The Russian-Ukrainian War Thread

[Feanor]

Update.

All in all we now have two main areas of action, one is the Oskol Front where Russia has resumed offensive operations. The other is Zaporozhye where Ukraine continues their attempts to break through Russian defenses.

Zaporozhye.

Continuing back and forth has so far resulted in nearly no changes at all. Ukraine has made a few incremental gains on the Vremyevskiy bulge but hasn't taken any more villages. The situation is mostly static. Ukrainian attacks towards Rabotino on the Orekhov axis have been also unsuccessful, though Ukraine did manage to take Russian strong points a couple of times, they reportedly lost them to Russian counter-attacks. Around Pyatihatka the situation remains unchanged. Ukraine appears to be unable to hold permanent positions in the village, due to its position in a low lying area.

Another mass loss of Ukrainian vehicles in Zaporozhye. We have what looks like a mech company with a tank pair for support getting hit on a minefield. I count 10 MRAPs and 2 MBTs, though it's unclear if all are destroyed/knocked out. To me the entire episode looks idiotic. We don't see minetrawls on the vehicles, or a mineclearing vehicle ahead of them. I don't see anything that looks like Russian artillery or ATGMs. They appear to just drive into a minefield and explode one after another. It's possible the area was previously deemed clear erroneously or was in fact clear at the time and has since been mined (remote minelaying?) by Russia. I don't see what else would explain this silly nonsense.

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An attack by a Ukrainian tank platoon near Orekhov getting repulsed by BARS-1 and 70th MRRgt.

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Ukraine lost another solid batch of vehicles near Rabotino, namely apparently 5 Bradleys and a mine clearing vehicle. Note the vehicles are acting in a much more dispersed manner, likely an adaption to the failure of compact armored groups trying to make paths through the minefields.

Забой НАТОвской бронетехники у Работино. 10.07.2023

Кадры отражения очередной атаки ВСУ на НАТОвской бронетехники у Работино на Запорожском направлении. Подбито/уничтожено 5 БМП Брэдли и минный тралл. Отработали бойцы 42-й гвардейской мотострелковой дивизии 58-й армии. Отличные картинки к саммиту НАТО.

colonelcassad.livejournal.com

Colonelcassad

Под Ореховым на Запорожском фронте российские подразделения разбили очередную колону с натовской техникой. Это уже десятая подбита колона с момента "контрнаступа". Среди уничтоженной техники БМП Bradley, танки и ББМ. В этом районе уже целая группа кладбищ НАТОвской и украинской техники...

t.me

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A YPR-765 getting hit by Russian artillery, near Rabotino.

Рубрика от Ледка

YPR-765A1 - уничтожен Вблизи с. Работино в Токмакском районе Запорожской области. Морпехи 810-й гвардейской ОБрМП навели артиллерию 58-й ОА на БМП ВСУ. Эксклюзив канала: WarGonzo Источник

t.me

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Allegedly two Leo-2s getting hit by Russian ATGMs. Note we can't make out what's getting hit, but the explosion is significant and they do appear to be moving vehicles.

Уничтожение двух танков "Леопард 2"

А помните времена, когда были соревнования, кто первый уничтожит Леопард или Брэдли... Сейчас это уже рутина. Поражение двух Леопардов операторами ПТРК на Запорожском направлении. За последние сутки противник потерял 3 Леопарда и до 8 БМП…

colonelcassad.livejournal.com

Ukrainian MaxxPro MRAP gets hit in Zaporozhye.

Colonelcassad

"Засадили в лобешник" Наши бойцы уничтожили украинский бронеавтомобиль International MaxxPro производства США на Запорожском направлении.

t.me

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3 destroyed MRAPs in Zaporozhye.

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3 Ukrainian vehicles burn in Zaporozhye, exact axis unclear. We have a T-72EA, a PT-91 (first confirmed loss) and allegedly an APC though the latter is hard to make out. It's basically ripped to pieces. The appearance of a PT-91 suggests a new unit has entered the fight.

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Allegedly 2 Ukrainian BMP-1s, BTS-4 and T-72AV destroyed near Pyatihatka and Lobkovoe. This is likely evidence of the continued back and forth fighting in the area.

Рубрика от Ледка

БМП-1 - уничтожена Западнее с. Лобковое в Запорожской области. Геопривязка LA: (47.521751, 35.427944) БMП подбита бойцами 58-й ОА. Датировано: 16.06.2023. Источник

t.me

Рубрика от Ледка

БМП-1 - уничтожена Западнее с. Лобковое в Запорожской области. Геопривязка: (47.516111, 35.431694) Танк подбит бойцами батальона Судоплатова и 58-й общевойсковой армии. Датировано: 16.06.2023. Источник

t.me

Рубрика от Ледка

БМП-1 - уничтожена Южнее с. Лобковое в Васильевском районе Запорожской области. Привязка: (47.512056, 35.429917) БМП сожжена бойцами 58-й ОА ВС РФ. Датировано: 16.06.2023. Эксклюзив канала: Батальон Судоплатова Источник

t.me

Рубрика от Ледка

БТС-4 - уничтожен Западнее с. Лобковое в Васильевском районе Запорожской области. Привязка: (47.517722, 35.428056) По технике работали бойцы 58-ой ОА. Датировано: 16.06.2023. Эксклюзив канала: Батальон Судоплатова Источник ID LostArmour

t.me

Allegedly a Ukrainian MBT getting hit, Zaporozhye area.

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A small bucket of Ukrainian pickups, I think a Panthera T6, and a VAB, destroyed in Zaporozhye area.

