Russians increase pressure on Toretsk, redeploy additional forces from other directions, Ukraine says

Russian forces are intensifying their pressure on the city of Toretsk, Donetsk Oblast, increasing the number of assault operations and artillery attacks, the Ukrainian military says. Dmytro Zaporozhets, spokesman for the Luhansk Operational-Tactical Grouping of Forces, told Ukrainian TV on 13 March that Moscow's forces have concentrated their main efforts on capturing Toretsk city, Ukrinform reports. Zaporozhets said:

"The enemy has focused its main efforts on capturing Toretsk city and is actively pushing, including through the involvement of the 150th motorized rifle division and some units withdrawn from the Kurakhove and Pokrovsk directions. The activity of assault operations has increased."

According to the spokesman, the average daily number of assault operations over the past week has increased, as has artillery activity in the Toretsk direction due to the addition of units from other directions.

Russia forms infantry units from nuclear forces, deploys them to Toretsk

Zaporozhets noted that while last month the number of enemy artillery attacks ranged from 30 to 80, now the invaders systematically carry out more than 100 attacks. The tactics of their small assault groups have also changed.

"The number of people in the assault has increased. If previously it was two, three, or four servicemen, then this week, for example, it's from two to ten. This is already a full-fledged unit that can attack one position or another. They are also using motorcycles to reach the central part of the city. They don't always manage to keep those motorcycles intact, but they are nonetheless using them for transporting personnel," the spokesman explained.

Zaporozhets added that the occupiers conduct assault operations, when possible, from four or five in the morning and finish during the day, but they suffer significant losses.

"The aviation component has increased since the beginning of January and continues to grow. Over the past day, 25 air strikes and 31 KAB [guided bombs] were dropped on populated areas in our area of responsibility. Konstantinovka is currently suffering the most," he concluded.

Related:

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• Russian combined attack on Donetsk’s Dobropillia kills 11, injures 30 including children
• Ukrainian forces counterattack near Pokrovsk and Toretsk
• Frontline Report: Ukrainian raids unravel months of Russian gains in Toretsk
• Forbes: Ukraine retakes Toretsk weeks after Russia’s “victory”
• Russian forces eliminate Ukrainian pocket near Kurakhove, ISW reports