Battles in Donetsk region: Military expert names possible site of decisive clash

Russian occupiers are attempting to approach Myrnohrad in Donetsk region and are trying to encircle the area. The key gateway and most probable site of a major battle on the way to this objective is the settlement of Hryshyne.

This opinion was expressed in an interview with OBOZ.UA by Dmytro Zhmailo, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Center for Security and Cooperation. He added that the Defense Forces are trying to prevent the enemy's advance.

“The Russians want to gradually approach Myrnohrad. And here, the key gateway and likely site of a decisive battle is the settlement of Hryshyne. It will become actually the only entry point to Myrnohrad — roughly 8 km away. Most likely, the Russians aim to move along the stream toward this city and achieve their goal of operational encirclement. Our troops understand this and are working to halt the Russian advance,” the expert explained.

The enemy has changed the nature of combat

The invaders are using drones 20–25 km from the front line to try to gain control over logistics. While Ukrainian forces are targeting only military vehicles and personnel, the Russians show no such restraint.

“In particular, they are now actively attacking the area around the settlements of Razyne, Fedorivka, Rodynske, and others to destroy civilians and make the zone uninhabitable,” Zhmailo said.

According to him, time will show which direction the enemy will move next. Besides Myrnohrad, the Russians may target Rodynske, Hryshyne, and Novooleksandrivka to complicate the defense of the Ukrainian garrison.

Enemy plans regarding Kostiantynivka

Another difficult frontline area is Kostiantynivka. However, Russian forces are advancing there more slowly because they must first capture Yablunivka and Oleksandro-Kalyneve. If they break through in these directions, only 4–6 kilometers will remain to the outskirts of Kostiantynivka.

This would allow them to gradually push toward the city, forcing Ukrainian units to retreat from current positions — particularly in the areas of Shcherbynivka, Petrivka, and Kleban-Byk. Such developments could open up operational space for the enemy and push Ukrainian forces away from Toretsk.

“The enemy is facing huge difficulties with urban combat. We still control the entire western part of the city of Chasiv Yar. Heavy fighting continues in Toretsk, but we are still holding the northern outskirts, trying to pin them down in those ruins. The enemy’s attempts to bypass Chasiv Yar from the north have fortunately failed so far. The Russians have been somewhat slowed down here and may now be focusing more on the Hryhorivka–Markove direction to reach the ridge of high ground. This would complicate logistics for the large urban agglomeration stretching from Sloviansk to Kostiantynivka, allowing them to deploy artillery and drone crews using fiber-optic connections,” Zhmailo noted.