Lightning flashes across the night sky on the horizon. Sometimes it becomes daylight for a few seconds. After some delay, the rumbling of thunder reaches the house where Ninja and his soldiers have found temporary shelter. Even though it looks and sounds like a thunderstorm, it is nothing more than heavy artillery fire in the distance. The nearest Russian positions are less than seven kilometers away.
The man nicknamed ‘Ninja’ was recently trained as a platoon commander. Behind the accommodation, Kola, a huge driver nicknamed ‘Bro’, cooks meat on a charcoal grill. If it weren’t for the explosions in the distance, you might think of a holiday camp.
Heavy Ukrainian losses
The brigade to which Ninja’s unit belongs helps cover a flank of the large Ukrainian advance near Robotine. Since the beginning of June, the Ukrainians have made a deep breach in the Russian front, which has been reinforced with minefields, trenches and bunkers, resulting in major losses.
The Ukrainians have virtually razed the small village of Robotine, about 70 kilometers southeast of Zaporizhia. The Russians had to admit that they had withdrawn.
The breach is now estimated to be 10 kilometers deep and up to 12 kilometers wide. Because it took the Ukrainians about three months to conquer this modest terrain, Western media often talk about the failure of the counteroffensive. But what is forgotten is that wars are not linear.
There are phases of apparent stasis and periods when events accelerate. In their attack on Robotine in June, the Ukrainians made many mistakes and lost many combat vehicles and infantry fighting vehicles in the minefields and artillery fire.
Some of the brigades, which were equipped with relatively modern Western equipment, had little combat experience – unlike many other units still equipped with old Soviet tanks and guns.
After the first setbacks, Kiev changed its tactics. Under cover of darkness, sappers searched for the Russian mines and dug paths through the minefields. After preparation with heavy artillery fire, small groups of infantrymen then stormed the Russian positions.
Western generals shook their heads
This approach caused some people in Western military circles to shake their heads. However, those close to the front quickly understand why the Ukrainians had little choice: vehicles leave dust trails in the summer and are quickly discovered by reconnaissance drones.
Any concentration of tanks, guns or soldiers is immediately covered with grenades and rockets, so that only small units have a chance to go unnoticed until they penetrate the Russian trenches and bunkers.
Why is a village like Robotine, which may have had 500 to 600 inhabitants before the war, so important? The hamlet is located on the edge of a rolling hill. These hills extend like a barrier from west to east, parallel to the coast of the Sea of Azov, the target of the Ukrainian counter-offensive. The Russians built huge fortifications on these hills.
When the Ukrainians come over the hills, there are no natural obstacles other than watercourses in the lowlands further south. The first intermediate step in a successful further advance would be the city of Tokmak, about 20 kilometers southwest of the breach on the Russian front.
Tokmak is the Russians’ crucial logistics center in this region. If the Ukrainians were to succeed in cutting the railway line there, the supply situation for the Russian troops would quickly deteriorate.
A bomb penetrated the roof of the house
In the relative safety of Ninja’s barbecue, such considerations are quickly forgotten. But here too there is always the danger of drones and missile attacks. Until recently, Ninja’s superior lived just a few hundred meters away in an abandoned farmhouse.
Ukrainian farmers often drive tractors and old Soviet Ladas, but not pick-ups and SUVs. A Russian drone pilot can tell if residents are military simply by looking at the vehicles parked in front of a house.
One day, a Russian drone circled the command post and dropped a small bomb on the roof. The house started to burn. Only by luck could the commander escape unscathed. The fit 50-year-old nicknamed ‘Navarra’ is a member of a motorcycle gang in his civilian life. After the drone incident he had to move. There are plenty of abandoned houses in the area because many farmers have fled.
The Navarre battalion is part of a territorial defense brigade. Such units are generally worse equipped than the army’s mechanized combat brigades trained in NATO countries. Many territorial defense soldiers therefore take their private vehicles with them, as without them they would have to move on foot.
The eyes search the sky
Getting poorly equipped units to increase their firepower requires creativity. The people of Navarre therefore set up a large workshop in an old, partially destroyed factory building, about 20 kilometers behind the front.
On the way to the factory, Kola, the driver, scans the sky. The Russians are increasingly using kamikaze drones, whose pilots also hunt vehicles – even far behind the front. “There are almost always drones hovering above us,” says Ninja, “you have to be very careful. Fortunately, we are often warned by radio when flying objects are sighted.”
In an unarmored car like the one we use, a hit from a Russian Lancet drone would likely mean the death of all occupants.
At the factory, several technicians are installing rocket launchers on the backs of pickup trucks. Ninja then uses these adventurous war machines to shoot at the Russians. The pickups are fast and suitable for all terrains, they appear quickly, fire their missiles and disappear again into well-camouflaged shelters or garages – before enemy drones appear or the Russian artillery can return fire.
Greater range of western guns
On the Zaporizhia front, it is striking that the Ukrainians now often fire more grenades and rockets than the Russians. Officers explain this phenomenon by saying that they managed to destroy a large number of Russian guns, self-propelled howitzers and several rocket launchers.
The reason for this is not only successful drone reconnaissance, but also Western radar equipment with which the Ukrainians measure the trajectory of the Russian artillery and thus determine the exact location where it was fired.
Conversely, the Ukrainian air force apparently destroyed many Russian radar screens with American anti-radar missiles, effectively blinding Russian artillery. It is also important that Western weapons are generally more accurate and, above all, more far-reaching than Russian ones.
A few days after we left Navarre’s battalion, Ninja sent us a short message: The house where his platoon was housed was almost hit by Russian guided missiles and an aerial bomb. There were no injuries in the attack. Nevertheless, Ninja decided to take his soldiers to safety elsewhere. Apparently a drone had discovered the building earlier. (aargauerzeitung.ch)
Soource :Watson
I am Amelia James, a passionate journalist with a deep-rooted interest in current affairs. I have more than five years of experience in the media industry, working both as an author and editor for 24 Instant News. My main focus lies in international news, particularly regional conflicts and political issues around the world.