Рубрика от Ледка

Пикап - уничтожен VAB - уничтожен Севернее села Работино Запорожской области. Геопривязка LA: (47.482870, 35.810620) Бронетранспортер и авто подбиты артиллерией (?) Оригинал

t.me

Рубрика от Ледка

Panthera T6 - уничтожена Где-то в зоне СВО. Обстоятельства потери ВСУ данного СБА неизвестны… Оригинал ; Источник

t.me

A Ukrainian AMX-10RC hit near Novodonetskoe, by the 40th MarBde, the second turns around and leaves. The type has reportedly not done well in this war.

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Рубрика от Ледка

AMX-10RCR - уничтожен Северо-западнее нас. пнкт. Новомайорское в Донецкой области. Геопривязка LA: (47.767329, 37.006414) Переданная Францией БРM была подбита 40-й ОБрМП. Источник ; №2

t.me

More Russian Ka-52 fires, Zaporozhye. It's likely they're responsible for at least some of the above wreckage.

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Continuing Russian FPV drone strikes, Zaporozhye.

Colonelcassad

FPV-дроны "Бобров" https://t.me/BOBRMORF гоняют западную бронетехнику на Запорожском направлении.

t.me

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A Russian soldier poses with a M-16, AT-4, and a destroyed Bradley. Allegedly Orekhov axis, so likely near Rabotino. There have been several reported cases of Ukrainian forces capturing an intermediate Russian position and then getting pushed out. This might be the aftermath of such an attack.

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Russian fighter from the Redut PMC posing with destroyed BMP-2 and T-64BV, both allegedly Ukrainian, Zaporozhye region. Redut PMC is an MoD sponsored competitor to Wagner.

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Another Russian soldier posing with destroyed Bradleys. Note, he isn't even wearing his body armor and looks very clean. This suggests that this area is currently under Russian control.

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Ukrainian forces in Zaporozhye area are complaining about Russian forces mining their positions and then deliberately abandoning them. This is part of a pattern of Russian forces withdrawing under any major pushes by Ukrainian forces, but then using artillery to soften Ukrainian forces and then counter-attacking.

Colonelcassad

"Командир, я тебе кинул видео..." ВСУшник жалуется, что ситуация с занятием российских окопов есть серьезная проблема. Окопы минируют перед отходом, ВСУшники в них заходят и подрываются массово на минах. На вырезке второго видео сам момент подрыва. 3 200х. И такой эпизод не единичен...

t.me

We have Ukrainian forces inspecting and preparing to evacuate one of the destroyed vehicle batches in Zaporozhye.

ВСУ благодарит ВС РФ за сохраненные "Леопарды"

gurkhan.blogspot.com

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Ukrainian forces have struck Tokmak. What they have hit is unclear so far.

Colonelcassad

ВСУ обстреляли Токмак из РСЗО. Есть несколько прилетов. Также еще один взрыв в Бердянске (крылатая ракета). Также отрабатывали системы ПВО.

t.me

A Russian rocket-pod pickup, from the 38th MRBde, Zaporozhye area. Again these are signs of desperation and lack of real artillery.

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[Feanor]

Oskol Front.

Russian forces have reportedly entered the outskirts of Torskoe and Ukrainian artillery has been sighted firing into the village suggesting they either called down fire on their own positions to prevent them from being overrun, or Russian forces have a foothold there now. This salient points straight at Krasniy Liman. Note this advance comes on the heels of recent Russian advances in the woods around Kremennaya where Russia has expanded the zone of control around Dibrova, and has pushed Ukrainian forces in the area back towards the river. It's likely these moves were meant to solidify the base of the salient before advancing again. This also threatens Seversk from the north which makes for a likely target for Russia's next offensive, once Ukraine's push is over.

Colonelcassad

С мест подтверждают выход наших сил к Торскому и начале боев на окраине поселка. Сам поселок пока за ВСУ. Никаких подтверждений контроля Торского на данный момент нет, тут некоторые опережают события. От Торского до Красного Лимана примерно 14 км по прямой.

t.me

Colonelcassad

По поводу продвижения в поселке Торское. Исходя из данных геолокации подразделения ВС РФ заняли как минимум часть посёлка, приблизившись вплотную в посёлку Заречное. Исходя из видео, враг накрывает поселок неуправляемыми боеприпасами - это говорит или про наплевательское отношение на...

t.me

Рыбарь

❗️ Кременской участок обстановка по состоянию на 18.00 11 июля 2023 года На Сватовском участке штурмовые отряды 21 мотострелковой бригады ВС РФ наскоком при поддержке артиллерии и армейской авиации заняли высоту в районе Балки Журавка, после чего начали закрепляться на ней. ▪️Противник...

t.me

https://rybar.ru/piwigo/upload/2023/07/11/20230711181613-e40b35d9.jpg

Some grim footage of a failed Ukrainian attack on a Russian position in the woods of Kremennaya. Warning graphic footage.

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Russian SpN allegedly managed to enter a Ukrainian position from an unexpected direction and kill the Ukrainian defenders. In one part you can hear Ukrainian forces yelling "свои свои" which means friendlies. This implies they didn't realize they were under attack.

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The first CV90 destroyed in Ukraine, on the Oskol front.

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Other interesting tidbits.

