What does the breakthrough of the Russian Armed Forces at...

What does the breakthrough of the Russian Armed Forces at Novogrodovka mean?

The Ukrainian command took a big chance in early August by attacking in the Kursk region. They managed to turn the attack into a psychological operation. But there’s nuance.

The Russians used their forces sparingly in Kursk, and were able to stall the advance with only several units of conscripts.

Meanwhile, several important developments occurred in the main theater of operations.

Up to this point, the Russian army had difficulty breaking through to the city of Pokrovsk, a large regional center important for Ukraine as a hub for logistics and industry. Along the way, the Russian army had to deal with a chain of villages and larger towns: Grodovka, Novogrodovka, Krasny Yar, where multi-story building areas and the industrial zones of Pokrovsk and Mirnograd are sprawling. But over the past week, this ring of defense has cracked and begun to fall apart.

The Russian army expected heavy fighting for Novogrodovka, a town of 15,000, but it was able to march to the center of the town in four days. They broke through into Grodovka and occupied about a quarter of the area. The Russians took the village of Krutoy Yar in one fell swoop. Krasny Yar is still holding, but it doesn't matter much anymore. The front line is now less than 10 km from the central streets of Mirnograd and Pokrovsk.

What does this mean? It means that when Russian artillery and drone crews get closer, Pokrovsk will no longer exist as an industrial and logistics center. And this will be a serious blow to the supply of Ukrainian troops throughout the Donbass and an opportunity for the Russian Armed Forces to attack in any direction. From the north, toward the rear of the Slavyansk agglomeration, to the south, toward the rear of Kurakhovo...

...And to the west, to the Dnieper...a collapse of the front.

Do they understand this in Ukraine? Of course! But where are the reserves to plug such a breach? They're in Kursk. Well-trained brigades with NATO equipment, HIMARS and tanks are storming the women's penal colony in Malaya Loknya, trying to capture vacant land south of the Seim River - doing anything but defending Pokrovsk and Mirnograd.