Ukrainians Annihilate Russian Naval Infantry (Again) At Vuhledar

Russia's Naval Infantry (Marines in NATO parlance) are among the few trained troops they have left after a year of fruitless war in Ukraine. 

That they are being sacrificed in senseless attacks on well defended Ukrainian positions suggests that for Russian generals, desperation to please Putin outweighs longer term strategic planning. JL 

Kos reports in Daily Kos:

Unlike Wagner fodder around Bakhmut, naval infantry troops launched their operation with armor. It just didn’t last long against Ukrainian anti-armor defenses, leaving exposed infantry to fend for themselves. We don’t see them often anymore, but Ukrainian troops still have Javelins. Losing hundreds of Naval Infantry soldiers reverberated around Russia. This is a huge problem, losing more of the few remaining “elite” trained forces left in its ranks. Just as importantly, it shows Russian generals are incapable of learning from their mistakes.

Back in early November, some of Russia’s best remaining troops—their Naval Infantry (we call them “marines”)—stormed the town of Pavlivka in southeastern Ukraine. While they eventually captured the town (or at the very least, forced Ukraine to withdraw and leave it a “gray” area, as in the map below), the operation was horrifically costly. 

Unlike Bakhmut, where Russian prisoners are doing the brunt of the dying, losing hundreds of Naval Infantry soldiers reverberated around Russia. Its nationalist blogger community on Telegraph was livid. People demanded heads roll for the massive loss of life! Eventually the furor died, but the whole sordid affair sent notice that good Russian army forces shouldn’t be treated like Wagner cannon fodder or conscripts. 

Except, there were two problems:

1. Pavlivka was never the goal of the operation, it was next-door Vuhledar. Unlike the siege of Bakhmut, Vuhledar actually has strategic value. From its heights, Ukraine has shorter-ranger artillery coverage of critical rail and road links servicing much of the front. So the effort, by necessity, had to be eventually restarted; and 

2. Russia doesn’t have leadership capable of learning from its mistakes, or adapting strategy to, say, “minimize casualties.” So once again, just like in November, Russia’s naval infantry is getting massacred in this corner of the map.

We can take special note of the consistent use of air-burst artillery for the first time this war (at least on publicly-released video). Air burst explodes above infantry, raining shrapnel down on them. It is less effective against protected infantry. But as Russia runs out of armor and sends its unprotected fodder forward, we’ve seen greater use of it. 

Unlike Wagner fodder around Bakhmut, these naval infantry troops actually launched their operation with armor. It just didn’t last long against Ukrainian anti-armor defenses, leaving exposed infantry to fend for themselves. We don’t see them often anymore, but Ukrainian troops still have Javelins to throw at Russia’s dwindling armor.

So far, it hasn’t worked. Russia has had stunning success leveling Vuhledar, no success in taking it. Not that it has stopped Russian from claiming, repeatedly this past week, of great successes in their attacks. Yet the visual evidence is clear. And today, war criminal Igor Girkin, the former head of the Luhansk and Donetsk militias, a rabid Russian nationalist, and fierce war criminal, was dismissive of Russian claims: 

"In Vuhledar, the statements about a breakthrough as expected, turned out to be a lie (expectedly, because [the Russian governor of occupied Donetsk] Denis Pushilin shouted the loudest - and he is an expert on lies, theft and cheating). Now the troops trying to storm it are in an extremely disadvantageous position."

I’ve seen pictures on Telegram of entire trenches overflowing with their dead marines. I won’t link, because I wish I hadn’t seen. 

Again, this is a huge problem for Russia, losing more of the few remaining “elite” trained forces left in its ranks. And, just as importantly, it shows that Russian generals are incapable of learning from their mistakes, dooming their hapless soldiers to an endless cycle of death and misery. And more importantly, more death and misery for Ukraine itself.