Russia has reportedly attempted to attack Avdeevka gain, on 3 areas. The attempt to enter the town itself through the summer cottages from the north-east failed, but some ground was gained north and south-west of the town, slightly extending Russian pincers around it. These gains are incremental at best. But as attention is elsewhere the possibility exists that Russia may be able to gain ground here. Note the road north out of Avdeevka is cut, so there is only one good MSR, heading west, towards Lastochkino.

Рыбарь

❗️ Битва за Авдеевку обстановка к исходу 10 июля 2023 года На Авдеевском участке продолжаются упорные бои. Вчера украинские подразделения попытались занять лесополосу севернее Водяного, но артиллерийским огнем гаубичного дивизиона 1453 мсп ВС РФ противник был остановлен. ▪️Воспользовавшись...

t.me

https://rybar.ru/piwigo/upload/2023/07/10/20230710204349-cfc90d2a.jpg

A failed Ukrainian infantry attack near Ugledar. Note they're using a rare BTR-80. These were uncommon in Ukrainian service even pre-war and many were lost. We've had vague reports of Ukrainian attacks in the area but no major terrain changed hands. This is some evidence of that.

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Ukraine struck a Russian HQ in Berdyansk killing lieutenant-general Oleg Tsokov. It's interesting that this is the second time (to my knowledge) that Russia is confirming the loss of a general officer, and each time the confirmation comes fairly quickly and with no attempts to obfuscate. I believe this death is likely true. Note a total of 6 explosions are noted in the town. Storm Shadow is the likely culprit.

Moscow calling

Тем временем, гибель генерал-лейтенанта Олега Цокова в результате удара Storm Shadow по защищённому командному пункту в Бердянске признают и Z-каналы.

t.me

Moscow calling

Сообщают о 6 прилётах по Бердянску (1 и 2 фото, Storm Shadow), и о 8 прилётах по Токмаку (3 фото, возможно Storm Shadow, но скорее HIMARS), а также по Скадовску.

t.me

Colonelcassad

В Бердянске ракетный прилет. PS. Франция подтвердила, что часть ракет SCALP-EM уже переданы на Украину. Речь идет о 50 ракетах.

t.me

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Ukraine has apparently taken responsibility for the explosion on the Crimean bridge last year.

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Rheinmetall appears to be building an armored vehicle repair and assembly plant in western Ukraine next to the Romanian border near the village of Chernotisov. It's possible they hope the nearness to a NATO country's border will make Russia more hesitant to strike it.

Рыбарь

❗️ О возможном расположении будущего завода Rheinmetall на Украине Глава концерна Rheinmetall заявил о соглашении по созданию завода по производству военной техники на Украине, который планируют построить в течении трех месяцев. Хотя он не рассказал о расположении объекта или других деталях...

t.me

https://rybar.ru/piwigo/upload/2023/07/10/20230710193818-9572b034.jpg

Another Russian MT-LB based improvised SPG. I think that's an S-60.

Для защиты от повышенной инсоляции

shushpanzer-ru.livejournal.com

We have first confirmation of Russian use of FAB-250s with gliding bomb kits. Up until now they were only seen on FAB-500s, though the 250 is a more logical choice.

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Colonelcassad

Кто там просил ФАБ-250 с модулем коррекции (УМПК). Все таки наши сталевары смогли сделать то, чего вы так ждали и просили @Aviahub34

t.me

A FAB-500 opening its wings in flight.

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Russia has reportedly starting using Krasnopol' M2 guided shells on the front lines. Their biggest improvements are better accuracy due to being able to open control surfaces one by one, and increased range of up to 26 kms. Getting outraged by western artillery has been a major problem for Russia and this helps, but doesn't resolve the issue.

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Ukraine has reportedly begun using modified S-200 missiles to strike into Russian territory. So far these strikes seem to be very ineffective. It's possible they're being used to draw fire and map out Russian air defense coverage.

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A damaged Russian T-90M and BMPT at a repair facility. The BMPTs in general haven't been seen lately.

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Russian forces using an M-46 130mm howitzer. This is a 1950s era howitzer. It's possible it's being used due to shells sourced from elsewhere. They're certainly much better then MT-12s or T-55s for indirect fires.

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Germany will reportedly supply two Patriot TELs, 25 Leo-1s, 40 Marders, 5 Bergenpanzer, and 20 000 artillery shells. Leo-1s are roughly the same age as Russian T-62s. The delivery of separate Patriot TELs suggests that Russia did destroy some, likely in that strike where a Patriot cosplayed an MLRS quite successfully, before several impacts were seen.

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[seaspear]

Do you have any knowledge of the situation with General Gerasimov ?

 

[Dead Money]

Russia Isn’t Going to Run Out of Missiles

As Russian missile attacks against Ukraine persist into 2023, it has become clear that Russia isn’t going to run out of missiles. Sustained support for Ukrainian air defenses for the duration of the war is the only reliable counter to this threat.

www.csis.org

Acknowledgement from one of Western Leading Think Tank that Russian MIC production of missiles and armaments will never slown down despite all the sanctions? Or another justifications for more Air Defense systems from West to Ukraine.

Take a pick, because it can be seen both ways.

Looks like both to me. The report claims sanctions are limiting/impacting Russian missile production, which I think is believable.

The media often views sanctions in a very binary manner, as if they either completely stop a particular thing, or the sanctions have failed completely. It's good to see some nuance out there.

Of course as you say, they have their own underlying views to push regarding what the US and partners should do.

 

[ngatimozart]

Do you have any knowledge of the situation with General Gerasimov ?

Gerasimov made a public appearance in a televised meeting of the Russian high command.

