Day 356: February 14Today there is some good news. The Russians continued prioritizing their least successful direction and throwing their best forces in an attempt to capture Vuhledar. Despite successfully rebuffing previous Russian attacks, the Ukrainians have found a way how to destroy Russian attackers even more easily because today it was reported that they eliminated a Russian commander in charge of the assault units with a precision strike, which allowed them to destroy the disorganized troops on the ground much faster. Last time I told you that the Russians attempted to penetrate the front line west of Vuhledar in order to create a bulge, stretch Ukrainian reserves, and diminish the supply and support of Vuhledar. As you remember, the Ukrainians met the attackers with fire and prevented them from establishing control over the hills. But as it turned out, the Ukrainians did not stop there. Today a Russian commander of the forces located in this region reported that the Ukrainians immediately launched a counterattack. Some sources indicate that as a result of this counterattack, the Ukrainians have pushed the Russians back to their initial positions across the river. After that, some Russian sources said that several Ukrainian groups were spotted between Prechystivka and Pavlivka, they concluded that the Ukrainians were preparing to further penetrate Russian defenses and that the Russians prudently scared them off with artillery. However, today’s reports about a successful Ukrainian precision strike on the Russian command post of the East battalion strongly indicates that the Ukrainians were not planning an attack, they were just sending reconnaissance groups into the Russian territory. While the Ukrainians were conducting this reconnaissance mission, the Russians launched yet another assault in the direction of the hamlet east of Vuhledar. But because the Ukrainian HIMARS strike on the Russian headquarters killed the headquarters commander, the coordination of Russian forces was undermined, and the Ukrainians quickly repelled the Russian attack. Another Russian commander said that this was a smart move on the part of the Ukrainians because if you destroy the army headquarters – the battle will continue, but if you destroy the battalion headquarters – the battle will quickly die out because battalion headquarters are most involved in the process of managing and collecting and analyzing what is happening on the ground. All other headquarters build their understanding of the current situation mainly from battalion-level reports. He added that they were ready for such developments and had prepared alternative ways, but, as many speculate, this was likely added to avoid problems with the higher command. The most recent updates indicate that the Russians became quieter, which suggests that their further attacks were either put on hold or canceled.This is not the first commander that the Russians have lost here. Around a week ago, in one of the disastrous Russian attacks, the Russians also lost a colonel who was in charge of the whole brigade. The fact the Russians continue committing significant amounts of resources to the Vuhledar area despite high losses clearly signals that taking Vuhledar is imperative for achieving broader goals. Furthermore, recently published geolocated footage showed the aftermath of a Russian thermobaric artillery strike near Vuhledar. As noted by the Institute for the Study of War, thermobaric artillery systems are military district-level assets, which suggests that Russian forces put a high priority on Vuhledar.