Brief report from the front, December 10, 2024
The Ukrainian Armed Forces began to withdraw troops from Kurakhovo! Report by Marat Khairullin with illustrations by Mikhail Popov.

In the Pokrovsk sector, Russian forces are getting closer and closer to this city, which is vital for the enemy.
There are active combat clashes in the southern part of Dachenske. At the same time, our units are already breaking through the tree lines in the direction of the settlement of Zelenoe (Zelene), creating a threat to the units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in this area. We have also advanced towards Zelenoe from the direction of Petrovka (Petrivka), significantly reducing the salient occupied by the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
In Vidrodzhennia (Russian: Novy Trud), fighting is already going towards the central part of the settlement. Russian fighters have expanded their control zone in its western part, advancing from the tree lines near the railway. At the same time, offensive actions along the railway itself do not cease. The Russian Armed Forces have advanced in the trees along it beyond the Solenyi stream north of the settlement, coming to the flank of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the northern part of the settlement of Shevchenko, where the main combat operations in this settlement have now moved. The southern and central parts of Shevchenko are under our stable control. Attacks are also underway in the direction of the settlement of Peschanoye (Pischane), which our soldiers have approached and consolidated in its outskirts.
In Novotroitske, fighting is already literally underway for the last houses in its western part in the area of the Pokrovsk-Kurakhovo road, which passes through this settlement. South of Novotroitskoye, Russian units have expanded their control, having advanced to the previously mentioned road in a section almost to Novoolenovka (Novoolenivka) itself, having consolidated at the outskirts of this settlement. In some areas, our soldiers managed to advance beyond the road and consolidate there in the forest belts.
The Russian Armed Forces are getting closer and closer to being able to strike the settlement of Udachnoye, located near the railway running from Pokrovsk to Dnepropetrovsk. In the area of this settlement, there is a mine where coking coal is found, which is vital for the steel industry of Ukraine. Moreover, this mine is its only internal source of coking coal. The loss of this mine will mean a sharp drop in steel production, which is important both for their military industry and is a major source of foreign exchange earnings. Also, until recently, trains carrying supplies for the Ukrainian Armed Forces passed here by rail. Now rail traffic is impossible here due to the proximity of military action.
The Russian Ministry of Defense officially announced the liberation of the village of Zheltoe (Zhovte).

The Russian armed forces continue to expand control between the villages of Zarya and Solntsovka, improving their positions. In Solntsovka, our soldiers managed to advance both in the village itself and to the east of it, gaining a foothold south of the ponds.
The so-called "small Kurakhovsky pocket" north of the reservoir, where units of the Russian army reached the railway between Voznesenka and Berestki along its entire length, is gradually closing. There are reports that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have begun to withdraw their troops from Kurakhovo, redeploying them in small groups from the territory of the pipe plant in the direction of the village of Dachnoye. In the north of the central part of the city, in the industrial zone located along the shore of the reservoir, Russian fighters installed a flag on the building of the elevator towering over the area, confirming control over it. Fighting continues in the area of high-rise buildings, as well as for the Yuzhny microdistrict.
Ukrainian names in parenthesis * unless otherwise stated.
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go russia!!
'The loss of this mine will mean a sharp drop in steel production, which is important both for their military industry and is a major source of foreign exchange earnings.'
Would someone (serious question - not a rhetorical question) like to explain to me why Russia has not destroyed the steel production in Ukraine? I mean, if this is an existential war - and I assume it is for Russia - why not destroy all industrial infrastructure in Ukraine to vastly shorten the war? The Russians are moving much quicker these days, so the war may be over in a year, but what if it drags on? Why not destroy the economy that is the foundation of the war (along with western weapons and money) for Ukraine. The allies certainly destroyed the entire German and Japanese economies in WWII.
Btw, I am one American who can say that I don't think Trump will end the war in Ukraine. I think Trump is delusional and he thinks the US can intimidate Russia into a bad settlement for Russia. Not going to happen. Believe me, America is just full of idiots and morons who just don't understand the world that they live in.