Thread by @ChrisO_wiki

1/ Recent Russian setbacks in the Ukrainian city of Toretsk are being blamed by Russian warbloggers on a familiar problem – commanders lying about their successes and taking the city 'on credit' rather than in real life.

https://x.com/wartranslated/status/1895908281908154683

2/ The Russians, who have renamed Toretsk as Dzerzhinsk after the founder of the Soviet secret police, Felix Dzerzhinsky, appear to have prematurely declared victory in the city in order to curry favour with the military and political leadership.

3/ This sort of 'taking on credit' has been a repeated phenomenon throughout the Ukraine war, and has likely cost thousands of Russian lives. It has resulted in Russian troops attacking defended positions without artillery or air support.

https://x.com/ChrisO_wiki/status/1888551675918512471

4/ The Rybar Telegram channel says: "Despite the fact that the former Toretsk was officially liberated in early February 2025, the local authorities were clearly in a hurry to report to the top."

5/ "Yes, the organised resistance of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was overcome, but there are always unpleasant nuances.

6/▪️ "The active phase of fighting in the city ended at the end of January: units of the Russian army pushed the main enemy groups beyond the administrative border, and the fighting concentrated on the outskirts: Russian stormtroopers tried to take Krymske, Dachne,...

7/ ... as well as the mine waste heaps, which remained under the control of Ukrainian forces.

8/▪️ "The Ukrainian side retained the advantage in air control: actively using reconnaissance UAVs with bombs, as well as FPV drones, the enemy cut off the communications of the Russian troops and did not allow them to carry out a sweep on a wide front.

9/ "Units of both the Russian army and the FSB could not move on a broad front and conduct a full-fledged cleanup.

▪️ As a result, the Ukrainian Armed Forces not only retained the ability to hold certain points within the city limits, but also to conduct occasional rotations.

10/ "Of course, we are talking about individual buildings, which represent a small part on the scale of the entire city. But de facto, the city was not liberated.

11/ "As of today, there are about five hotbeds in Dzerzhinsk where Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups have been active: the vicinity of the dump of shaft number 10, the Central shaft, as well as in the block of multi-storey buildings...

12/ "... and the vicinity of the Toretskaya [mine] shaft waste heap.

Alas, at the moment, Dzerzhinsk remains a "layered cake": a significant part of the city is a grey zone.

13/ "In all likelihood, the Russian Armed Forces will pull in additional forces to complete the cleanup of the city, while the Ukrainian Armed Forces will use the fact of ongoing fighting to promote their own rather questionable successes on the battlefield."

14/ 'The world today with "Yuri Podolyaka"' channel writes:

"The enemy does not stop trying to enter and consolidate the territory of Toretsk. Moreover, over these days, his plan has become generally clear."

15/ "To reach the city centre with two counterattacks from Shcherbinivka and from the area north of the Toretskaya mine and force our units in its northwestern part to retreat...

At the same time, the fighting is heavy, to be honest.

16/ "The enemy has managed to create a local superiority of forces here. It is very difficult, so far we have managed to block his attacks. But if the enemy continues to press, then this will require the transfer of additional forces here." /end

Sources:
🔹t.me/rybar/68454
🔹t.me/yurasumy/2148