Before military victory

Aggressor Putin prevails in Ukraine

Soldiers hoist the Russian flag in Velika Novosilka.(Bild: EPA/RUSSIAN DEFENCE MINISTRY PRESS SERVICE/HANDOUT)

Russia is on the brink of a major military victory in the Donbass in Ukraine. The Kremlin ruler's troops are taking one defensive position after another.

Velika Novosilka, Chasiv Yar or Pokrovsk - hardly anyone in the West has ever heard the names of these small towns in the Donbass in eastern Ukraine. Yet one of the greatest tragedies in Ukraine's desperate defensive battle against the Russian invaders is currently taking place there. Kremlin leader Putin is on the verge of a major military victory there, as his troops are taking one defensive position after another - the last Ukrainian strongholds in the embattled Donbass.

Most recently, Putin's soldiers raised the Russian flag in Velika Novosilka and Chasiv Yar. The small towns are now nothing more than ruins, but for the Ukrainian defenders they were key positions that have now fallen into enemy hands - with huge losses on both sides.

The small town of Chasiv Yar has also fallen into Russian hands.(Bild: AFP)

Approach has proven its worth
The Russians always take a similar approach in their offensives in the Donbass. Instead of attacking the well-developed Ukrainian positions head-on, they bypass them and encircle the Ukrainian troops. Cut off from supplies, the defenders eventually have to give up and retreat - usually under heavy fire.

The Ukrainian soldiers fight back doggedly, but the deaths and burials never end.(Bild: AFP/AFP or licensors)

The recent military defeats of the Ukrainians are also particularly bitter for them because there are no longer any really well-developed defenses in the hinterland of the fallen towns. And the captured towns, or what is left of them, are situated on hills, giving the Russians a clear field of fire on the surrounding area. After the fall of Velika Novosilka, for example, the Russians are now only three or four kilometers from the border with the Dnipropetrovsk region and the city of Dnipro, which has a population of one million.

Pokrovsk should fall soon
The battle is still being fought over the mining town of Pokrovsk. However, the situation there is becoming increasingly desperate for the Ukrainians. Coal mining, which is so important for steel production in Ukraine, had to be stopped some time ago. Now the Russians are tightening the noose around the city and the cauldron is only open in one direction. The fall of Pokrovsk seems inevitable.