20 Oct: Explosive Gifts Delivered. Russian Plans Derailed. - Reporting from Ukraine

[TexasTowelie]

Today there are a lot of updates from the Toretsk direction.

Here, the Ukrainians intensified their raids and strikes against Russian forces positioned in the central high-rise building district, destroying the residential complex together with the Russians and diminishing its tactical value. As powerful Ukrainian attacks in this area are expected to generate advances, Russians decided to switch the focus of fighting in Toretsk to the southern part of the city.

Previously, Ukrainian forces began raiding the high-rise district, with demolition squads destroying entire Russian positions. Combat footage reveals intense fighting in the area, with Ukrainian raids continuing for over a month, leaving much of Toretsk's high-rise section heavily damaged. This destruction has significantly reduced the tactical value of the high-rise complex as a base for both defensive and offensive operations, depriving Russian forces of critical coverage.

This situation allowed Ukrainian drone operators to target the weakened Russian positions with ease, as many Russian troops were left exposed in open areas or through gaps in walls and roofs. Combat footage shows desperate Russian soldiers, lacking adequate cover, attempting to play dead to avoid being hit by drones. However, Ukrainian operators saw through this tactic and struck them regardless.

With Ukrainian drones controlling the high-rises, Russian firing positions and drone bases were completely compromised, forcing Russian troops to remain inside. This enabled Ukrainian forces to send more combat engineers to intensify demolition efforts, blowing up additional high-rise buildings while the Russians were trapped inside. Combat footage shows Ukrainian demolition squads dismounting from American M113 armored personnel carriers, suppressing limited Russian small-arms fire, and consolidating their position. They then placed explosives near Russian-held buildings, reboarded their vehicles, and detonated the charges—successfully completing the operation without any losses. All footage of the Ukrainian demolition teams operations can be found on our Telegram channel through the link in the description.

Realizing their high-rise positions were untenable and incapable of supporting effective assaults, the Russian command shifted focus to the Zabalka district in southern Toretsk. This small area is mostly made up of one-story residential houses—an unfavorable terrain. Positioned below two towering terrikons, over 100 meters tall from nearby coal mine waste, Russian troops were fully exposed to Ukrainian forces. This allowed Ukrainians to easily direct and adjust mortar and artillery fire on the Russian assault units.

Despite these disadvantages, the Russians needed to advance on the Zabalka district to stabilize their logistics in Toretsk, especially after the destruction of multiple high-rises. Securing Zabalka would protect the southern flank of their forces in the high-rise area and open a key supply route through the district. This route could serve as an alternative to Central Street in the main part of Toretsk, which remains under Ukrainian FPV drone control.

The Russian command appeared to overlook the Ukrainian observation posts and firing positions on the terrikons when they launched an assault on Zabalka. Initially, Russian forces made confident gains, as the area was relatively distant from the main Ukrainian-controlled positions. However, as they approached the terrikons, their advance was abruptly halted by Ukrainian fire control from these elevated positions. The combination of height advantages allowed the Ukrainians to hold the line with fewer troops, effectively leveraging multiple elevation levels. This advantage was further amplified by Ukrainian drone operators, who swiftly targeted Russian positions below, as seen in combat footage that captured Russian troops being detected and quickly struck.

Overall, the succesful actions of Ukrainian demolition squads caused a chain of events which is forcing the Russians on improvized assaults on the southern flank. Despite the new supply route through Zabalka, it will likely face increasing drone strikes and artillery fire due to Ukraine's strong observation points on the terrikons. While Russian gains in Zabalka may provide short-term stabilization of their defenses, they remain unable to advance north of the high-rise area, where Ukrainian...

[niyad]

1. Slava Ukraini. Thank you for the update.