MOSCOW, September 17. /TASS/. Ukrainian servicemen are criticizing their fortifications as inadequate and complaining about a lack of personnel and ammunition near Krasnoarmeysk (known in Ukraine as Pokrovsk) in the Kiev-controlled territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic, the Ukrainian news outlet Fokus reported.

The report cites one serviceman as stating that the main problems in the Krasnoarmeysk area are the quantity of personnel and their poor training. According to the serviceman, the 110th mechanized brigade numbered less than 40% of required staff as of July 2024. The unit was deployed to Ocheretino only two months after it was pulled out of Avdeyevka, where it had been on the defensive for almost two years, so the brigade did not have enough time to recover and recruit new people.

The 68th Brigade, which was transferred to the Krasnoarmeysk area in March, suffered significant losses in the first battle in the village of Semyonovka, so the proportion of new recruits in the unit reached 90%, and the average age of troops is upward of 55 years, the serviceman said. Another unit, the 151st Brigade, was staffed well, but had absolutely no combat experience, he said.

Ukrainian soldiers are also complaining about permanent emplacements and lines of trenches built in the Krasnoarmeysk area. According to some servicemen, a significant portion of these fortifications is not fit for real defense, and they often stand in the middle of a field, which makes them visible to Russian forces and makes it hard to resupply men and ammunition. Sergey Filimonov, commander of the 108th Da Vinci Wolves Separate Battalion of the 59th Brigade, said these fortifications help the Russians to advance more than they help Ukrainian forces to put up resistance. As a result, Ukrainian soldiers have to redo most of the fortifications, he said.

Ukrainian forces also report a significant shortage of shells. A member of the 68th brigade told Fokus that the shortage had been felt since March, and some types of weapons had been without ammunition for a month.

Earlier on Tuesday, Ukrainian war correspondent Yulia Kiriyenko said Ukrainian troops near Krasnoarmeysk had a severe shortage of ammunition. The commander of one of the units told her that the brigade gets only 10 120-mm caliber mines per week.

Situation near Krasnoarmeysk

The Ukrainian military leadership recently conceded that the situation is becoming ever more difficult for its forces in the Kiev-controlled part of the Donetsk People's Republic. The worst situation for Ukraine is in the Krasnoarmeysk area. A representative of the Russian military stationed in the DPR told TASS at the end of August that Ukrainian defenses near Krasnoarmeysk had been penetrated and virtually no resistance had been encountered.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry's data from September 16, Russian units continue to advance deeper into the enemy's defenses, delivering strikes at personnel and equipment in the areas of Petrovka, Shcherbinovka, Dzerzhinsk, Nelepovka, Dimitrov, Krasnoarmeysk, Grodovka, Gnatovka, Selidovo, Lesovka, and Ukrainsk in the DPR. On September 17, a representative of the Russian military stationed in the DPR said three bridges were demolished around Krasnoarmeysk. They were part of key strategic highways and for years had made the city an important supply hub for Ukrainian forces.