Content
DeepState reported on the occupation of Selidovo: what is known about the situation in the city
The Russian Ministry of Defense announced the capture of Selidovo on 29 October. Before those days, photos of Russians hanging their flags in the city were distributed online.
The city itself has suffered significant damage. There are many high-rise buildings with broken windows and broken balconies and some entrances have burned. Mobile communication in Selidovo does not work. Therefore, there is no way to contact relatives or friends who have not evacuated from the city.
“If the relatives of those who remained in Selidovo called, we organized their evacuation by climbing onto the roofs of nine floors to catch a signal. Now there is no way to contact them. I don’t know what to do,” said those to Vilny radio” on the telephone line of the contact center of Selidovskaya GVA.
Officially, the Ukrainian side did not confirm the withdrawal of the Ukrainian Armed Forces from the city. Yesterday evening, the Ukrainian project DeepState updated the map and reported that Selidovo, as well as located next to Vyshneve, the enemy managed to occupy.
Map: DeepState reported the occupation of Selidovo (deepstatemap)
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, judging by its morning report, does not confirm the loss of these two settlements. On the contrary, it says that in the Pokrovsky direction, Ukrainian soldiers stopped 28 attacks and offensive actions of the attacker against Vishnevoye and Selidovo in particular.
RBC-Ukraine asked the National Guard and OSGV Khortitsa for comments, but they have not yet commented on the situation.
Official representatives of the military-political leadership describe the general situation at the front as difficult. Thus, today, Commander-in-Chief Alexander Syrsky said that heavy, high-intensity fighting is currently continuing along the entire front line.
Andrei Kovalenko, head of the Center for Countering Disinformation at the National Security and Defense Council, also commented on the events on the battlefield, noting that the situation at the front is now difficult.
“Russia now has a resource for advancement and an advantage in terms of people and ammunition. This resource is being depleted, but it still exists,” he wrote on the Telegram channel.
Why is Selidovo important?
Selidovo is the last large urban area covering the southern edge of Pokrovsk (Selidovo is located about 13 km southeast of a significant logistics center – the city of Pokrovsk), as well as the E-50 highway that connects these cities.
British intelligence recently suggested that the Russian Federation probably intends to use this road as a secondary route to Pokrovsk if Selidovo is taken.
According to the military-political observer of the information resistance group Alexander Kovalenko, the probability that Selidovo has already been lost is high. He also explained in a comment to RBC-Ukraine what the occupation of the city would mean.
“With the capture of Selidovo, the way is opened for the invaders to create conditions for further preparations for an attack on Pokrovsk. In the future, they will move simultaneously in the direction of Grigorovka-Petrovka-Zheltoye, as well as along the E-50 highway to Dachenskoye, says Kovalenko.
Map: after the capture of Selidovo, the Russians can move in the direction of Grigorovka-Petrovka-Zheltoye and along the E-50 highway (deepstatemap)
Thus, the invaders will try to build the main line for the further development of the attack on Pokrovsk, namely the line along Zheltoye-Dachenskoye-Lisovka-Nikolaevka-Grodivka, Kovalenko adds.
Map: settlements that may determine the main line of the continued Russian offensive against Pokrovsk (deepstatemap)
“And it is from this main line, when it is fully formed, that they can launch a direct attack on Pokrovsk from the south, as well as an attack on Mirnograd to cover Pokrovsk from the east,” says Kovalenko.
According to the expert, the Russians have no strategic success today. And all the achievements that they have made recently as a result of the offensive are exclusively at the tactical level.
“The only object on the way at the operational-tactical level, at the moment, is Pokrovsk“, adds Kovalenko.
Is it a collapse of the front?
Despite the difficult situation with the collapse of the front, which is now being talked about, no, said military expert, ex-SBU employee Ivan Stupak in a comment on the YouTube channel.
“Let’s do this. There are two polar opinions on the Internet. The first comes from a sort of yellow publication.” I am more inclined to believe, is that the situation at the front, to put it mildly, unpleasant, says Stupak.
At the same time, he emphasized that it is also wrong to say that the Ukrainian military is “retreating, fleeing, leaving equipment, shells and ammunition behind.”
“Yes, we have a retreat We confirm this. There have been losses of Ugledar, Selidovo and a number of other settlements there recently. Now there is a threat to Pokrovsk.
But, in his opinion, even during such a forced retreat, it is worth paying attention to the losses of Russian troops, who are crazy this month.
“If I’m not mistaken, we will have a record for losses from Russian manpower. There are dead, wounded, missing and prisoners,” said Stupak.
Therefore, according to him, it is wrong to say that “everything completely fell apart.”
“Of course, there are complaints about fortifications. How much has been said… In the Dnepropetrovsk region, they have just started construction, although this was talked about six months ago,” adds Stupak.
Is the battle for Pokrovsk already close?
Defense forces build fortifications near Pokrovsk in preparation for the defense of the city. The head of GVA Sergei Dobryak said yesterday that the city will be partially blockedand not completely, because several trains have already been built there, which will block some streets and microdistricts of Pokrovsk.
“You must be prepared. The attack on Pokrovsk is just around the cornerand now we will see him soon, and beyond Pokrovsk there is already Pavlograd in the Dnepropetrovsk region,” says Stupak.
When asked how close the fighting for Pokrovsk is, he replied that he could not say, it was a matter of days or weeks. It depends on what powers the occupiers have and what they are willing to do with it.
“The tactics will be as follows. Road traffic from the Dnepropetrovsk region will be closed. That is, this is the only option to force Ukrainians to leave this place very quickly.”– Stupak noted.
According to him, the Russian command sees no prospect of frontal attacks on Pokrovsk, but going around to the left, to the right, cutting off communications and forcing the Ukrainians to leave the city themselves is an option for the enemy.
