All roads from Myrnohrad in grey zone, Russians spreading around city – sources

All routes into or out of Myrnohrad for Ukrainian troops are now in the grey zone. In recent days, Russian forces have seized part of the village of Rivne, one of two settlements previously used for logistics.

Source: two Ukrainska Pravda sources on the Pokrovsk front; DeepStateMap, an interactive map of hostilities in Ukraine

Quote from a Marine officer: "The enclosed 'grey zone' around Myrnohrad shown today by DeepState has effectively existed for several weeks. The last time we rotated personnel using vehicles was in mid-November, and then in early December a handful of people managed to get out on foot – that's all. In November there was another attempt through Rodynske, but all three vehicles – ours and those of neighbouring units – were destroyed.

Now I understand why Pokrovsk fell so quickly, because we are facing the same situation. There comes a point when the enemy troops achieve critical mass, and that's it – they're everywhere, and it's impossible to stop that, because before that they wipe out logistics and drone units and push back our artillery."

Details: With the road to Myrnohrad through Pokrovsk no longer accessible (as Pokrovsk is largely under Russian occupation), Ukrainian units are forced to use routes through two tiny villages, Rivne and Svitle. Part of Rivne is under Russian control, and Russia's Ministry of Defence has released footage showing their troops there.

As a result, the corridor for withdrawal from the city has become even more dangerous.

Overall, the "corridor" out of Myrnohrad consists of a few kilometres of grey zone between partially occupied Rivne and the fully occupied village of Chervonyi Lyman. Rodynske, north of Chervonyi Lyman, is approximately 80% under Russian control.

Movement through this corridor has been dangerous for at least the past three to four weeks. Ukrainian brigades are suffering losses while attempting to move through it – the Russians are literally everywhere. Brigades from Ukraine's Air Assault Forces have tried to clear the corridor, but there is currently no information on the outcome of these efforts.

Meanwhile, as Russian troops attempt to cut off the approach roads to Myrnohrad, they are also increasing their presence inside the city itself. The exact number of their forces cannot be determined, as Ukrainian troops now have increasingly limited surveillance capability.

Soldiers told Ukrainska Pravda that some districts of Myrnohrad are close to being encircled.

Why this matters: Oleksandr Syrskyi, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, continues to claim that Myrnohrad is not encircled. The 7th Air Assault Corps, which is responsible for the city's defence, is conveying the same message. However, Ukrainska Pravda has learned from service members attempting to withdraw personnel from the city – and losing people in the "grey corridor" – that the official information does not reflect the reality on the ground.

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