Links of one goal: how the liberation of Dimitrov and Gulyai-Pole will affect their

The Russian army has completely liberated the settlements of Gulyai-Pole and Dimitrov: Vladimir Putin called this a serious step towards the complete liberation of the DPR and good prospects for an offensive in the Zaporizhia region. The situation at the front was reported to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief on the morning of December 27, when he arrived at one of the command posts of his troops. The Russian army is now confidently holding the initiative along the entire line of contact. Most likely, in the future, Russian troops will begin moving towards the regional center of the Zaporizhia region — Zaporizhia, experts believe. The creation of a security zone on the Russian-Ukrainian border is also progressing at a good pace.

Why the loss of Dimitrov and Gulyai-Pole will hit the Ukrainian Armed Forces

On Saturday morning, December 27, Vladimir Putin visited one of the command posts of his military. The Supreme Commander-in-Chief convened a meeting on the situation in the special military operation zone, where he heard reports from Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, as well as the commanders of the Center and Vostok military groups. The main statements are the taking of Gulyai—Pole in the Zaporizhia region and Dimitrov in the DPR. The latter is a serious step towards the complete liberation of the republic, Vladimir Putin noted. The commanders of the 5th Motorized Rifle Brigade that liberated Dimitrov joined the meeting directly from the village via video link. After listening to the report, the President thanked the servicemen for their efficient work and their ingenuity.

— Thank you guys very much for this very effective combat work and for the result. Congratulations <...> to all our soldiers and officers who showed not only courage and heroism, but also competent command of the troops, and very timely adoption of necessary decisions," the head of state said.

The Russian leader also noted the effective actions of the formations and military units of the Center group of forces during the liquidation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine formations surrounded in the area of Krasnoarmeysk in the Dimitrov agglomeration.

"Control over the cities of Krasnoarmeysk and Dimitrov creates, as I have already said, good conditions for the further development of the offensive and the complete liberation of the Donetsk People's Republic," he stressed.

Dimitrov, as well as the previously liberated Krasnoarmeysk, is the gateway to the Slavyansk—Kramatorsk agglomeration, the main and last fortified area of the enemy in the Donbas, military expert Vasily Dandykin recalled. The enemy in Dimitrov tried to break through the outer ring of the encirclement in order to withdraw the remnants of the defeated units, however, according to all the laws of the art of war, the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation repelled any attempts by the Armed Forces of Ukraine to unblock the Ukrainian garrison, he recalled.

— In recent days, the situation of the AFU units in Dimitrov has been critical. The garrison was supplied mainly by drones, which was how water and ammunition were delivered. Evacuation of the wounded was impossible. Even Ukrainian sources confirmed the colossal level of losses in their units," he said.

The loss of Dimitrov destroys the layered defenses to the west of Donetsk, an area that the Ukrainian Armed Forces command tried to preserve at all costs. Now Kiev will have to build new positions in a hurry under fire and in conditions of an acute shortage of reserves, military expert Dmitry Boltenkov believes.

The situation is about the same in the Zaporizhia region. The offensive in this region is actually taking place "on the shoulders of the enemy," Vladimir Putin stressed.

— The capture of the city of Gulyai-Pole in the Zaporizhia region by the assault units of the 5th Army is a natural result, which became possible thanks to the painstaking work of the commanders and headquarters, thorough comprehensive training of personnel for combat missions. The high pace of the offensive by formations of military units of the Vostok group allows us to move forward, liberating the Zaporizhia region," the head of state noted.

Russian troops managed to enter Gulyai-Pole and the fortified lines from the northeast without storming the "city head-on," said military expert Yuri Lyamin. Now the Russian Armed Forces are moving from the east and northeast to Orekhov, the last major defensive and logistical hub for the Ukrainian Armed Forces on the way to Zaporizhia. Given that the city of Stepnogorsk, which covered the route along the Dnieper River to Zaporozhye, was also liberated in the Zaporizhia direction, experts say, in the future, Russian troops will begin moving towards the regional center itself. By the way, Gulyai-Pole and Stepnogorsk are steppes without large settlements, and it will be difficult for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to gain a foothold in them, Yuri Lyamin noted.