The Russian military chief who was targeted in a June rebellion has surfaced in a video

Russia’s Defense Ministry has released a video of the country’s military chief. The video made public on Monday is the first time Gen.

apnews.com

Ukrainian updates.

 

[ngatimozart]

Russian VBIED destroyed by UKR drone.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1674810259251003392

Destruction of a Russian 152mm Msta-S systems battery by UKR forces.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1675133004614696962

UKR drone destroying Russian drone with a hand grenade.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1675678548109950976

Russian T-55 tanks at Vornezh.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1676560098250960899

 

[KipPotapych]

So no invitation for Ukraine. Common sense prevailed for now, as expected. No ATACMS yet either. That’s probably just “yet” though. Sorry, the article is behind the paywall, but I am not copying any parts this time (basically, not many such missiles exist (4,000 were produced) and the ones that do are meant for other threats, but they are debating to send some)

Biden Administration Is Quietly Debating Whether to Send Ukraine ATACMS Missiles (Published 2023)

The United States already has plans for its limited stock of long-range Army Tactical Missile Systems.

www.nytimes.com

Macron said they are going to send some SCALP’s to Ukraine (the article linked above mentions it as well, so no links to other sources). Yesterday, a few Russian media outlets reported citing AFP that the missiles are already in Ukraine. I didn’t look much at all for confirmation, but from a very brief search nothing came up confirming the latter. So here is the TASS article saying the same thing citing AFP again (the missiles were already in Ukraine when Macron made the announcement, according to a NATO source as provided by AFP):

France already supplied SCALP missiles to Ukraine — AFP

On a side note, a NYT article reported a few days ago that the dud rate of the American provided cluster munitions is significantly higher than what has been officially stated by the Pentagon or Biden administration.

Cluster Weapons U.S. Is Sending Ukraine Often Fail to Detonate (Published 2023)

The Pentagon’s statements indicate that the cluster munitions that will be sent to Ukraine contain older grenades known to have a failure rate of 14 percent or more.

www.nytimes.com

The US seems to have gone out of their way to justify this (in my opinion extremely) embarrassing move (and the fairly silent nod from the EU and other partners, especially Canada, is, perhaps, even more embarrassing). Note that on the day of the official confirmation that the cluster munitions to be sent to Ukraine, Biden announced that after 30 years of tireless work by the US, the last of the munitions from their chemical stockpile have been destroyed and the world is now a better place. Source: Statement from President Joe Biden on Completing the Destruction of the United States’ Chemical Weapons Stockpile | The White House. From the Ukrainian side, they have a saying along the lines of “sgorela hata, pust’ gorit zabor”, which means that since the house burned, let the fence burn too. Which seems to be par for the course.

Russians also had something to say about the cluster munitions, but I am not willing to look for the sources at the moment, so I am going to pass on their statements for the time being.

 

[Stuart M]

UKR drone destroying Russian drone with a hand grenade.

We have seen this before;
Next it will be drone destroys drone with machine guns, followed by mass engagement of drone formations (some of which will be brightly coloured drones) , in due course they will be much larger, jet propelled, armed with missiles, steathed and costing 150mil each.

 

[Ananda]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1678990661943525376

Seems Russians claim to took an operating Bradley. It will be their first one, after string of destroyed ones. Not much use for Russian, asside some propaganda video now. If this is really operational, it is just matter of time it will end up in Moscow central Square.

 

[Feanor]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1678990661943525376

Seems Russians claim to took an operating Bradley. It will be their first one, after string of destroyed ones. Not much use for Russian, asside some propaganda video now. If this is really operational, it is just matter of time it will end up in Moscow central Square.

In the video they claim they will use an MT-LB (motolyga) to pull it out. This seems unlikely given their weight, though the MT-LB does have impressive off-road mobility and is designed for towing things. If they manage to pull this out it will likely require an MBT or BREM.

 

[seaspear]

This article from the Drive Warzone has a few articles on the current war in Ukraine , I have included because it is without the hyperbole you usually find attached to utube commentary that is becoming increasingly harder to discriminate accuracy from propaganda
Ukraine Situation Report: Antonovsky Bridgehead Holds | The Drive

 

[Feanor]

Assault Unit Kerch.

I'm going to provide a full translation of the text because it's an interesting description of a successful Russian assault on a Ukrainian position provided by a service member that participated in the assault. I'm going to keep the language as close to the original as possible. I'll add my comments where needed to clear up the meaning of the text. - Feanor

When the Ukrainian offensive began we were getting sent to reinforce various strong points where intelligence indicated an offensive was likely. We went out often but Ukrainian forces didn't always reach our positions. So we were often moral support for the mobilized personnel. The backbone of our platoon is 20 fighters, and another 10 drivers, radio operators, and generally useful people. That's how we fight.

In one beautiful moments the Ukrainians slightly pushed back some muscovites from the *** regiment. Everything started as a typical strengthening. We were divided into teams of 6. Each team would spend 72 hours on the position, then get taken for rest. We just sit and wait, we don't know what kind of assignment we will get. The first six people sat around. And on the third day UAF trying to enter our position. They were riding two IFVs, trying to bring dismounts to a strip of forest in the no-man's land, so that they would be sitting there before the assault. One IFV hit a land mine, and ours started shooting at the dismounts. The Ukrainian calmed down, it was quiet all day. We came, sat down to drink tea, asked where, and what dugout to take. In this moment the company commander gets information that Ukrainians are on the tenth position. There were 3 mobilized soldiers holding it, that saw Ukrainians and fled. They were 3 against 20 so heroics would have been pointless.

