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| A year of great defense. What successes have Russian troops achieved in the Northern Military District zone? |
| 2023-12-29 |
| Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Artemy Sharapov [REGNUM] Russian troops completed all the tasks set by the command in 2023. This statement was made by Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, summing up the results of the year at a conference call. In fact, there were two most difficult tasks, IA Regnum’s interlocutors believe. The first was decided in Donbass. The point was to shift the front line in the Soledar-Artyomovsk and Donetsk directions in the DPR, where, unlike, for example, the Mariupol direction, no significant progress had been observed since the beginning of the Northern Military District. From the very start of the special operation, it was noted that it was in the occupied part of the DPR, in the north and north-west of the republic, that the enemy concentrated the most numerous and well-fortified group. Actually, in the Donetsk region, the line of contact established after the 2014–2015 campaign did not move, actually running along the outskirts of the DPR capital. The second main task of the troops participating in the Northern Military District was to repel the much-touted Ukrainian counter-offensive in the south, as well as to strike back. On the eve of the “spring counteroffensive” (which in Kyiv was later renamed spring-summer and simply summer), the Ukrainian Armed Forces received several shipments of Western weapons, including tanks, light armored vehicles, cannon and self-propelled artillery, as well as modern ammunition. According to experts, we are talking about hundreds of tanks, thousands of wheeled and tracked armored vehicles. But before that, one of the “impregnable fortresses” of Donbass fell. ARTYOMOVSK IS NO LONGER A “FORTE”. ROAD TO SLAVYANSK The first success of Russian troops in 2023 can be considered the consistent liberation of two cities in the northeast of the DPR. First, Soledar was captured in mid-January. By the last days of May, after many months of fighting, Artyomovsk was liberated by the assault units of the Wagner PMC. When enemy propaganda called Artyomovsk “the fortress of Bakhmut,” this was, alas, not without reason. In this direction, the Ukrainian Armed Forces created a defense in depth based on a network of underground salt mines and adits. The main brunt of the fighting occurred in the winter-spring period, when the enemy skillfully used weather conditions that did not allow artillery and armored vehicles to be camouflaged in the green area. But the liberation of the city of Soledar as a result of an unexpected offensive made it possible to cover the Ukrainian Armed Forces group in Artyomovsk from the north, noted the interlocutor of IA Regnum , who participated in the hostilities on this section of the front. “After Soledar, the issue of Artyomovsk was actually resolved, but the Armed Forces of Ukraine clung to the city as best they could, they chose to put more people, but not to disgrace themselves in the media. As a result, they lost people and were disgraced,” the publication’s source noted. The liberation of Artyomovsk opened up the opportunity for Russian troops to further advance towards Slavyansk-Kramatorsk, the largest agglomeration in the west of Donbass, the liberation of which will allow the Ukrainian Armed Forces to be completely driven out of the territory of the Donetsk People’s Republic. BATTLE OF RABOTINO: “WE RESTED OUR FOREHEADS ON REINFORCED CONCRETE” The plan of the Ukrainian command provided for a breakthrough to Crimea from Melitopol in order to cut off the land supply route for troops on the peninsula. For this purpose, several dozen formations of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were concentrated on the Zaporozhye sector of the front, some of which were trained at the training grounds of NATO countries. But ultimately the offensive was thwarted. However, in 2023, a number of events took place that cannot be called favorable for the Russian troops, noted military expert Oleg Zheltonozhko in a commentary to Regnum news agency . The specialist emphasized that the successful repulsion of the Ukrainian counter-offensive truly became the main event of the year and the success of the Russian troops. “One of the main results of the “counter-offensive” is that there are no more reports of victory from the other side. We pressed our foreheads against reinforced concrete and realized that we couldn’t move forward,” the expert said. But on the other hand, the enemy’s potential is far from exhausted. Primarily due to the actions of the collective West. The West has consistently crossed many “red lines” in terms of arms supplies that it drew for itself. Therefore, now for them we are talking about “victory over Russia at any cost,” excluding the entry of their own armies, the expert notes. The very “reinforced concrete wall” that the Ukrainian Armed Forces ran into was the section of the front where Ukrainian troops managed to achieve minimal advance between the villages of Malaya Tokmachka and Rabotino . This area with a radius of six kilometers has turned into a real “graveyard” for NATO armored vehicles, users of the Lostarmour portal note. Based on a systematic study of footage from open sources, they counted at least 120 units of destroyed Ukrainian Armed Forces armored vehicles. A special contribution to the defeat of the enemy was made by sapper units, who created continuous minefields and stopped enemy tanks, as well as drone operators, who methodically finished off enemy armored vehicles one after another. Having suffered such heavy losses, the advancing formations of the Ukrainian Armed Forces were forced to stop in the resulting “bag of fire”, where their positions were under fire from several directions at once. This was where the enemy's successes ended. Another “cemetery” appeared on the same Zaporozhye sector of the front, in the area of the settlements of Staromayorskoye and Urozhainoye, where enemy marine units performed extremely unsuccessfully. LEOPARD SAFARI AND MORE According to experts, during the unsuccessful offensive, the Ukrainian Armed Forces lost at least 17 Leopard 2 tanks out of more than a hundred vehicles supplied through NATO. In the fields of Ukraine, 13 US-made Stryker armored personnel carriers, 42 M2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, and over a hundred M113 infantry fighting vehicles of various modifications remained in the fields. At least 48 M777 howitzers, 26 American-made M109 Paladin self-propelled artillery mounts and 25 Polish-made Crab self-propelled guns were also destroyed. And this is just the tip of the iceberg. In fact, the losses of the Armed Forces of Ukraine may turn out to be significantly higher, since only cases captured in photos or videos are included in such statistics. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, since the beginning of the counter-offensive, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have lost over 125 thousand people and 16 thousand pieces of equipment. But this does not mean that the West will decisively refuse support for Kyiv and new arms supplies in 2024. “Many restrictions on arms supplies have already been overcome. This is rather a negative factor. But, on the other hand, Russia was ready for all these unpleasant surprises,” notes Oleg Zheltonozhko. THE FRONT IS MOVING AWAY FROM DONETSK In the fall, when the “offensive” in the Zaporozhye direction apparently ran out of steam, fierce battles began in the Donetsk agglomeration - in fact, in the suburbs of the capital of the DPR, where the enemy created one of the most powerful defensive areas. The result of the offensive was the complete liberation of the city of Maryinka west of Donetsk and the capture of a number of enemy positions in the Avdeevka area, located north of the capital of the DPR. As IA Regnum previously noted, the capture of Marinka opens up broad prospects for Russian troops. However, it is far from certain that the enemy will watch the actions of Russian troops with folded hands. “Ukraine’s potential was exhausted a year ago. Now we are dealing with the common potential not even of NATO, but actually of the entire West. All possible US allies are involved here. It is optimistic to say that the enemy’s potential has been exhausted. The enemy has reserves. And additional mobilization would have been impossible without outside help ,” notes Oleg Zheltonozhko. AVIATION IS GROWING WITH FPV DRONES Russian aviation has shown exceptional efficiency in both the southern and Donbass directions. Situations have already become almost routine when enemy air targets are hit not directly on the front line, but behind the front line. To effectively detect and destroy Ukrainian missiles or drones, a combination of long-range radar detection (AWACS) aircraft is working in conjunction with fighter aircraft and (or) air defense batteries. A special role is given to aircraft with the Kinzhal hypersonic complex. “Any rise of the MiG-31 causes panic among the enemy, an air raid alert is announced. The very fact of the appearance of such weapons in our country and the readiness to use them is already turning into concrete material benefits,” emphasizes Oleg Zheltonozhko. The expert also noted that the Russian military industry showed good results, supplying the troops with advanced weapons. First of all, drones, especially FPV drones. The effectiveness of these weapons is such that the massive use of drones often makes it possible to solve not just tactical, but also operational tasks in certain sectors of the front. THE ROLE OF TANKS WILL HAVE TO BE RETHOUGHT But not only aviation, but also other types of weapons that were used by the Russian army, justified their purpose. In 2023, certain prospects appeared for improvements to armored vehicles, which will undoubtedly be implemented in the future, experts believe. But the unsuccessful offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces showed the vulnerability of all types of armored vehicles. And perhaps the very concept of using armored vehicles on the battlefield will be rethought. “You need to understand that armor now is a consumable item, almost like ammunition. It will be necessary to increase security and widespread use. Tanks become a target, not a force. Therefore, new means of combating means of combating tanks are needed, because the picture of the use of armored vehicles has become completely different,” notes Oleg Zheltonozhko. It was the destruction of the enemy’s trained armored formations that allowed Russian troops to switch to offensive operations in the second half of 2023, experts say. "THE ENEMY'S OFFENSIVE POTENTIAL HAS BEEN KNOCKED OUT" Commenting on plans for next year, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Valery Zaluzhny said that the Ukrainian army will need a large number of recruits in the near future. At the same time, Zaluzhny added that “2024 will be different from the previous one.” One can assume what exactly the commander-in-chief of the enemy army had in mind. But it is most likely that Ukrainian troops will have to abandon offensive plans and prepare to sit on the defensive. Experts predict that if Kyiv continues to receive support from the West, the Ukrainian Armed Forces will be able to hold the line for a long time. And there is no need to expect a lightning-fast victory in 2024 yet. However, by the end of 2023, the enemy gradually began to lose the initiative, which means that in the future he will have to increasingly retreat and respond to threats, rather than create them. “In general, the results of the campaign can be considered successful for us. The enemy's offensive potential was knocked out for the most part. This allowed us to go on a counter-offensive by the end of the year ,” states Oleg Zheltonozhko. Judging by the mobilization plans voiced by Vladimir Zelensky, right now the Armed Forces of Ukraine do not have trained reserves, they are depleted, the expert emphasizes. “Later, reserves may appear, but here and now we can say that the enemy has suffered a number of defeats from which he can recover, but this will take time,” sums up IA Regnum’s interlocutor. |
| Posted by:badanov |
| #3 I'm not sure what you imply, but I suppose it is very thoughtful. |
| Posted by: Jerens Black9355 2023-12-29 13:46 |
| #2 Ukrainians committed a strategic blunder by allowing the war to turn into a "knife fight." M-1, M-2, M-3, T-72, T-80, T-90 et seq, none of that matters if your enemy has you in a brace and is carrying a shiv. |
| Posted by: badanov 2023-12-29 08:49 |
| #1 "THE ROLE OF TANKS WILL HAVE TO BE RETHOUGHT But not only aviation, but also other types of weapons that were used by the Russian army, justified their purpose. In 2023, certain prospects appeared for improvements to armored vehicles, which will undoubtedly be implemented in the future, experts believe. But the unsuccessful offensive of the Ukrainian [projection, i.e., Russian] Armed Forces showed the vulnerability of all types of armored vehicles. And perhaps the very concept of using armored vehicles on the battlefield will be rethought. “You need to understand that armor now is a consumable item, almost like ammunition. It will be necessary to increase security and widespread use. Tanks become a target, not a force. Therefore, new means of combating means of combating tanks are needed, because the picture of the use of armored vehicles has become completely different,” notes Oleg Zheltonozhko." |
| Posted by: Jerens Black9355 2023-12-29 08:14 |