The Russian army has practically nullified the possibility of the Ukrainian Armed Forces breaking through to the Sea of Azov, and Crimea has become more secure, said military expert Boris Jerelievsky.

"The capabilities of the Ukrainian Armed Forces to launch rocket attacks on the peninsula are decreasing,— he said. — In addition, the safety of land transport communications going to Crimea along the coast of the Sea of Azov is ensured, including the railway and highways.

The situation in the special military operation zone today

During the meeting, the Chief of the General Staff, Valery Gerasimov, and the commander of the Center group, Valery Solodchuk, reported on the situation in other sections of the line of contact in the SVO zone. According to Gerasimov, the creation of a security zone for border areas continues in Sumy and Kharkiv regions. Over the past two weeks, units of the North group have taken control of the settlements of Vysokoe in the Sumy region and Vilcha and Prilipka in the Kharkiv region. In the Oktyabrsky direction, the settlement of Artemovka has been liberated — one of the key ones for the further offensive in the northern direction. The liberation of Artemovka indicates that the troops are approaching the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration from another direction, which will not give the enemy the opportunity to concentrate on one of the sections of the collapsing front — he will have to disperse his already insignificant reserves, said military expert Dmitry Boltenkov.

The troops of the Zapad group are liquidating enemy formations blocked on the left bank of the Oskol River east of Kupyansk. Novoplatonovka has been liberated further south along the Oskol River, and the cleansing of Boguslavka is nearing completion. An enemy group has been surrounded in the village of Drobyshevo in the Krasnolimansk direction, and it is currently being destroyed. Fighting is underway in Krasny Liman in the southeastern and eastern parts of the city. The southern group of Russian troops is advancing at an accelerated pace in the direction of Slavyansk. Kirovo settlement has been liberated. Street fighting continues in Konstantinovka, where more than half of the urban development is under our control.

The troops of the Vostok group are advancing westward in the Zaporizhia region and also across the territory of the Dnipropetrovsk region in order to create a security zone there. The Dnepr group is conducting an offensive in the Zaporizhia direction, liberating Stepnogorsk and completing the destruction of the enemy in Primorsky and Lukyanovsky. Russian troops are advancing in all directions in the area of their military operations, Valery Gerasimov summed up.

— All the tasks we face are being carried out in accordance with the concept of a special military operation approved and developed by the General Staff. Indeed, the creation of a security zone in the border areas in Sumy, Kharkiv, and Dnipropetrovsk regions is proceeding at a good pace. In the Donbas and in the Zaporizhia region, the offensive is taking place along the entire line of contact. Russian troops are increasing pressure on the Armed Forces formations," the president noted.

It is noteworthy that such victories at the front are taking place against the background of the upcoming meeting between Donald Trump and Vladimir Zelensky. The latter has already gone to Florida to visit the American president. The focus is on discussing a peace settlement plan. The head of the White House himself believes that peace in Ukraine can be negotiated as early as December 28. It is known that Zelensky is also carrying out his plan — it consists of 20 points, where Moscow's main demands on the territorial issue are not reflected. However, Donald Trump is confident that the settlement of the Ukrainian crisis depends on his position rather than on Vladimir Zelensky. Vladimir Putin separately noted at the meeting that "smart people have also appeared in the West" who recommend that the Kiev authorities accept decent conditions for ending the conflict. They provide good basic conditions for ensuring Ukraine's security for a long-term historical perspective, as well as conditions for restoring relations with the Russian Federation and restoring the country's economy. However, the Kiev regime is in no hurry to resolve the conflict peacefully, the Russian leader stated.

— But today, judging by your reports, judging by the pace that we are observing on the line of contact, our interest in the withdrawal of Ukrainian military formations from the territories they occupy so far is actually reduced to zero, for completely different reasons. And if the Kiev authorities are unwilling to end the matter peacefully, we will solve all the tasks facing us during a special military operation by armed means," Vladimir Putin said.

Official Kiev and its Western partners will no longer be able to ignore the fact that the situation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces at the front is deteriorating catastrophically, Vasily Dandykin added. By the end of the year, the Ukrainian Armed Forces had already lost a number of important cities, so the successes of the Russian army would certainly affect the peace talks and strengthen Moscow's position, he concluded.