Tenth position - is a small hill, a rise between two forest strips. Everything around it is burned out with tanks and artillery, trees burned down. And that's the position Ukrainian forces took. They broke through to the next position but were stopped by mobilized personnel. We also went to fire a machinegun, and helped evacuate a wounded. But we didn't work further. We sat all day under fires. 3 Grad volleys, tanks, and even an airplane came. By the evening we were reinforced by that first six that we swapped out.

Muscovites didn't manage to dig full trenches yet. They had two prepared positions, the rest were dugouts not connected by trenches. So we had to run across the surface. And we had to run to position No. 8. So we start running, and at one moment I saw; o an airplane, it's going to hit Ukrainians. They tell me; no, he's flying from the wrong side. I looked out and saw, really, the Stork (nickname for the Su-25 - F)is coming from the wrong side. I said; no way, it must be ours, Ukrainians don't hvae an airforce.... BOOM!! Damn, unguided rockets. He missed. We got lucky. He was flying really dangerously, low, turned around, and I saw, really, a giant trident on the tail, very visible. I was surprised. It's a terrible thing, it's good he missed - he was coming in very quickly. If he struck the fifth position, where we had many people, it would have been really bad. We ran to the position under tank fires. But it got dark, he stopped shooting (presumably "he" is the tank - F), and left, and we started shooting at the Ukrainians. Our people are experienced and learned, they understood that attacking now is nonsense, so we started firing at Ukrainian positions with RPG and AGS-17. We have a young kid, Athlete, he's only turning 19 soon. He's in the hospital right now in Crimea, second wound in two weeks. But then he decided to come with us, jumped in the car at the last minute, like a movie; "I'm going!" - it was too late to kick him out. He shot five times with an RPG, missed, but the sixth time he hit them, we could even hear the screams.

After that his stitches in his back came open, he had an unhealed wound, from shrapnel, from a tank shell. We laid him down to sleep, and lad down ourselves. At night ours became active, shot at Ukrainian reinforcements, didn't let them approach. Morning around seven we got up, drank some water, had breakfast, brushed our teeth. I had time to watch a movie, "Brilliant policeman" on my phone. And they told us, that's it, time to attack. On the radio some officer said; "Who takes the position, we give them an order of Bravery!" We decided they were joking about the order, but of course we still went.

We divided up into teams, I was the third. We took grenades. Not enough, by the way.
The oldest in our group, Odessa - he is really from Odessa - was cursing ous afterwards; "I told you, idiots, four grenades on your flak, two in the grenade pouch. Who from your sports team took four grenades on their flak? You, you, but what about the rest?" But the rest didn't pay attention and didn't do it.
Odessa is a private, he enlisted in the Russian AF recently, after being wounded, when he couldn't serve in Wagner due to health. But in this mission he was the senior man.

So, we approached Ukrainian positions. Before this out FPV-drone hit them, our POW later told us, the drone wounded 3, and the Ukrainians hid. It's the first time when we jump into a trench, and nobody is shooting at us.

We went on foot there, the distance is 500 meters. We moved slowly through the forest strip. We looked carefully, thought Ukrainians would mine everything - they did mine, in principle, just not where we walked. The last dash - eighty meters. And we took off, all four of us!. Me, Shmyga, and Horse. Shmyga - is a 19 year old kid, a meter tall if you include his hat, last time I told about him, he's the one who likes anime girls. Horse is also new, 18 years old, went to war instead of serving his normal draft time. The fourth - Little, is a guy from Donetsk with a long service history and a difficult life. He has a concussion but doesn't want to rest. He, after 2014, really doesn't like Ukrainians.

We jumped into a trench all four - I was first. Behind us Leshiy also came - a bearded man, who later shows up in the photo we took with the Bradley, - and we started shooting. We poked up out of the trenches, firing, meanwhile ours went to flank, and me and Shmyga were left. Shmyga went forward, I covered him. Some Ukrainian tried to come up on us, Shmyga fired on him, emptied a magazine - and suddenly from a foxhole on the side another Ukrainian comes out. He fumbled, Shmyga jumped away, I emptied a magazine at him, but didn't hit him. Shmyga threw one grenade, then another - and we hear a yell "I done!"
Shymga said; "You better watch it!" Took him by his collar, pulled him out of the foxhol, here me and Google, our forward observer, he came up from behind, yell; "Drop your weapon!" Shmyga also yells; "Guy, drop the rifle!" And he threw his rifle aside. Shmyga yells; "You were taken prisoner by an 19 year old kid!!!" (note he uses a curse word in place of kid but I don't know how to translate it without losing meaning - F)

 

[Feanor]

He was slightly choked out by Odessa, to tie him up, like George Floyda. But it was ok, and in the end it all ended well, he came to. We grabbed the Ukrainian and startedmoving through the trenches. We took fire form the firing holes. I threw a grenade into a trench where another Ukrainian sat, he climbed into a dugout. Horse ran up, also threw a grenade.

We yellew; "Ukrainian, are you still alive?!" - "AAA!" - "Will you surrender?" - "Glory to Ukraine!" - "Well, then we don't need it!" He was trying to pull out his first aid kit, but Horse ran in, and turned him into a sieve. We took his radio. On it we heard how many threehundreds and twohundreds, who and where (300 - WIA, 200 - KIA, Soviet era military terms - F)

Guys moved forward, exchanged fire with the Ukrainians, got a couple of headshots, came out, and shot a fleeing Ukrainian in the back. I fell behind, the trench there was smashed, boards everywhere, and I'm large I don't fit. And Google - he's awkward. Next the trenches were complete buried, and the Ukrainians couldn't hid well. But the scariest started when the Ukrainian started throwing grenades. These are American grenade, you can't hear the activation very well. It flies at you, you can't figure out what landed. It's scare, in reality, a weapon - can land and you won't even hear anything. There a grenade fell on a bag in front of the trench, I fell on my back and covered my head with hands thinking, this is it, but it was fine. It exploded on the parapet. We threw a couple of their grenade back.

