Russia captures two Ukrainian towns, making fastest advance in a year

By Guy Faulconbridge

MOSCOW (Reuters) – Russia said on Tuesday it had captured two towns in eastern Ukraine, and open-source data showed Moscow’s forces were advancing at the fastest pace in at least a year, amid signs that the conflict was attracting new players such as North Korea.

The 2-1/2-year war in Ukraine is entering what Russian analysts say is its most dangerous phase; Moscow’s forces are advancing, North Korea is sending troops to Russia, and the West is considering how to end the conflict.

Russia said its forces had taken control of the town of Selydove, which had a population of 20,000 before the war and had been under sustained attack for the past week.

Russian Defense Minister Andrei Belousov also congratulated Russia’s 114th motorized rifle brigade for capturing Hirnyk, which had a pre-war population of over 10,000 and was located about 12 km (7.5 mi) from Selydove.

The Ukrainian military did not comment directly on Russia’s claims, but reported that there had been 31 clashes on the Pokrovsk front in the last 24 hours, including near Selydove.

An open-source intelligence map of Ukraine’s Deep State showed that part of Selydove was under Russian control, with about a third being a gray zone.

Russian pro-war bloggers said Moscow forces had penetrated Ukrainian defenses at key points along the front in southern Donbas. Russian forces move to surround the town of Kurakhove and prepare to attack Pokrovsk.

FASTEST PROGRESS

Russian forces, which President Vladimir Putin ordered to enter Ukraine in February 2022, advanced in September at the fastest pace since March 2022, according to open source data, despite Ukraine occupying part of Russia’s Kursk region.

But Russia made even greater gains, seizing 196.1 square kilometers (75.7 square miles) of Ukrainian territory in the week of October 20-27, according to Russian media group Agentstvo, which analyzed Ukrainian open source maps.

Agentstvo, which is considered a “foreign agent” by Russia, said in a statement on its Telegram channel, “The Russian army has not made such rapid weekly progress at least since the beginning of this year.” he said.

Stating that it used raw data from Ukraine’s Deep State analysts to reach this conclusion, the organization added that Ukraine’s defenses in Donbas were weakened due to Kiev’s decision to send troops to Russia’s Kursk region.

The advance of Moscow’s forces, which control one-fifth of Ukraine, has demonstrated Russia’s massive numerical superiority in men and materiel, as Ukraine demands more weapons from its Western allies who support it.

Russia controls Crimea, which it annexed from Ukraine in 2014, about 80% of Donbas, a coal and steel region that includes the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, and more than 70% of the Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions.

To control all of Donbas, Russia would need to acquire an additional 10,000 square kilometers (3,860 square miles) of territory.

The United States will not impose new limits on Ukraine’s use of American weapons if North Korea joins Russia’s war, the Pentagon said Monday, after NATO said North Korean military units had been deployed to Kursk.

The Pentagon estimated that 10,000 North Korean soldiers were sent to Russia for training.

(Reporting by Reuters; Editing by Helen Popper)