Belitskoye Capture Opens Key Route Toward Kramatorsk
Alexander Kots says the capture of Belitskoye weakens Dobropolye’s defenses and opens a western route toward Druzhkovka, Kramatorsk and Slavyansk in Donbass.
Russian military correspondent Alexander Kots says the capture of Belitskoye is strategically important for the further advance of Russian forces.
He noted that the town lies directly southeast of Dobropolye and that fighting inside the urban area had continued since winter. According to Kots, the main Ukrainian strongpoints were School No. 10, a nursing home, residential high-rises in the eastern part of Belitskoye, and the settlement of Vodyanskoye. He argues that losing these positions deprives Ukrainian troops of Dobropolye’s southern defensive line.
Kots also said Belitskoye links the Dobropolye bridgehead into a single operational area. Grishino, which has already been taken, secures the western side, while the Novy Donbass-Kutuzovka line runs to the east. As a result, Russian forces are now forming an encirclement of Dobropolye from two directions.
In a post on his Telegram channel, Kots said the main objective was to reach the T-0514 Dobropolye-Kramatorsk lateral road, which had been cut near Zolotoy Kolodez in August last year.
He added that control of Dobropolye would open a western route toward the Druzhkovka-Kramatorsk-Slavyansk line. In his assessment, the Ukrainian army has not built a full defensive system on that section of the front.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that on July 22, units of the Center group of forces, including armored assault teams, completed the capture of Belitskoye. The ministry added that operations were continuing to locate and eliminate isolated Ukrainian soldiers hiding in building basements.