In this moment we almost got into a fight. Leshiy was walking back, and in the trench he ran into Google, whose flash hider on the rifle was hot, and he burned his cheek by accident. Both stood up and started to square up. Really orcs, damn. And Shmyga was like; "Guys don't fight, we have to kill Ukrainians!" - a real gremlin.
It was all close by, and on the captured radio we can hear "Orcs are fighting amongst themselves! Are they insane? Must be convicts!" Then we stopped shooting and waited for more grenades, and the securing team approaches behind us - those who were supposed to stay on this position. And I hear on the radio "And what, where are the orks? - They must have left already". We started firing towards them, so they wouldn't think life is all great, and there ; "Oh, no, they're still there".

I entered a dugout to clear - and the securing team followed us in. I can see the entire battlefield, and just keep shooting in different directions, so the Ukrainians wouldn't poke their heads up. I'm standing and suddenly notice from our platoon there's nobody but Shmyga. Shmyga went to check the trenches. Really, he says, nobody left. We already brought the securing team in, and our platoon was pulling back. But I was shooting and didn't hear anything, my ears were ringing. The securing team is filling the threnches, we tell them go there and there. I stand there shooting at Ukrainians, and Shmyga is siting there, filming a video diary.

All this time a drone flew overhead, correcting who is where, a tank covered us, mortars fired on retreating Ukrainians. The tank destroyed a vehicle that was trying to bring reinforcements, mortars fired on the forest strip where Ukrainians came through, and hit a team there that was trying to evacuate their wounded. On the radio Google, he worked with Odessa directing tank and artillery, informing headquarters what's happening. In general with support and comms everything was great. As a result we got lost only after the whole thing was done.

And here a Ukrainian walked very calmly. With a weapon. He was covered by the parapet to the waist. Looking at me. I'm in multicam with no markings. I say to him "Who are you?" - not who but "who" (with a Ukrainian accent - F). And he says; Taras Petrenko. I: "What are you doing here?" - and here behind me the commander of the securing team, callsign Dumbass. He came without a kevlar, but in a black cap on it is a giant white Z. And the Ukrainian saw this and said; "Surrender". And slowly like in a western is raising his rifle. I told him "Put away your weapon". After this we exchange fire point blank. Taras Petrenko hid behind the parapet. We threw to Fs (F-1 grenades - F) but it seems he crawls quickly, he crawled away like a cockroach. A very lucky person. Too bad he got away - he had cool ballistic glasses, it if worked out I would have taken them. After this we were done, the securing team took the position, and me and Shmyga quickly ran back to our starting position. And we started taking fire. I went a little deaf - a bullet flew near by. I thought something like "Damn it Taras, what are you doing".

We retreat, but everything is only beginning, because the Ukrainians are angry, and they start striking all our positions, with everything they had. We took fires from the Poles - Polish 62mm mortar, very quiet, but we heard the shells launching, so the positions were really close. We took fire from artillery tubes, Grads, two tanks. For the tanks - thanks to our Ka-52s - they hit them right in the middle of the fight. They got knocked out right in front of me.
We got back to friendly lines. I was like; Odessa, let me take my kevlar off real quick, I'm hot as hell, and need to tuck in my stuff. I took off my flak and kevlar, tucked everything in, put it back on, and suddenly a mortar shell hit the parapt right in front of me, I lost hearing. I ran down the trenches, because I see a drone hanging over us, and he's guiding their artillery on us. The problem is the unit that was here before us took their anti-drone rifle, the only one on the position. I'm not mad at them, it's their weapon, they didn't know the next unit wouldn't have one. Our platoon's drone rifle had broken that time. We just got lucky that nobody got hit.

I stepped out of the trench, we're retreating, there was Athlete with his open stitches, and Volga, another guy that was covering our flank - quite well actually. And we hear a drone really close and understand that it's an FPV. We hid under a buch, sitting waiting. Artillery stopped, and we can hear it buzzing. It got close, flew back, and suddenly we hear it accelerating - flying at us. The operator seemingly at first was unsure but they figured out we were sitting there. We jumped, Volga jumped into a trench, I didn't get a good look.

In front of me the grass burns, a fallen tree burns, I jumped over all of it like that clip of Buynov about the VDV. Ahead a see a trench, jump in, overhead a drone flies. BOOM! But I'm in the trench.

I'm out of strength, and can't hear. I flipped over, and like a turtle crawled to the dugout. There a mobilized says what, I tell him "Water!" - he gives me a five liter, and I drank a liter and a half in one go.

And there Grad fire begins again. I lay there curled up and a piece of shrapnel flies into the trench. It was so hot it burned through my pant leg and burned my ass a little. I thought I was wounded. I thought damn, just got done shooting, grenades, drones, everything ok, and now some junk and in my ass! But the guy said: no it's ok. And I understand it's just burned pants.

Then our squad organized the mobilized personnel for defense, because Dumbass was also concussed. But ours didn't take any KIA, so that was already good.

Overall it was a successful day. We took 6 kevlars, 3 rifles, a flak, and a Ukrainian. When we got back, the POW was sitting at the bottom of th trench, I was looking for my pack; it was picked up by mistake by our muscovites - Dantes, damn, if you are reading this, the headphones there cost money, give them back. And here sits our POW, when I climbed over him, accidentally stepped on him. I say; damn, I'm sorry. He says, no big deal. Also a WIA from another post was sitting there. He said to us "Guys you're pretty cool, but it's pretty scary going with you".
After that our platoon took a Bradley. Our guys went to the position that was assaulted, and took an abandoned Bradley. There was some fire, and the Ukrainians fled. In that moment, when he was rolling out, the Marines that were next to there hit it, and the crew fled.=

As Google says; "the emotions are unreal, boys sign up for our assault platoon".

Written down by Eugene Norin

Штурмовой отряд «Керчь»

Как воюют парни, захватившие «Брэдли»

readovka.space

 

[Larry_L]

Another t-55 tank in Ukraine. The surprise is that it was destroyed by Russia, and operated by Ukraine. Looking at their history, I find that these tanks came from Slovenia after they were upgraded by the Israeli firm Elbit. The upgrades include ERA, a stabilized 105mm gun, and a new fire control system. They were labeled as the T-55s, and delivered to Ukraine in the amount of 28 units.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1679504540058501120

Super-Upgraded M-55S Tanks Have Arrived In Ukraine

The gun is what makes the M-55S valuable to Ukraine. The British gun is compatible with a wide range of modern ammunition, including armor-piercing sabot rounds that can penetrate the armor of a modern T-72.

www.forbes.com

In all the controversy over cluster ammunition, the UK is quietly delivering depleted uranium AT rounds to Ukraine. The US has agreed to provide the ammunition also with the Abrams tanks. I had thought that this had already been provided alon with the Bradley IFV's, although have heard nothing about that.

The other controversial munition being sent to Ukraine

While the news focuses on cluster munitions headed to Ukraine, depleted uranium rounds are already there. They could slaughter Russian tanks.

www.wearethemighty.com

 

[Feanor]

Now for some thoughts on the text. As with any first hand narrative sources, we can't just read this and take it completely at face value. Story tellers will always aim to paint themselves in a better light. And if you've ever read post-battle reports, you will notice participants often disagree about what happened even when they're on the same side. Also it's quite important what is chosen for telling. This isn't a complete story of their combat history, just one episode, according to the teller himself a good one. Implying there are bad ones that didn't look like this. You'll also note why this is being told. The teller is encouraging people to join their formations. Lastly it's important to consider who is talking. Not only is this a Russian source, but this is a volunteer assault unit operating as an independent platoon. While not quite SpN, these are motivated professional soldiers that are there because they choose to be. Some might be younger, but are clearly trained up by the older ones. With all of this in mind.

So first and foremost what sticks out is how they distinguish both regular units (marines for example) and themselves, from the general mobilized personnel. They clearly don't have a high opinion of them. And you'll notice that they're being used to reinforce positions of mobilized personnel in areas where combat is likely. In other words a team of these guys is likely to make the mobilized unit more effective by taking charge in combat and coordinating the most difficult parts, namely retaking a lost position. You'll also note that they didn't expect the mobilized unit to fight all that hard, treating their abandonment of the position as natural. 3 against 20 are not great odds. But why were there only 3 there to begin with? What was the company commanders plan for such a scenario if this Storm platoon was not available?

Second off you'll notice that this is entire engagement is fought by either a squad plus, or maybe a platoon at most if you count everyone, and a composite formation at that. Yet they had support from mortars and tanks on their own side, and took fire from artillery, tanks, and air from the enemy side. In other words this is clearly some high priority area where something important was going on.

Third off, you'll notice that the Ukrainian forces they were up against don't seem to be the best. Which somewhat clashes with the last point. This contradiction can't be readily be resolved with just the information available. There are possible explanations, one of them being the traditional "nowhere does one lie as much as when telling hunting stories".

Fourth off, the unit in question doesn't seem to be great on ranks. The senior man on an assault is a private who only recently enlisted? It implies prior service within Wagner, but then why is he a private here? This is a continuing tradition of problems with the NCO level with the Russian armed forces. In general there is not only a shortage of NCOs, but in units that do well the role gets taken over informally by the most experienced personnel. Which can help in combat but doesn't address the wider roles that NCOs play as coaches, mentors, and leaders for their teams. It's likely the lack of good NCOs has a lot to do with the poor performance of the mobilized personnel. Personally I can't help but wonder if this platoon would be more useful dispersed among a btln of mobilized personnel and used as NCOs. This is a continuing pattern of very inconsistent Russian military performance. There are Russian units that will rain down fire and brimstone on Ukrainian forces. If the entire military looked that way, this would be a different war. But there are many others where performance is somewhere between awful and ok. You'll note our narrator claims the callsign of the commander of the securing team is Dumbass. Something tells me that's not his real call sign. Something else tells me he's probably from the mobilized unit they're with.

The positions themselves in this example don't seem to be all that elaborate or well prepared. This raises questions about where this is taking place. On the one hand Russia has had a lot of time to dig in. But no trenches between dugouts? On the other hand Ukraine hasn't gotten very deep into Russian defenses. Again unclear but a seeming contradiction.

EDIT: To be clear this is the story of that unit that posed for the picture with the captured Bradley. Also, "Google" is the call sign of their radio operator/maps guy.

 

[Larry_L]

To add to the confusion around Prigozhin's "excursion" in Russia, Igor Girkin, aka Strelkov, says that he "is forced to seriously consider" another persons claim that Prigozhin was successful. Girkin is one of the few people who seem able to pubicaly say whatever they wish without retrobution.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1679070151465992192

ISW's take on Girkin's motivation for talking like that.

Quote:
"Girkin’s claims are likely part of his ongoing effort to diminish Russian political and domestic support for a potential ceasefire in the war in Ukraine, but his targeting of specific members of Putin’s inner circle is notable. Girkin has repeatedly accused Prigozhin of being part of the faction arguing in favor of freezing the lines in Ukraine while Girkin has argued in favor of a grinding, protracted war effort, as ISW has previously reported.[28] Kiriyenko in particular is a prominent Kremlin mouthpiece for domestic policy and occupation matters. Kiriyenko has reportedly positioned himself to expand his political reach in recent years, including into education development, oversight of regional elections, development of the Russian internet and information bloc, and political nongovernmental organizations.[29] Russian opposition outlet Meduza, citing sources within the presidential administration, previously reported that Kiriyenko is attempting to position himself as a possible successor to Putin.[30] Meduza’s sources saw Kiriyenko’s lack of connection to regional governments or businesses as undermining his prospects but noted that Kiriyenko is likely able to overcome these issues. Girkin is most likely attempting to portray Prigozhin as a direct threat to Putin’s regime in order to encourage harsher Kremlin action against Prigozhin and discourage any efforts to freeze the front in Ukraine. Girkin may be trying to discredit Kiriyenko and other claimed Prigozhin patrons to undermine any support that Prigozhin may have among any possible remaining prominent patrons.[31]"

Source:

Institute for the Study of War

The Group of Seven (G7) Coalition and NATO signed agreements to offer Ukraine long-term security commitments during the NATO Summit in Vilnius on July 12. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that NATO has agreed on a three-part package that

www.understandingwar.org

Putin may be facing plot from inner circle, warns Igor Girkin

The former commander said Wagner's mutiny had redistributed power among the Russian president's inner circle.

www.newsweek.com

Former Russian commander in Ukraine says Moscow was unprepared for a protracted war and is now 'heading for military defeat'

Igor Girkin, who once led a group of Russian militants in Donetsk, said Moscow is sleepwalking toward defeat in Ukraine, per Ukrayinska Pravda.

www.businessinsider.com

If nothing else, Prigozhin let other Russians who were having doubts that they were not alone. Gen. Ivan Popov recently tried to better the situation for his troops who were apparently over-tasked, and undersupplied. He was dismissed. The first link is a verbal interpatation of a recording he made privately to his officers.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1679376592131194880

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1679070151465992192

Ukraine war: Russian general fired after criticising army leaders

Gen Ivan Popov says he refused to keep quiet over issues at the front line in Ukraine.

www.bbc.com

 

[Feanor]

Another t-55 tank in Ukraine. The surprise is that it was destroyed by Russia, and operated by Ukraine. Looking at their history, I find that these tanks came from Slovenia after they were upgraded by the Israeli firm Elbit. The upgrades include ERA, a stabilized 105mm gun, and a new fire control system. They were labeled as the T-55s, and delivered to Ukraine in the amount of 28 units.

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1679504540058501120

Super-Upgraded M-55S Tanks Have Arrived In Ukraine

The gun is what makes the M-55S valuable to Ukraine. The British gun is compatible with a wide range of modern ammunition, including armor-piercing sabot rounds that can penetrate the armor of a modern T-72.

www.forbes.com

So, these are apparently now in the 67th Mech Bde. They were originally sighted in the 47th Assault Bde. The 47th has been actively involved in current combat according to reports, in Zaporozhye. And we haven't seen hide nor hair of the T-55s. It seems likely they got something more modern, and the T-55s went to a secondary area where unfortunately for them they're on the receiving end of a Russian offensive effort out of Kremennaya. This is also the spot where we saw a CV90 destroyed. It's possible the same unit is using both, though that's not clear.

 

[ngatimozart]

Apparently Gen Popov was good at his job. From his farewell to his troops he sounds like a soldier's soldier. The Russian head shed, aka bull$hit castle, (MOD) seem to be bent upon removing all the capable generals. Surovikin was another one who knew his way around a battlefield. General Tsokov who was killed the other day in an alleged Storm Shadow strike was supposed to have been good at his job too. Makes one wonder if Girkin isn't partially right.

The Russian Foreign Minister, Lavrov, has claimed that the provision of F-16s to Ukraine is a nuclear threat. More dumb attempts at waving the nuclear sabre. He claims that because they are capable of carrying nukes they are a threat to Russia. AFAIK Ukraine doesn't have any nukes (Russia received all of those in the 1990s) and sure as your bum points to the ground, France, UK & US aren't going to provide any to Ukraine.

Ukrainian claims that the they have penetrated Russian lines near Vuldehar. No breakout though.

Interesting story on UKR Partisans fighting behind Russian lines.

General Ben Hodges (US Army Ret'd) on Biden's reluctance to admit Ukraine to NATO.

 

[Dex]

Does anyone know how the Russian Elite Special Forces performed in this war? Are they on the battlefield? How did they do? I remember videos back in the day claiming that they had the best special forces in the world.

@Feanor

 

[Redlands18]

Does anyone know how the Russian Elite Special Forces performed in this war? Are they on the battlefield? How did they do? I remember videos back in the day claiming that they had the best special forces in the world.

@Feanor

Must be the best in the world, they are trained to throw entrenching tools