I am a Ukrainian. My country has been invaded by Russia. In this video I will tell you what happened on the two hundred and thierty first day of the war.Day 231: October 12In the Luhansk region, the Russians noticed that the Ukrainians were getting ready for the next wave of assaults faster than the Russians were digging trenches, and in fear that their defense line would not be prepared on time, the Russians made one of the biggest counterattacks that we saw in the last few months. But even though they managed to push the Ukrainians back and buy themselves more time, this achievement comes at a very high price. But before I tell you why holding this buffer zone comes at a high price, let me put everything into perspective.After losing Lyman, the Russians retreated to the next defense line, which goes through Svatove and Kreminna. Here the Russians have a very convenient natural barrier in the form of the Krasna River that allows them to create a very strong line of fortifications. However, the defense line still needs to be prepared: trenches need to be dug, fortified infrastructure needs to be built, and supporting positions need to be established, and this takes time.Unfortunately for the Russians, the Ukrainians have been expanding control over the area between Lyman and Kreminna a little too quickly. The Ukrainians had already started storming Kreminna, Pischane and Ploschanka and even advanced in the direction of Zalyman. On top of that, the Ukrainians have been accumulating more and more forces in the area of Borova, Karpivka and Drobysheve. All of that signaled that the Ukrainians were almost ready to storm the Svatove-Kreminna line. Understanding that if this line is breached, they will have another devastating loss, the Russians made a bold move.Yesterday, the Russians launched a massive counteroffensive is the direction of Lyman. But it was not Lyman that the Russians were trying to take. The Russians were trying to establish their positions on the Zherebets River’s eastern bank. This would allow them to use this natural barrier to hold off the Ukrainians from the Svatove-Kreminna line for a while. The attacks were directed towards Makiivka, Nevske, Novosadove, Terny and Torske. As a result, the Russians established control over Novosadove, Terny and Torske, while the settlements to the north remained under the Ukrainian control.Now, why does it come at a high price? Russian defense positions here are very vulnerable to flank attacks. As you know, the Ukrainians are fully controlling the forest. On top of that, Russian positions in Dibrova do not prevent the Ukrainians from freely attacking other settlements on the southern line. The Ukrainians have been doing it since the battle for Lyman. Overall, the Russians here are at a tactical disadvantage: they cannot protect themselves well, and it is very hard to supply this group. All they are doing here is not allowing the Ukrainians to move freely.On top of that, the Zherebets River serves as a good barrier only for 12 km. This river is extremely narrow and shallow to the north and south of this 12 km segment. This means that the Ukrainians can also relatively easily force the river around Makiivka and attack Russian flanks from the north.And this is exactly what the Ukrainians are doing. They have regrouped, sent some reinforcements and started assaulting the Zherebets group both from the north and south. The Ukrainians quickly achieved some success to the south and pushed the Russians out of Torske. The Ukrainians have not entered the town, so it is considered a grey zone. The attack from the north was less successful. In anticipation of this counterattack, the Russians reinforced this line and established tighter control over the river. This allowed the Russians to target the Ukrainians while they slowed down to force the river. Nonetheless, the Ukrainians are quickly adjusting, and we will for sure see more attacks in this region.Overall, the Russians put this group out in front to buy themselves more time to prepare the Svatove-Kreminna defense line, while the Ukrainians are slowly reducing their personnel to zero. A new reinforcement has already been sent from a motorized brigade located in Barvinkove, so the progress should not be slow for long.If you are against the invasion of Ukraine and want to support the work that I am doing, consider making a purchase in the online store UA Supporter. Here you can find a lot of products with Ukrainian symbols, to not only show your support for this channel, but also for Ukraine.