Ukrainian Forces Breach Russian Defensive Line At Robotyne

The Ukrainians continue to make incremental progress against Russian defenses along most points of the front line. 

That the Russians have been unable to prevent these advances, let alone counterattack, is a significant achievement and one that has received too little attention. JL 

Euromaidan Press reports:

Ukrainians finally confirmed that they breached the last line of defense in front of Robotyne. Since the counteroffensive operation is still in the early stages, and Russians still have not burnt through their accumulated personnel and equipment, Ukrainians found out that the best tactic that ensures that even the freshest and most equipped Russian units break and retreat is continuous assault.

Ukrainians finally confirmed that they breached the last line of defense in front of Robotyne and that Russian forces now only have the settlement itself to rely on. Today Ukrainian 47th Mechanized Brigade released combat footage that shows exactly how Ukrainians managed to push through despite immense Russian resistance.

Since the counteroffensive operation is still in the early stages, and Russians still have not burnt through their accumulated personnel and equipment, Ukrainians found out that the best tactic that ensures that even the freshest and most equipped Russian units break and retreat is continuous assaults. So, Ukrainian assault units are preparing for at least 36 hours of virtually non-stop operations.

The first target of the assault unit became Russian defensive positions across the field. The setting was the following: there were two strong points in front of each other – the Ukrainian and the Russian. While both of them engaged in positional fights and Ukrainians distracted Russian soldiers with fire, the job of the assault unit was to sneak into the Russian flanks and destroy them. After getting close to the Russian flanks, the Russians noticed something and started firing in their direction. The commander of the assault unit quickly realized that the Russians still did not understand the exact positions of the Ukrainians and ordered everyone not to shoot unless they could see and eliminate the target for sure. The commander requested artillery support, Ukrainian artillery hit exactly where needed, Russians started panicking and making mistakes, the assault unit eliminated most of them without even getting close, and established control over the position.

Despite operating for 8 hours straight and successfully taking Russian positions, Ukrainian immediately started preparing to move further. They coordinated with another unit in the region and created the following plan: establish 2 machinegun positions, create crossfire, and combine it with concentrated artillery fire while 3 units approach the next Russian position on the line. However, the moment Ukrainians started implementing their plan, Russians launched a counterattack to recapture positions that they just lost.

Ukrainians quickly communicated the coordinates, and the second group of Ukrainians engaged in meeting the Russians. Russian mechanized assault was rebuffed, but Russians did not stop pushing, which undermined Ukrainian plans. Unable to move forward, the Ukrainian assault unit was forced to conduct defensive operations. After sunset, the situation did not improve, gun fire and artillery strikes intensified, and it became clear that Russians were preparing for a night assault. Ukrainians were not ready for a defensive operation.

The idea of crawling into the dark towards enemy positions under constant machine gun and artillery fire and successfully ambushing Russians with just 4 people seemed insane for the soldiers. However, the fact that their commander was willing to go first and lead them gave them confidence that they would succeed. The units advanced and assumed the necessary positions, with Russians still unaware of their presence. The commander gave the sign, grenades exploded, and the whole hell broke loose.

In the morning, the commander reported that the operation was successful, Ukrainians wrecked Russian plans and took the positions that they initially planned to take.