Ukrainian forces face repeated tactical traps since 2022, encirclement looms near Kurakhove

He said this in an interview with Antin Borkovskyi, host of the Studio West program.

“If we open a map of the Deep State, we will clearly see how critical the situation is both in the area of Kurakhove itself and south of it. The Ukrainian defense forces have been in an operational semi-surrounding for a long time. And the only road is the H15 highway, which provides everything our defenders need in this area of the front. And gradually the vise around this highway is beginning to close. We are talking not only about Stari Terny, but also about those settlements located south of that road, because the enemy is pushing and pressing from two sides,” commented Vladyslav Selezniov.

In his opinion, it is only a matter of time before Ukrainian soldiers will be on this part of the frontline. In all likelihood, certain actions are already underway in terms of rearguard battles and maneuver defense battles. We have to save everyone, create the necessary conditions to ensure the safety of our personnel who are now in these difficult conditions, so that they can move to new defensive lines and positions prepared in advance.

“Because in fact, there is a strange misunderstanding of the processes that have been going on for a long time. In fact, since mid-2022, Ukrainian forces have been getting into the same mess every time. I want to remind you of the events that took place in the area of Popasna. It was there that the Wagner PMC units first began to put pressure on Ukrainian defenders, closing a vise around our garrison defending this settlement. It turned out that this option was successful, and during many subsequent operations, the Russians used exactly this methodology and scheme, attacking our lines head-on, and without achieving appropriate success, he attacked our flanks. Often, it was on the flanks that Ukrainian defensive lines were not held, and thus, in the face of the threat of encirclement, we were forced to retreat every time,” explained the Ukrainian colonel.

Selezniov summarized that the same situation awaits Ukrainian garrison operating in the vicinity of Kurakhove in the near future. And unfortunately, the same threats are now emerging in other parts of the frontline, in particular in the Pokrovsko-Myrnohradska urban agglomeration.

• On December 19, the DeepState OSINT project reported that Russian terrorists managed to capture Kostiantynopolske in the Donetsk region.
• The Ukrainian Armed Forces deny reports circulating online about the alleged encirclement of Ukrainian Defense Forces units near Uspenivka and Trudove in the Donetsk region.