War activity
The outcome of the battle for Donbas — and the war itself — hinges on whether Ukraine can hold Kramatorsk and Sloviansk. How are two former Azov commanders leading the defense?
The Ukrainian command is trying to stop the Russian offensive — the decisive push in the battle for Donbas — on the approaches to the Kramatorsk-Sloviansk urban area. To do this, it has created two operational groupings, both led by veterans of the Azov Brigade: the “Center” grouping, tasked with holding Sloviansk, is commanded by Andriy Biletsky (former commander of the 3rd Army Corps), while the Azov grouping guarding the approaches to Kramatorsk is commanded by Denys Prokopenko (former commander of the 12th National Guard Brigade, which was reconstituted after the 2022 capture of its forces