On January 20, Russian troops advanced along the Kupyansk-Svatov-Kreminna line and captured the village of Krokhmalne in the Kharkiv region.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports this, and the Ukrainian side also confirms this.
As the ISW summary notes, geolocation images released on January 20 indicate that Russian forces have captured Krokhmalne, located 20 km northwest of Svatovo, and Russian military bloggers previously claimed that Ukrainian forces had withdrawn from positions near the settlement .
Analysts also note the advance of the Russians in the eastern direction from Kupyansk, which was released from occupation by the Ukrainian Armed Forces In recent months, the Russians have stepped up in this direction in order to reoccupy this part of Kharkiv Oblast.
What does this mean for the front?
Krokhmalne is a very small village. Before the war, approximately 45 people lived here.
On Sunday, the head of the public relations service of the Ground Forces, Volodymyr Fityo, made it clear on the air of the telethon that the withdrawal of the Armed Forces was planned, and now the settlement is practically destroyed and has no strategic importance.
"There were probably five houses there. And these 5 buildings were destroyed by the Russian aggressor , and accordingly our goal is to save the lives of the Ukrainian defenders, their positions were moved to the defensive positions prepared until now, where they are now holding the defense, preventing the enemy from advancing," explained Fityo.
He added that he does not see any threats to the neighboring units here and assumed that the withdrawal is a temporary phenomenon, because the front line is constantly changing.
