Commentary by Russian military blogger Andrey Chervonets
Small (500 meters - 1 kilometer) penetrations into our defenses cannot be considered as such at all, since this is not even the depth of a company stronghold. It is obvious that the breakthrough of the Russian defense is being delayed.
According to Ukrainian plans, calculated and approved in the European headquarters of NATO, two days were allotted to break through the first line (5-7 kilometers). At the same time, up to a third of all reserves at his disposal have already been put into battle by the enemy in all directions.
And today - tomorrow, the Ukrainian command is very likely to try to increase its efforts as much as possible in order to still wedge into the Russian battle formations to a depth that allows creating a bridgehead for further breakthrough and pushing its borders for the introduction of shock mechanized brigades of a new (ersatzstriker) type.
Radio intercepts show that Russian aviation plays an exceptional role in repelling the current strike, for the first time in the entire history of the NWO. Ukrainian commanders report that they suffer huge losses from Russian BShU at the stage of advancement and deployment, which forces them to "crush" forces and throw them into battle in parts, and this, in turn, does not allow creating the necessary concentration of forces and means on the battlefield.
In addition, these strikes seriously demoralize the personnel. Some Ukrainian brigade commanders frankly report that attacking under the dominance of Russian aviation in the air is suicide and demand that "effective air defense systems be deployed to the range of creating a reliable dome over the advancing troops."
As expected by the experts, the main direction of the Ukrainian "offensive" is Zaporozhye towards Tokmak with further development towards Mariupol and Melitopol. And here the Ukronat command did not bring us any "surprises".
All the rest are either distracting (Belgorod, Bryansk) or auxiliary - Ugledar, Artyomovsk, Svatov, with the goal of tying up our forces and pulling reserves there. That in no way diminishes the threat. In September last year, it was the "auxiliary" Kharkiv direction that "shot" and became the main one, in which strategic success was achieved.
The stubborn ignorance by the Ukrainian media and officials of the word "attack", "taboo" on any reports of ongoing offensive actions, shows that the top political and military leadership of Ukraine attaches exceptionally high importance to the battle that has begun, and is aware of what the domestic political effect will be if the offensive will end in vain, as far as it will undermine the morale of Ukrainian society.
And therefore, an unprecedented decision in modern history was made - not to recognize the fact of the ongoing offensive at all until the troops achieve the results that can be interpreted as "victories" - the victory of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
But, the more time passes without the necessary "results", the more difficult it is to maintain this "taboo" - information about heavy battles and heavy losses flows into the Ukrainian information space from the participants in the battles, their relatives and Western media reports, which have already recognized the fact that the summer battle has begun for Donbass.
All this suggests that the next week will be decisive for the course and outcome of the entire summer campaign. If the Armed Forces of Ukraine fail to achieve decisive success, then further offensive actions will lose all meaning and will only become an unjustified expenditure of human and material reserves. This means that the Armed Forces of Ukraine will again have to switch to strategic defense, but in much worse conditions and against the background of the huge disappointment of the Ukrainian collective unconscious, which firmly believed in the invincibility of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and an early "overcome" ... Tynts
https://t.me/chervonec_001 /21927
As reported yesterday, The Armed Forces of Ukraine involved up to 120 pieces of equipment in the attack on Zaporozhye, After a truly massive art treatment (not a red word, it was really tough - with the participation of "Himmers") ( https://t.me/wargonzo/13048 ) four columns advanced to our line of defense - each of which has 25/30 pieces of equipment.
The armored groups were divided into pairs, each headed by 4/5 tanks - on/in the rest of the equipment - infantry. Most of the tanks were blown up in minefields - those that were able to move on were waiting for our ATGMs.
Yes, the neo-Nazis managed to break through to two of our positions, which before that were just trashed by artillery. Of course, we have losses, beat, repeat, tight and hard. Therefore, individual groups of the Armed Forces of Ukraine managed to jump on them.
The bulk of the enemy infantry was dispersed by our return fire. Some tanks had to literally be driven through the fields in the dark. The main thing is that the fighters of the Russian Army did not lose their heads, behaved as collectedly as possible and gave a concrete rebuff. The enemy scattered began to roll back. Some groups still remain at our borders.
Let's sum up the night: our optimism is still restrained. Attacks and rolls of equipment will resume. Artillery fire is sure to intensify. We didn't let ourselves be crushed. Sell ​​too. The boys who repelled this night counterattack are undeniable Heroes.