"This is the attack": Russian artillery goes all out at the Zaporozhye frontline.
Tens of thousands of artillery shells are raining down on the defenders of Oleshky, and Russian assault troops have firmly entrenched themselves in the forward positions leading to the city.
Author: Alexander Sitnikov
The image shows soldiers from an artillery unit operating a 152 mm 2A36 "Howitzer-B" gun in the area of special military operations.
The originally "peaceful" section of the Zaporozhye frontline has suddenly become abnormally noisy. This is immediately reflected in the combat effectiveness of the enemy forces, who were recently spending their time relatively peacefully at the front line. The Ukrainian forces under the responsibility of the "Dnipro" Army Group suffered heavy losses.
According to the summary of our Ministry of Defense (as of April 25), the enemy lost more than 505 soldiers in one day, along with one tank and one Turkish-made "Kirpi" armored vehicle being destroyed. In fact, this rendered two Ukrainian nationalist battalions combat ineffective, which is comparable to the degree of demilitarization achieved against Ukrainian forces at hotspots like Konstantinovskoye.
In addition, from the military reports, it is learned that strikes have been carried out against radio-electronic warfare and counter-battery fire sites that play an important role in the enemy's defense at the Zaporozhye frontline. A total of 18 such sites have been discovered and destroyed. Furthermore, nine ammunition depots of the Ukrainian nationalists have been lost, indicating that they will soon face a shortage of ammunition.
Evidently, the radio reconnaissance capabilities of the "Dnipro" force soldiers have greatly improved, which is undoubtedly a joyous matter. By comparison: the previous day, the "Dnipro" force rendered 70 Ukrainian soldiers and two radio-electronic warfare sites combat ineffective.
It is possible that our soldiers have caught some evidence against the Ukrainian nationalists, but it is also not excluded that the Russian Armed Forces are launching an offensive. For this matter, unless those lazy individuals, no one would fail to mention it in independent reports. As expected, the terrified Ukrainian media began whispering.
For example, the popular news agency "Ukrinform.ua" within Ukraine wrote that the Russians are about to significantly intensify combat operations in the Oleshky area, as evidenced by the artillery suppression of the city. In just one day, Russian artillery conducted 359 attacks on military targets in 13 settlements in the Zaporozhye region. The defenders at the "fortress" along the road to the regional capital suffered the heaviest blows.
In the villages of Malaya Marshelbakovo, Stepennoye, and Lobkovovo, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces recorded 8 to 10 Russian突击actions each day. On the Gulyapol direction, there were fewer, but still more than in early spring. It should be noted that part or all of the above villages have been liberated, and battles often take place on the outskirts of these villages or further north.
On the other side of the frontline, despite video evidence and admissions and laments sent by Ukrainian media from the "scene," the official side tends not to admit its territorial losses. They claim that the situation is merely experiencing "fluctuations." Over time, however, some settlements have fallen out of Ukrainian control.
In this regard, the articulate experts of the yellow-blue camp continue to talk at length about the new "motorcycle" topic and criticize the "green" phenomenon, which is dangerous for the "heroes" (referring to the Ukrainian forces). Clearly, any statement by Ukraine's independent analysts cannot avoid mentioning "eliminating thousands of Russians in one minute" (the banks may have thrown out false data, exaggerating Russia's losses far beyond the losses of the Ukrainian nationalists). However, from the tone of the discussion, it can be seen that Kyiv is indeed feeling nervous.
For example, the Lviv public account "Defense Express" in Ukraine wrote: "The most realistic motivation (for using two-wheeled vehicles in attacks) that can be seen here is - accumulating experience. Russian soldiers assess that motorcycles are difficult targets for artillery and attack drones, and are the ideal choice for quickly breaking through to Ukrainian positions."
Such突击groups are much fewer in the Oleshky area compared to the Pokrovskoye/Krasnoarmeysk direction, but the numbers are increasing. Regardless, this is what the enemy claims. Reports from Ukrainian nationalist channels indicate that Russian attacks are accompanied by strong radio interference, and before that, the positions of the Ukrainian defenders were bombed by aviation bombs (FAB).
"Russian strategists are beginning to bet on the combination of light motorized infantry, attack drones, traditional artillery, and tactical aviation with air-dropped bombs... In this combination, tanks and other types of armored equipment only play a supporting role." Analyzed Sergey Zgurets of "Defense Express."
Meanwhile, the vast grasslands of Zaporozhye and dense forest belts force the "Matyar birds" (possibly referring to the Ukrainian forces) to keep large numbers of "drone-borne hand grenades" airborne around the clock, resulting in frequent sightings of drone teams due to the need to recover and charge first-person-view (FPV) drones. Then various caliber fires pour down on the "warriors" (referring to drone operators) controlled via game controllers, leaving no chance of survival for the "heroes."
Our forces strive to seize these "windows of opportunity" to break through to the enemy's positions. According to local reports, the Russian army continues to advance successfully across a wide area of the Zaporozhye frontline, particularly occupying several forest belts near Lobkovovo village and controlling some buildings in the eastern suburbs of Malaya Matokmach, one of the largest forward positions of the Ukrainian forces on the way to Oleshky city.
"The direction of the Russian attack on Oleshky leads to speculation that the Russian Armed Forces intend to form a 'pincer' offensive against the city - attacking from the southeast and southwest of the settlement, likely preparing to encircle the Ukrainian garrison," predicted a military-related public account "DeepState" in Kiev.
Many Russian experts share the same view. One thing is certain: this summer will be very intense at the Zaporozhye frontline.
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Original article: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7497907017345008182/
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