On April 22, the Ministry of Defense of russia claimed their forces had taken control of Novmykhailivka. The town is situated south of Marinka and north-east of Vuhledar, Donetsk. Novmykhailivka has limited military strategic significance but lies on roads to further settlements that straddle both sides of the Sukhi Yaly river in the south of Donetsk, the UK Defense Intelligence reports.
Russian forces reportedly entered the town on February 9, 2024, and reached the middle of the town by March 24. The 79th Separate Air Assault Tavriia Brigade reportedly stated this required a force of 30,000 russian personnel, with a loss of 300 pieces of equipment in the six months of fighting on the approach to the town.
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From entering to clearing the town, a total distance of under 5 km, took russian forces 73 days. That was with the benefit of additional operational reserves. This demonstrates the slow but incremental advances russian forces are making. On this axis, russian forces will likely seek to advance towards the town of Kostyantynivka, 2 km west from Novmykhailivka.
Further advances north of Vuhledar could eventually allow Vuhledar’s defenses to be bypassed. Those defenses have caused extremely high casualties for russian ground forces.
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