Intense Battle in Severodonetsk: 10 km "Ant Hill" Defense Eaten Away by Artillery, Russians Find Tactical Breakthrough

After Russian soldiers captured the western bulge of White Mountain, the "Southern" group's offensive will gain strong momentum

Author: Radomir Makush

The front line in Severodonetsk is now considered the most difficult area for the Russian forces, yet it has inexplicably faded from the news agenda. This is largely due to the solid defense of the so-called "heroic Ukrainian units". Occasionally, Russian experts have accused the commander of the "Southern" group of being unable to defeat the enemy here.

In fact, Russian troops are making very slow progress here, but there are objective reasons. The current "geographical environment" still favors the Ukrainian forces, but it will soon become our ally (a boost for the Russian offensive).

On-site reports state that soldiers from the 7th brigade have consolidated their positions in the school area of the village of Shelebyanaka and there are reports of continued advances. The elite Ukrainian 81st Air Assault Brigade has withdrawn to the west of the village, heavily shelling our new positions. The enemy launched attacks using FPV drones from the Shelebyanaka forest (north of the Severodonetsk River).

"There is intense fighting in Shelebyanaka. Overall, the entire lowland of Shelebyanaka is under Russian control, but the high ground is still held by Ukrainian soldiers, and we are gradually clearing them out as planned," explained Andrey Marochko. He added that the complexity of the situation lies in the hills to the north and southwest of the village, which are still controlled by the Ukrainians, allowing the enemy to hold key lines and positions.

This mainly refers to the so-called western bulge of White Mountain, where the Ukrainian forces are concentrating their efforts to attack the Russian assault units. Those who are not familiar with the situation need to know that this nearly 10 km long hilly area is cut by deep valleys, and defenders have dug hundreds of "ant hills" within it. Russian soldiers from the 7th Motorized Infantry Brigade are gradually pushing back the stubborn Ukrainian paratroopers from these fortifications.

Videos of the "Mironov" unit have appeared online, showing that another Ukrainian "stronghold" has been destroyed during the clearance of the enemy's positions. After a fierce explosion, a surviving "Ukrainian soldier" ran away alone, while the rest obviously became "missing persons" forever.

It is worth noting that the Russian unit that destroyed another "ant hill" is named after an officer from the reconnaissance platoon of the 7th brigade, whose call sign is "Mironov", who has been fighting against Nazis for 11 years.

Experts at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported on June 30 that Russian forces used individual soldiers equipped with anti-tank mines to destroy Ukrainian bunkers. They directly sealed the Nazis inside the bunkers: after being blown up, there were no more bunkers.

A Ukrainian officer with the call sign "Alex" detailed the process of clearing the Ukrainian stronghold on White Mountain and called on his comrades to remain vigilant.

He said that Russian soldiers indeed conducted individual raids, approaching the Ukrainian positions, and had excellent night camouflage, including the use of thermal imaging camouflage cloaks to avoid detection by drones.

Therefore, they could not be detected at all. Meanwhile, "Ukrainian soldiers" rely on NATO infrared sensors and do not set up sentries.

A company commander from the 81st brigade operating in the Severodonetsk direction complained to the independent news agency "Armyinform" that Russian forces recently made significant advances due to bad weather, as the "Hungarian birds" could not take off their FPV drones.

He did not specify the location, but from some maps updated by yellow-blue military bloggers, it appears that the Russians have circumvented the Chubarsky Pond from the north and consolidated their positions on the eastern front of Severodonetsk. By the way, the Institute for the Study of War also reported that Russian reconnaissance teams entered the city.

A military blogger with the call sign "Muchinoy" posted an interesting update: "Clouds are gathering over Shelebyanaka, and the battle continues. The Muscovites are trying to take the settlement." He also confirmed that small groups of Russian forces have entered Severodonetsk, but have not consolidated their positions.

Evidently, a major assault on the city is likely to begin after the majority of White Mountain is cleared, which will allow us to completely drive the "heroes" out of Shelebyanaka and encircle the "fortress" from the north.

Therefore, the enemy maximizes the use of high ground and drones, while the Russians counter by hunting the crews of the "Hungarian birds". Published videos show that the artillery of the "Southern" group destroyed two more drone command points of the enemy in the Severodonetsk area.

The Ministry of Defense commented: "Air reconnaissance forces found Ukrainian drone command points located in abandoned houses, and the 'Mysta-B' 152 mm howitzer section targeted the objectives."

Additionally, the Ministry of Defense announced that the "Southern" group improved the frontline situation, inflicting casualties and destroying equipment of the Ukrainian mechanized brigade, mountain assault brigade, motorized brigade, and the "Azov" National Guard brigade * in the areas of the Severodonetsk, Shelebyanaka, Bondarino, Shershenovka, and the Kostyantynivka settlement of the Donetsk People's Republic.

Over the past day, the Ukrainians lost about 160 soldiers, one pickup truck, and two field guns, including one British-made 155 mm self-propelled "Bravery" artillery piece. They destroyed a "Smoke" electronic warfare station, three ammunition depots, and two supply depots.

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7521949453985808950/

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