On July 24, Ukrainian forces repelled one of the largest Russian tank attacks in Ukraine since October 2023 in the western part of the Donetsk region.
This is stated in the daily analysis of the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
A Ukrainian brigade operating in the direction of Kurakhovo reports that Russian forces attacked simultaneously with 11 tanks, 45 armored fighting vehicles, a rare Terminator armored fighting vehicle. (of which Russia has produced only 23 by December 2023), 12 motorcycles and about 200 personnel from several tactical directions at dawn on July 24.
The brigade reported that Ukrainian air reconnaissance identified the mechanized columns from a distance and that Ukrainian forces used artillery, drones and minefields to repel the Russian attack.
Ukrainian forces damaged or destroyed six Russian tanks, seven armored fighting vehicles and all 12 motorcycles, and that Russian forces withdrew after Ukrainian forces destroyed the first wave of vehicles.
ISW last observed Russian forces conducting a battalion-sized mechanized attack in Donetsk Oblast in March 2024
Russian forces have not launched major mechanized attacks in Ukraine since the early days of Russia's four-month operation to retake Avdeyevka in October 2023.
The willingness of the Russian military command to expend large numbers of armored vehicles for limited tactical purposes reflects poor long-term operational foresight, and the limitations of Russian equipment in the medium and long term will make such failed mechanized attacks more expensive over time.
Ukrainian forces have recently advanced near the city of Robotine, and Russian forces have recently advanced slightly north of the city of Kharkiv and near Toretsk, the city of Donetsk and Robotine.
The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) has indicated that Lieutenant General Sergey Kobylash has become deputy commander of the Russian Aerospace Forces (VKS).
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov tried to portray Ukraine as unwilling to negotiate, while demonstrating the Kremlin's own reluctance to engage in good faith negotiations by activating Russian information operations falsely portraying Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky as "illegitimate" leader of Ukraine.
The Kremlin continues to strengthen its ties with the People's Republic of China (PRC) and member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the National Police announced that they had neutralized a group linked to Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) that was preparing to carry out arson attacks on civilian objects in Ukraine and elsewhere in Europe .