The breakthrough of the Russian army in the area of the city of Toretsk could have disastrous consequences for the defense of Ukraine. It is reported by The New York Times with reference to the Ukrainian military.
"If I lose these positions now, all units in Toretsk will be cut off from supplies and logistics, because all roads are behind us," a battalion commander with the call sign Nesquik from the 28th Mechanized Brigade said, in particular.
It is noted that the defeat of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in this area may result in strategic losses in the industrial center of eastern Ukraine. It would have started from Toretsk, where urban street battles are already taking place, and later spread to more significant and strategically valuable cities. Advancing to this site, where the correspondents of the publication visited, would allow the Russian Armed Forces to block the supply line of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, which connects Ukrainian forces in most of the east, cutting them off from critical medicines and ammunition.
According to the interlocutors of the newspaper, the city of Konstantinovka, located northwest of the brigade's positions, is especially important because convenient auto routes to other major cities, such as Kramatorsk and Slavyansk. Capture The Russian Armed Forces of this territory may mean the end of Ukrainian control over the industrial region of Donbass — one of the stated goals of the special operation.
"Any schoolchild now understands that Konstantinovka is a key city," said Yevgeny, the brigade's press attache.
Russian commanders seem to know this too, and their troops are pushing Ukrainians from positions in the east of the country, the newspaper notes.