The Kramatorsk-Slavyansk Fortress belt is the last major military objective in Donetsk Oblast for the Russian forces.
For a while now, it’s become clear that the Ukrainian news outlets and analysts have become much more adept at reporting the facts than the Globalist MSM.
The legacy news ‘brands’ have usually shrunk to mere Globalist, pro-Kiev propaganda.
That’s why we will use a reputable Ukrainian source to talk about the impending battle for Kramatorsk and Slavyansk.
Russian drones disrupt Ukrainian robot supply lines near Slavyansk-Kramatorsk
Russia’s Yug Battlegroup wiped out Ukrainian delivery robots before they could supply Ukrainian positions in the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration, the Russian Ministry of Defense reported. pic.twitter.com/gtX2VYndTb
— Sputnik (@SputnikInt) August 23, 2026
We have been reporting here on TGP about how the fortifications of the Slavyansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration are the last major military objective for the Russian advances in Donetsk region, the cradle of the war.
And now, the endgame approaches, according to Ukrainian military analyst Oleksandr Kovalenko.
But who is he? According to Ukrainian Fair:
“Oleksandr Kovalenko is the ‘Angry Odessan’ whose sharp, precise, and often ironic commentary has become a cornerstone of Ukraine’s information front. […] He has transformed his personal blog into a potent weapon against Russian propaganda. […] In 2026, his analysis remains one of the most authoritative sources for understanding the realities of the full-scale war.”
Watch: Russian drone on the prowl in Kramatorsk.
🇷🇺 Russian Forces Tighten Grip on Kramatorsk
As Russian units advance closer to Kramatorsk, the situation for Ukrainian equipment within the city and on its immediate approaches is deteriorating rapidly. Reports indicate that vehicles are increasingly detected by drones and… pic.twitter.com/Y9sRNYSwGV
— Beate Landefeld (@BeateLandefeld) August 24, 2026
I guess we can safely say that Kovalenko is not someone who can be dismissed as a ‘Putin puppet’.
The online English-language independent newspaper Euromaidan Press, launched by Ukrainian volunteers in 2014, reported:
“Ukrainian analysts warn that the situation on a key stretch of the Donetsk front is becoming increasingly dangerous for two cities central to Ukraine’s defense. The eastern flank of the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk agglomeration is taking on an increasingly threatening character, and earlier stabilization measures are clearly not working, military analyst Oleksandr Kovalenko said.
The two cities anchor the line that has held Russia back for over a decade. Sloviansk and Kramatorsk form part of the so-called fortress belt, the line of Ukrainian fortifications that has restrained the Russian advance since 2014. The agglomeration serves as the most important bastion and logistics hub for Ukrainian forces in the east. A threat to it is a threat to the backbone of Ukraine’s defense in Donbas.”
Watch: defenders targeted in the agglomeration.
🇷🇺🛩☄ В Славянско-Краматорской агломерации артиллеристы и операторы FPV Южной группировки войск работают в едином убийственном ритме🫡
➖ Сначала точный артударом ломает защиту, затем FPV заходит внутрь и зачищает всё живое. Противнику не остаётся ни малейшего шанса.… pic.twitter.com/gCJh7fnnHk— Периметр ZOV (@Perimetr123) August 25, 2026
But how dangerous is the situation?
In his Telegram channel, Kovalenko writes that in the third week of August, Russians forces captured 21 km² [13 square miles] of the territory of Ukraine in this sector.
They are ‘advancing in the area of Kalenika, Krivoy Luka (almost completely occupying the village), Nikiforovka, Tikhonovka, approached the outskirts of Nikolaevka and entered Piskunovka’.
Watch: Russian military aircraft deliver strikes with FAB bombs on Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel in Kramatorsk.
#UkraineRussiaWar #Odessa#Crimea #Kramatorsk#Slavyansk #Dobropillia
The Su-34 aircraft delivered strikes using FAB-500, 1500, and 3000 bombs on locations where Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel were stationed in Kramatorsk, Raihorodok, and Kherson pic.twitter.com/xqVjCCkDD6
— Koba (@Krieg2026) August 21, 2026
“Now the advanced positions of the [Russians] are 12-13 km from Slavyansk and Kramatorsk, and by the end of August, I think, an intensive infiltration of the enemy into Nikolaevka will begin. If the enemy’s topics do not decrease, then by the end of 2026, in December, we will see the first infiltrations of [Russian forces] into Slavyansk or Kramatorsk.
[…] In my opinion, this area needs to be strengthened as soon as possible, before it is critically late. After all, when infiltrations into Slavyansk and Kramatorsk begin, the strengthening of garrisons and the landing of troops by the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense will not solve the problem, but will only stretch out the inevitable in time.”
Read more from June:
Exhausted Troops, Supply Routes Under Constant Fire: French Reporters from Le Monde, on the Ground in Slavyansk-Kramatorsk, Experience the Ukrainian Collapse in the Donbas (VIDEOS)
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