From "The Analyst":

RUSSIANS OPEN SECOND VUHLEDAR ATTACK

With the northern pincer attack already underway the Russians launched the second pincer move future south and west, by striking at the village of Prychistivka. Ukraine knew this was likely as they’d observed Russian forces massing for the attack.
Once captured the next village to the north is Novokranka and from there they can begin the swing northeast towards Vuhledar and come in from behind it.
Prychistivka, by the time you go through the months of combat reports, has been under almost daily bomb and artillery assault for three months so there is little left in terms of defensive positions. The Russians do this and signal their intention only when they want to take a settlement relatively quickly so they can move on to the next.
The trouble with Russian old style thinking is that they don’t account for the fact that by doing this and making it impossible to defend, they push the Ukrainians to find another defence line and prepare other fortifications that the Russians even if they see them, largely ignore.
The Russians have been given a target and that’s what they’re going to work on, that’s how success or failure is measured in their world.
Part of the Ukrainian defence was to move to a small river just above Prychistivka and install defences in the village of Novokranka.
Prychistivka is in a shallow valley, the Ukrainian defences look down into it, so the Russians are faced with a literal uphill battle against prepared defences in open farmland that’s also probably mined- and they have a river to cross they seem to have forgotten even existed. This is what happens when all initiative is removed and nobody is allowed to question or offer up advice to higher command. You do or die, you don’t ask why.
An armoured group of 12 vehicles with 100 supporting storm troopers assaulted the village - and they took it inside if two days because the Ukrainians weren’t stupid enough to defend a pointless ruin at a disadvantage. A covering force did as much damage to the advancing Russians as it could then slipped away to prepared defence lines over the river.
However there have been noticeable changes to the way the Russians operate.
They have finally become aware they have manpower limits. This is reflected in other areas too.
Operations have a reserve force, large meat wave attacks have stopped and while still wasteful in their approach because men are not well trained and prone to higher loses, they are better organised and less haphazard in their approach. There is even evidence of improved coordination. In a word the Russians are showing a degree of ‘semi-professionalism’ in their approach rather than throwing mud at the wall and hope it sticks. This is going to help them stretch out their obviously dwindling resources by being more efficient and ultimately productive. It still doesn’t stop them making stupid mistakes and they still rely on numbers.
The Ukrainians have long recognised that the Russians would eventually have to operate differently to the way they have in the past and have adapted their defences and strategic outlook to match it. Russian behaviour has evolved because they have no choice. The war they have waged has been wasteful, high cost and ineffective for the most part - now they no longer have the luxury of being so wasteful and that means the cost of the war is starting to increasingly effect their behaviour and reduce their capabilities.
Ukraine made some excellent defensive preparations locally and the Russians obtained a minor success that’s brought them no advantage. Despite operating more efficiently, their overall planning and performance is still hampered by centralised command and lack of initiative.

‘The Analyst’ MilStratOnX
Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦!