Even as Ukrainian forces breached the first line of Russia’s defenses on part of the southern front, soldiers who participated in the counteroffensive revealed how difficult it is to make further gains in the face of complex fortifications.
Ukrainian units say they have taken the village of Robotyne in the Zaporizhzhia region and are advancing on several others in a bid to bring the strategic center of Tokmak within artillery range.
A soldier communications specialist named Oleksandr Solonko has written at length about the challenges of making progress in the area, and his account is supported by others.
First, he says, topography matters: fields, villages, relatively flat terrain.
“Whoever it is, an assault group… an evacuation mission, an aerial or ground reconnaissance, its movement is visible from afar. The enemy has been preparing to face him for a long time,” Solonko wrote on social media.
“There are a limited number of access roads and logistical routes. Everything was bombed repeatedly every day. It is almost certain that you are being located. It’s basically impossible to get the job done while remaining completely invisible to the enemy.”
Solonko also claims that Russian fortifications are elaborate.
“There is a whole system of trenches, dugouts, real tunnels in places… automatic grenade launchers, machine guns, anti-tank missile systems, anti-tank ditches and minefields stretch across the fields,” he wrote. “What is not unearthed is explored. We need to go through all this to move forward.”
In recent weeks, several reports have spoken of Ukrainians making slow progress as they attempt to clear a wide variety of mines, some wire-detonated, which are heavily deployed as a first line of defense by the Russians.
It is unclear whether minefields are dense on Russian lines, where they could interfere with Russian forces’ own maneuverability.
“Those who are very pink-eyed and believe that the Ukrainian Armed Forces took too long to drive the Russians out of the village of Robotyne did not see the system of defenses that had to be overcome in order to drive the Russians away from the Mariupol highway and approach the village. A lot of work has been done,” Solonko wrote.
“Our positions in the retaken territory are surrounded by mines and wires. Paths are being made to enter, gradually clearing the territory, ”he added.
On Friday (25), a Ukrainian officer from a front-line unit told the CNN that the open terrain was a challenge.
“Drones are hovering in the sky all the time, both ours and theirs. Therefore, it is impossible to hide any movement of equipment, any maneuver becomes immediately known to the enemy and the bombardments begin either with artillery or drones”, he reinforces.
The official said that unlike Bakhmut, a city captured by the Russians in May after months of fighting, there were no cellars to take shelter. “Here there are only open fields and bombed forest plantations, of which practically nothing is left.”
Analysts say there are deeply ingrained defenses further down the line. Satellite images from the village of Solodka Balka, seven kilometers south of Robotyne, show steel-reinforced communications trenches, vehicle shelters and dragon’s teeth designed to obstruct Ukrainian armor.
Intelligence analyst Emil Kastehelmi notes that “the Russians have built communication trenches from 100 to 350 meters in length, which helps them to reinforce or retreat from combat positions”.
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“Heavy fortifications are built to block any potential advance on the main road towards Tokmak,” Kastehelmi said on Sunday (27).
In its most recent frontline assessment, the Institute for the Study of War, a Washington-based think tank, assessed Ukraine’s troop advance.
“Ukrainian forces are now within striking distance of the next series of Russian defensive positions, which appear to be made up of a relatively tighter population of anti-tank ditches and anti-tank obstacles, with Russian fighting positions behind these obstacles similar to the previous layer of Russian defenses.”
“The highly interlinked systems of trenches and shelters that the Ukrainian soldier described are the result of months of Russian preparation,” he said. “It is unclear whether Russian forces extended this system over a subsequent series of defensive positions further south.”
Solonko also acknowledged the loss of Ukrainian armor in the region “due to enemy air superiority”.
“Air-guided bombs are one of the biggest fears. Russians use them on a large scale. I cannot assess accuracy, but the weapon has formidable power,” he wrote in one of his posts.
The Russians are extensively using drones for surveillance and targeting Ukrainian positions, according to Solonko. “They identify targets and launch lancets in swarms, much like guided bombs.”
However, he also writes that the vehicles donated by the US are saving lives. “We spoke with a soldier who twice survived a direct attack on Bradley. Even the most damaged equipment is pulled out and taken in for repair.”
Solonko also believes that Robotyne’s capture bodes well for the offensive despite the many obstacles.
“I can understand why the Russians are so angry about the loss of the six street village. They did a great job of not letting the Ukrainians through. It’s easier to defend by all standards. We’re doing a great job moving forward. And when we are successful, it means that our work is going better.”
Source: CNN Brasil
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