Vuhledar is important for entire southern direction - military expert Hrabskyi

He shared his opinions with Espreso TV.

"Vuhledar is not just strategically important, it is also important for the entire south. There is a dominant height there, and if we measure the distance from Vuhledar to such locations as Volnovakha (a town in Donetsk region- ed.) or Rozivka (a town in Zaporizhzhia region - ed.), we will see that we are keeping this railroad communication under fire control. The railroad goes from Mariupol to Volnovakha and then turns to Rozivka, and the railroad is the backbone of Russian logistics. Thus, excluding the possibility of fully utilizing this section of the railroad, the enemy will be significantly limited in supplying and deploying troops along the entire southern direction," explained the military expert.

Serhiy Hrabskyi added that from the Kherson direction Ukrainian forces also influence the exit from Crimea, i.e. reduce Russia's ability to deploy forces and means by 50%.

"Vuhledar is actually key, including for Zaporizhzhia, because having the ability to deploy a sufficient number of troops, there could be no Russian offensive in the Zaporizhzhia direction, first of all. Secondly, Vuhledar also covers Kurakhove, so if the enemy breaks through there, this complicates our situation to the north of this settlement. Accordingly, the enemy will try to fulfill its task, namely to reach the administrative borders of Donetsk region, as it has been saying since April," noted Hrabskyi.

• On January 27, Russian troops shelled Vuhledar: 2 schools and houses were damaged, there were casualties.

• British intelligence exposed Russia's disinformation about its successes near Orikhiv and Vuhledar, Donetsk region.