The liberation of the city of Toretsk (Dzerzhinsk) by Russian forces would be crucial as it is a strategic vantage point overlooking the entire Donetsk People's Republic.
Military analyst Viktor Litovkin explained to Sputnik that Toretsk is a large coal mining center and has huge waste heaps towering high above the steppeland around its outskirts.
The retired Russian Army colonel noted that at 70 or 80 meters high, the mounds “can be used to ensure sweeping monitoring and control of this entire zone not only with drones, but also with simple optical devices.”
“These piles can be fitted with firing positions for artillery guns, snipers, machine gunners, and, in general, be used as strongholds for our assault troops,” Litovkin pointed out.
The city is an important hub for logistical and tactical support for the Kiev regime’s forces. Taking control of it would cripple the Ukrainian army’s chances of bringing in reserves and cut off its supply of ammunition, fuel, lubricants and food, the pundit stressed.
“If the supply is interrupted, then the front line will run out of ammunition, fuel for mechanized vehicles, tanks, armored personnel carriers and so on," said Litovkin.
"The army would be left without ammunition, immobilized, and begin to suffer one defeat after another" leading to "diminished morale among its ranks."
"Therefore, the army may end up surrounded, perhaps wiped out completely," the retired colonel said. "Some units may see surrender as their only chance of surviving.”
The liberation of Toretsk would open the way to Snezhnoye, Kramatorsk, and to the complete liberation of the territory of the Donetsk People's Republic from the clutches of the neo-Nazi regime in Kiev, the military expert said.
Kramatorsk was the main city still being held by the Kiev regime’s forces, and its capture would signal “the complete liberation of the Donetsk People's Republic,” Litovkin emphasized.