MOSCOW, February 7. /TASS/. Russian forces eliminated 26,000 Ukrainian troops in the five months of fighting for the city of Dzerzhinsk (known as Toretsk in Ukraine). The Ukrainian armed forces had turned the city into a fortified stronghold. Its liberation now paves the way for the liberation of Konstantinovka, opening the door for Russian troops to flank Ukrainian forces stationed in Kramatorsk, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
TASS has compiled the key details regarding the liberation of Dzerzhinsk.
On Dzerzhinsk
- Dzerzhinsk is the largest city in the Toretsk metropolitan area. The area’s population exceeded 73,500 as of early 2022, while Dzerzhinsk’s population stood at about 35,000.
- The city, located north of Gorlovka, was an important logistics hub for the Ukrainian armed forces on the way to the Lugansk People’s Republic and the Kharkov Region.
- Its liberation will make it possible to reduce the number of shelling attacks on Gorlovka.
- The Kiev regime turned the city into a fortified stronghold featuring a wide network of underground tunnels. Almost every building was a well-protected permanent firing position.
- Ukrainian forces stationed in Dzerzhinsk used mines and man-made waste heaps in the northern and western parts of the city for defense purposes.
Liberation of Dzerzhinsk
- The city of Dzerzhinsk in the Donetsk People’s Republic was liberated through active offensive operations carried out by Russia’s Battlegroup Center in the Alexandro-Kalinovo area.
- Members of the First, Ninth and 132nd guards motorized rifle brigades of the 51st Army and the Veterans voluntary unit especially distinguished themselves during the liberation of Dzerzhinsk, demonstrating courage and valor.
- After liberating the city, Russian forces penetrated more than 13 km-worth of Ukrainian defenses.
- As many as 11 settlements in the Toretsk metropolitan area and 139 square km of land were liberated in the course of the operation.
- The Russian Defense Ministry added that units of Battlegroup Center continued operations to liberate the remaining settlements in the Toretsk metropolitan area.
Ukraine’s losses
- In order to hold Dzerzhinsk and other settlements of the Toretsk metropolitan area, the enemy amassed huge forces consisting of eight brigades. The total number of enemy troops exceeded 40,000.
- In the five months of fighting for Dzerzhinsk, the Ukrainian battlegroup lost over 70% of its manpower, that is, more than 26,000 service members.
- On average, some 200 Ukrainian troops were either killed or wounded every day.
- Over 240 tanks and other armored vehicles, as well as more than 340 field artillery systems and mortars, were destroyed.