(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Quick Explainer: Ukrainian Troops may be about to Recapture the Heights North of Bakhmut [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2023-06-05 A very exciting piece of news is that according to Prigozhin and a number of Russian bloggers, Ukrainian troops have fought their way into a significant part of Berkhivka, north of Bakhmut. If true (and I caution that Prigozhin is not the most reliable messenger), here’s why this is great news. Look at the layout of the terrain of the Northern Heights. There were smaller dirt road to Berkhivka from the M03 highway from the north, and to Dubovo Vasylivka that did not appear at this level of zooming on Google Maps. I added these roads for clarity in orange. The only other roads into Dubovoa-Vasylivka lead northwest to Orikhovo-Vasylivka, under Ukrainian control. You can see how these heights north of Bakhmut dominate the northern half of Bakhmut and the northern suburbs of Krasna Hora and Paraskoviivka, If Ukrainian troops are actually in the southern part of Berkhivka, that means the force thrusting northeast from Khromove has push through the strong Russian defense line between the Berkhivka Reservoir and the small pond south of it. It’s just a little more than 800 meters (about half a mile) between the Berkhivka Reservoir on the north side to the Sharabarivka Reservoir to the south. There are a series of small hills in this section surrounded by flat plains that make for an excellent defensive firing position, and Russia reportedly defended this area with trenchworks. The video below is NOT the defensive trenches south of Berkhivka,, but reportedly a line of trenches west of Dubovo-Vasylivka, probably about 5-6km to the northwest. However, you can see accuracy of Ukrainian artillery fire in overrunning Russian trenchworks for the units engaged in this direction. x The 2nd battalion of the 67th brigade attacking positions of the Russians west of Dubovo-Vasylivka. The advance goes beyond this area 😊👍 pic.twitter.com/0jWohH9yiq — NOELREPORTS 🇪🇺 🇺🇦 (@NOELreports) May 17, 2023 If Ukraine did overrun these defenses and have threatened Berkhivka, the only geographic impediment to cutting off Dubovo-Vasilivka from supply would be the small stream that runs between the Berkhivka Reservoir and the Bakhmutske River (which itself is barely a “river” that is only a foot or two deep). You can see the network of roads that connect the M03 highway to Dubovo-Vasylivka better below. Capturing Berkhivka, or at least severing the supply route through the city at the key junction in the western part of the small town should make defense of much of the Northern Heights nearly impossible to supply. Currently, Russian troops in western Bakhmut are being hit repeatedly by Ukrainian artillery firing down from the heights around Khromove. x UA forces are now shooting fish in the Bakhmut barrel. https://t.co/Xml8mniu3Q pic.twitter.com/siTu9mDSli — Def Mon (@DefMon3) May 31, 2023 If Ukraine can recapture the heights north of Bakhmut, they could do the same thing to Russian troops deployed in Northern Bakhmut, Krasna Hora and Paraskoviivka. Russian “victory” in Bakhmut will become even more costly to maintain. [END] --- [1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/6/5/2173510/-Quick-Explainer-Ukrainian-Troops-may-be-about-to-Recapture-the-Heights-North-of-Bakhmut Published and (C) by Daily Kos Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified. via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds: gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/