryhorivka (10 km northwest) and Bohdanivka (8 km northwest).
Geolocation footage published on March 3 shows Ukrainian forces destroying a bridge over the Bakhmutovka River in northeast Bakhmut and another bridge over the Chromovo-Bakhmut highway west of Bakhmut, indicating that Ukrainian forces may leave some parts of Bakhmut.
Russian and Ukrainian sources published a video of the Ukrainian military saying that his unit had received orders to withdraw immediately from Bakhmut and move into a new war zone. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner group, claimed that his troops had almost completely surrounded Bakhmut and Ukrainian troops could only retreat along the remaining road (probably referring to the Khromovo-Bakhmut highway).
Russian military correspondents claimed that clashes continued in northern Bakhmut near the AZOM industrial plant and in urban areas of southern and eastern Bakhmut. One Russian source claimed that Wagner troops broke through Ukrainian defenses in Ivanivske (5 km west of Bakhmut on the T0504 Konstantinivka-Vremen Yar-Bakhmut road) and threatened the western suburbs of Bakhmut from the Ivanivske district. There is no confirmation of this statement.
On March 3, Russian troops continued ground shelling in the Avdiivka-Donetsk area. The Ukrainian General Staff reports that Russian troops delivered unsuccessful strikes on Avdiivka itself and in the Avdiivka area near Krasnohorivka and Kamenka, as well as on the southwestern outskirts of Donetsk city, near Marinka and Pobeda.
Geolocation footage published on March 3 shows Russian troops gradually advancing to the northwestern outskirts of Donetsk near Vodyane. Russian sources continued to report Russian attempts to capture the rest of western Marinka.
On March 3, Russian forces made no confirmed ground attacks in the western part of the Donetsk region. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian forces continued indefinite offensive operations in the Ugledar direction (30 km west of Donetsk).
A Russian source claimed that Russian forces were continuing position fighting in the dacha area southeast of Ugledar, while another Russian "war correspondent" published footage of elements of the 40th Marine Infantry Brigade reportedly attacking Ukrainian positions near Ugledar.
Southern Axis
On March 3, Russian troops continued regular fire west of Hulyaypil and in Kherson, Mykolaiv, and Dnipropetrovsk Oblasts. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian troops in the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson directions tried to improve their tactical positions in order to resume upcoming offensives..