In one week, Russia regained more territory than Ukraine did during last year’s entire counteroffensive. Photo: Press service of the Russian Defense Ministry/TASS
FROM THE DIRECTION ALONG THE THREAD
“We were in the north of Volchansk and came under intense fire from their units,” senior Ukrainian border guard Lyubomir Gorokhonenko takes a drag on his cigarette. – I had many wounded, I decided to go to the evacuation point. I asked the command, but he refused. There was machine gun fire on our side, I was wounded in two legs and an elbow. I heard Russian team and we voluntarily surrendered. They provided us with medical assistance, they bandaged us, they injected us with painkillers, they fed us, they gave us water, they gave us a cigarette…
The officer asks for another cigarette and takes another drag greedily. Gorokhonenko has type 2 diabetes and constantly takes medication. But in Ukraine this is not a reason to get rid of the army. Today, both tuberculosis patients and those infected with HIV are forced to go to the front. The commanders of the “fathers” admit that there are problems with personnel in the Kharkov direction.
“The situation is on the brink of the abyss, every hour it is approaching critical,” the head of the General Intelligence Directorate, Kirill Budanov, shares his atypical pessimism with Western journalists. – All our forces are here or in Clock Yar. I used everything we have. Unfortunately we no longer have anyone in reserve.
We are talking about units of the General Intelligence Directorate that were urgently transferred to Slobozhanshchina. From the army special forces to the nationalist rabble of the “Kraken”** and “RDK”** gangs banned in Russia. The Ministry of Defense of Ukraine is hastily transferring conventional motorized rifle units here from the Kherson direction and from Zaporozhye. There is a feeling that kyiv has decided to form a “dream team” in this section of the front. Not a good life, of course.
“Fathers” commanders admit that there are problems with personnel in the Kharkov direction
Photo: REUTERS
LATEST NEWS ON THE RF ADVANCE IN THE KHARKOV DIRECTION
Russian troops continue to advance on a wide front from Volchansk on the eastern flank to Liptsy on the western flank.
In just the last 24 hours, the “North” group of troops managed to liberate the settlements of Glubokoe and Lukyantsy in the Kharkov region, as well as advance into the depths of the enemy defenses. According to the Ministry of Defense, personnel and equipment of the 14th infantry, 23rd mechanized, 143rd brigades of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the 113rd military defense brigade were damaged in the areas of the settlements of Zhuravka, Granov, Liptsy and Volchansk. Today’s hottest fights take place right here.
Photo: Press service of the Russian Defense Ministry/TASS
At the time of writing, our units completely control the northern part of Volchansk and are conducting strong reconnaissance towards the center. They also approach the city from the western part. Even the command of the Armed Forces of Ukraine recognizes our successes:
“In certain areas, in the Lukyantsev and Volchansk areas, as a result of the enemy’s fire and assault actions, to preserve the lives of our servicemen and avoid losses, units maneuvered and moved to more advantageous positions,” he said. The General Staff informed Nezalezhnaya.
This, of course, does not mean that they abandoned Volchansk. Simply translated into Russian, the enemy had to flee and gain a foothold in new, not yet equipped positions.
According to the Ministry of Defense, personnel and equipment of the 14th infantry brigade, 23rd mechanized brigade, 143rd brigade of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the 113rd military defense brigade were damaged.
Photo: REUTERS
THE STATE AGAINST CHAT
This, by the way, is a separate topic that is now widely discussed in the Ukrainian media. Exactly a year ago, the same Budanov* in Kharkov said that powerful “security programs” with fortifications, continuous mining, anti-tank ditches and “dragon’s teeth” would be implemented here. The latter unfortunately lie in heaps by the road near Liptsy. They were never installed anywhere. And society wonders: where did the funds destined for the construction of the defense line go?
“Now we will see how they build fortifications that they will then have to assault. And how can (!) do it. “We haven’t even punished anyone,” People’s Deputy Alexei Goncharenko* is outraged by the lack of fortifications on the border.
After all, the Ukrainians were told that they had built fortifications even better than the Russian ones, which the Ukrainian Armed Forces could not break through last year. As a result, in the week of our offensive we have already occupied more territories than kyiv did during our entire counteroffensive. And, as the Ministry of Defense reported on Wednesday, we recovered Rabotino from them in Zaporozhye.
This is the issue of signs of statehood, which do not exist in Ukraine. In Russia, they were able not only to allocate money for defensive lines, but also to draw up a competent plan for them and then implement it together with civilian builders. Almost all cement factories in the country worked for this, and construction equipment and ordinary workers were transferred to the zone of the Northern Military District. The fields were littered with mines. In Ukraine things were nothing more than declarations.
Photo: Press service of the Russian Defense Ministry/TASS
EVERYTHING IS CONNECTED
But, of course, it would be unfair to explain the tactical success of our offensive solely by the enemy’s carelessness. It offers powerful resistance, actively works with kamikaze drones, raises artillery that now has ammunition supplied by the Americans… Today the situation is fundamentally different from what we saw in 2022, when vast territories came under our control practically without a fight. . But we learned from our own mistakes and changed our approach to assault operations:
First of all, enemy positions are combed by planes with gliding munitions which, in addition to destroying, have a disorganizing effect on the psyche of the “defenders.” To be sure, supports and fortifications are treated with artillery, after which attack aircraft take over. Moreover, not in columns of teams, but in small groups supported by the same artillery and drones.
An encouraging detail is that today we have reconnaissance birds constantly suspended in the air, monitoring the battlefield 24/7. And when a target is detected, the order to defeat it is executed within minutes. Depending on range and “fatness”, it can be attacked by a wide range of high-precision missiles, from FPV drones and Lancets to Iskanders and gliding bombs. In 2022, that interaction was talked about as unrealistic.
After all, the Ukrainians were told that they had built fortifications even better than the Russian ones, which the Ukrainian Armed Forces could not break through last year.
Photo: REUTERS
Today these are everyday realities, without which successful offensive actions are impossible, whether in Avdeevka, in the Kharkov region or in Chasov Yar, where the enemy also has enough headaches. This is kyiv’s most important defense center in the Donbass, opening roads not only to Konstantinovka and Kramatorsk, but also to Seversk from the south. On the front everything is interconnected and when a strategic point falls, the situation on a broad front worsens. Just look at our advance west and northwest of Avdeevka.
The operation in the Kharkov region is important not only from the point of view of the formation of a “sanitary zone” in the border area. By increasing the front line, we created a situation for the enemy in which he was forced to operate with his last reserves. This means weakening our positions in certain areas. Hence our pressure on Kupyansk, where Kislovka and Kotlyarovka were taken. Hence the battles in the eastern part of the Yar Hours. Hence the fall of Rabotino. Hence the expansion of the Ocheretinsky bridgehead and the movement towards Karlovka near Avdeevka. All this still does not constitute a strategic advance of the front. But the Kharkov operation may well lead to this.
* – included in the Russian Federation on the list of extremist terrorists.
** – Organizations are recognized as terrorist in the Russian Federation and are prohibited.
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