This unit remained on the front line for 82 days - the fighters of the 82nd separate airborne assault brigade of the Ukrainian army. During the first two days, they covered 25 kilometers, storming forested areas where Russian infantry units were hiding. “We stormed trenches and moved forward“, says one of the participants in the secret Ukrainian operation, which began in late January. His call sign is “Roman“.
This is a Ukrainian counteroffensive in the direction of Aleksandrovka on the border between Zaporizhzhia, Dnepropetrovsk and Donetsk regions, which was kept secret for more than half a year. In mid-August, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Mikhail Drapati, reported to President Zelensky on the success of the operation: 26 settlements or 745 square kilometers of territory were liberated in the three regions - the largest area liberated from Russian occupation since the fall of 2022.
Not defense, but offensive
Last winter, Russian troops began to break through the Ukrainian defense in small groups, and the Ukrainian paratroopers were tasked with regaining the lost positions, which are of key importance for the defense of Zaporizhia and the Dnieper, says the deputy commander of a battalion of the 82nd brigade with the call sign “Lawyer“.
“Initially, it was very difficult for us to hold back the enemy's offensive and at the same time advance. The task that was set for us is still valid - not to defend ourselves, but to constantly move forward,“ the deputy commander of the unit specifies.
“The assaults were carried out with minimal losses,“ he also notes. According to his observations, the success of the counteroffensive is due to several factors at once. First, the Ukrainian units attacked with a large number of divisions simultaneously in all sections of the Aleksandrovka direction. Therefore, the Russian troops could not concentrate their resources in one place and were forced to distribute them over a wide front.
Secondly, the Ukrainian military had the schemes of the Ukrainian fortifications captured by the Russian troops during their offensive in the summer of last year. Thirdly, the counteroffensive was kept secret for a long time. “Until a month or a month and a half ago, the enemy did not understand where the front line was, where we were holding our defenses and where we were starting to conduct assault operations“, says “Yurist“.
The Ukrainian assault troops made efforts to minimize losses - the progress of the paratroopers was also ensured by reconnaissance and combat drones.
"Eyes" of the assault troops
In a house located several dozen kilometers from the front line, He had just hit a Russian infantry hideout in an area along the Aleksandrovskoye direction. “They posed a threat to our assault troops“, explains “Desant“, commander of the drone-bomber platoon of the 82nd brigade. The defeat of this distant target was made possible because the strike drone is equipped with a satellite communication system “Starlink“.
“We are the “eyes“ of the stormtroopers. If a threat arises, we can warn them and destroy it“, continues “Dressant“, who was also a paratrooper in 2022. “Back then, we didn't have such equipment. And now, with drones, the stormtrooper sees what is happening in front of him and knows where and how to go.“
In the enemy's tactical depth
In addition to the drones, which sometimes cannot operate due to interference or weather conditions, the infantry receives support from artillery. The self-propelled artillery division of a mechanized brigade has been holding the defense in the Alexandrovsky sector since the moment preceding the start of the counteroffensive. The division's armament includes two howitzers: the American "Paladin" with a caliber of 155 mm and the Soviet D-30 with a caliber of 122 mm.
In the Alexandrovsky sector, the howitzers operate in support of the infantry and assault units that are leading the offensive. Accordingly, they strike at the Russian infantry concentrations and their shelters, transport and artillery. They also attack Russian drone operators and their infrastructure. The main result of the counteroffensive is not only the return of lost positions, but also the capture of Russian military resources, says the commander nicknamed "Arden". And a serviceman with the call sign "Boroda" adds that the success of the counteroffensive was also due to the effective interaction between the numerous units involved in the operation.
“Now we are observing how the war is changing. The enemy challenges us, and we try to respond promptly. And vice versa: at a certain moment the advantage is on our side, then the enemy tries to find an answer“, summarizes Leonid Zakalyuzhny, platoon commander of the artillery reconnaissance battery of the 110th brigade.
Author: Khanna Sokolova