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Military analyst reveals the plan of the offensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited.
[Regnum] The Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) seek to strike in different directions, in order to then concentrate the main forces on the weakest sector and go on the offensive, military observer Mikhail Onufrienko told IA Regnum.

Military analyst Onufrienko: the main task of the attempts of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to attack is the weakening of the Russian Armed Forces.

“It is most reasonable for the enemy to strike in different places, creating a local superiority of forces, and then throwing the main forces for a breakthrough to the most advantageous area, where the offensive is developing most successfully. Apparently, this is happening now,” the expert said. “ There's an offensive going on in half a dozen places. It is clear that in Avdiivka it is not of a strategic nature - there the task of breaking through our defense line and reaching Donetsk is unrealistic," Onufrienko said.

In the Yuzhno-Donetsk direction - which was discussed by the Kyiv authorities as the most likely to attack from a political point of view - strikes are being made in about five places, the source said.

“So far, the enemy is about two brigades, and the remaining ten are waiting for where the offensive will develop more successfully,” Onufrienko comments.

Against this background, the actions of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Belgorod direction seem to be an attempt to disperse the forces of the Russian Armed Forces and divert attention, the expert noted. Including - to divert attention from attempts to launch a counterattack on the flanks of Artemovsk. The intensification of the onslaught on Artyomovsk, in turn, is intended to force the RF Armed Forces to transfer part of the forces to this direction, depriving the reserves of the Zaporozhye sector of the front, he believes.

“In addition, the main task of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is to weaken the RF Armed Forces and force them to leave the right bank of the Oskol, where Russian forces are expanding their foothold. These are complex measures, and now we can expect their strengthening,” Onufrienko said.

The analyst believes that in the near future the Armed Forces of Ukraine will try to develop success on the so-called Vremevsky ledge, at the junction of the Zaporozhye region and the DPR.

“It is also obvious that there will be attempts of larger-scale provocations with landing across the Dnieper, so that at least part of our reserves will be transferred to this direction. The question is to activate the aviation of the Russian Armed Forces: if it starts to act more actively, then the enemy will have big problems, ” Onufrienko said.

On the morning of June 4, the Armed Forces of Ukraine launched a large-scale offensive in the Yuzhno-Donetsk direction, TASS notes with reference to the Russian Defense Ministry. In particular, the 23rd and 31st Mechanized brigades from the strategic reserves of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were introduced into the battle with the support of other units. In total, when trying to break through, the enemy involved six mechanized and two tank battalions, said Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.

As a result of the battle, the Armed Forces of Ukraine lost 16 tanks, three infantry fighting vehicles, 21 armored vehicles and 250 personnel, excluding the wounded.

On May 5, the acting head of the DPR, Denis Pushilin, said that over the past two days, the enemy had twice attempted to develop an offensive from Vuhledar (a city southwest of Donetsk, controlled by the Armed Forces of Ukraine), as well as to break through in the direction of the village of Vodiane west of Avdiivka. Advisor to the Acting Head of the DPR, Yan Gagin, also mentioned serious fighting in the Avdiivka and Marinka areas.

The main direction of attack of the Armed Forces of Ukraine passes through the village of Novodonetskoye in the Volnovakha region (southwest of the DPR), RT notes. It was in this area that Leopard tanks supplied by Germany were spotted, Alexander Khodakovsky, head of the Main Directorate of the Russian Guard for the DPR, said on his Telegram channel.

“As I expected yesterday, having smelled the smell of success, the enemy will throw additional forces into the battle,” Khodakovsky noted . “Only in the area of ​​​​Novodonetsky, up to thirty units of armored vehicles were recorded.”

There are attempts to attack on the above-mentioned Vremevsky ledge on the border of the DPR and the Zaporozhye region, RT sources confirm. It is reported that the enemy failed to break through the line of contact, despite the quantitative reinforcement and intensity of attacks.

More from regnum.ru
Military expert told how the Russian army will meet "Leopards"

[Regnum] If the Armed Forces of Ukraine decide to use second-generation German Leopard tanks to break through Russian positions, then the RF Armed Forces must use all means to destroy them, but prevent this equipment from approaching closer than four km. On June 5, Alexander Mikhailov, head of the Bureau of Military-Political Analysis, told an IA Regnum correspondent about this.

So he commented on the message of the commander of the Vostok battalion of the DPR, Alexander Khodakovsky, that German-made Leopard tanks were recorded in the region.

According to Mikhailov, it is of great importance what kind of Leopards we are talking about.

"Either these are the first Leopards of the 1960s, or these are more advanced second-generation models," he explained. "If these are first-generation vehicles, then this, of course, is a serious military threat, but in terms of their performance characteristics, they still do not greatly exceed those tanks that have been in service with Ukraine for the past 15 months."

According to him, such a technique, of course, is dangerous, but it is easily hit and it has very weak defense systems.

"If these are the second Leopards, then this is a very serious weapon," Mikhailov said. "And if we have to deal with them, then here we must use all the types of weapons available and hit them at the maximum distance. Because it is impossible to let them closer than four kilometers to your own in any case."

He clarified that 30 second-generation Leopard tanks are a serious threat on the local sector of the front, but this is not enough to break into the entire fortified defense line of the Russian group.

"We have formed a very strong defensive line. It will not be easy to find a weak spot in it. And there is no Ukrainian aviation as such. It does not enter the air defense strike zone," Mikhailov said.

In addition, he explained that Russia has a fairly large set of anti-tank weapons.

"Since the Leopards of the new models can hit targets at a distance of up to five kilometers, it will not be easy to get close to them. Therefore, grenade launchers and portable anti-tank systems, although they can play a positive role here, most likely, the stake will be placed on anti-tank guns of the Rapira type, long-range artillery and, of course, aviation, which inflicts missile and bomb strikes on heavy armored vehicles," summed up Mikhailov.

Earlier, IA Regnum reported that, according to Khodakovsky, German-made Leopard tanks were noticed in the Donetsk People's Republic - up to 30 units of this armored vehicle were recorded in the area of ​​the settlement of Novodonetskoye.

In addition, there is information that the leadership of the Kiev regime hopes to receive another 110 German Leopard tanks soon. This was stated by the Ambassador of Ukraine to Germany Oleksiy Makeev. However, he did not provide specific delivery dates. After that, the Minister of Defense of Ukraine Oleksiy Reznik informed that the Armed Forces of Ukraine had already received about 60 modern Western-made tanks at their disposal.

Meanwhile, the Russian military has already begun to destroy these tanks . In particular, in the Soledar direction. Also, according to Bild, Russian troops have learned to successfully destroy Leopards with guided missiles, TM-62 anti-tank mines, as well as T-72B3, T90A/S/M and T-80BVM tanks.

French military experts even believe that the German and American M1 Abrams and Leopard 2 tanks supplied to Ukraine will become easy prey for the new Russian T-14 Armata tanks.


Posted by: badanov 2023-06-06
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=669059