Ukrainian Strikes WIPE OUT MASSIVE RUSSIAN COLUMNS

Today, there are a lot of interesting updates from the Velyka Novosilka direction.

Here, a massive Russian offensive was set into motion, aiming to consolidate control over the town and gather up enough forces to break through the next Ukrainian defenses. However, as it turned out, Ukrainians, positioned strategically on higher ground, had turned the settlement into a massive fire pocket, eliminating all the Russian columns moving into the town with overwhelming artillery fire.

The main goal of the Ukrainian forces in this area is to target and eliminate Russian forces trying to enter and consolidate control of Velyka Novosilka. 

The Russians are trying to exploit their control over the town's large infrastructure to achieve numerical superiority by accumulating large forces for an offensive effort to the north. Consolidating their control of the town would also allow them to establish stable logistics by using the infrastructure to set up ammo depots, tank repair workshops, and field hospitals for wounded soldiers, further supporting their offensive.

To prevent this, Ukrainian fighters conduct constant aerial drone reconnaissance and utilize their positions north of the town to target large Russian columns trying to enter Velyka Novosilka.

The main advantage of the Ukrainian forces is the location of their positions to the north of the town. If we look at the topographic map, we can see that the Russians have inherited the disadvantageous positions in the lowlands that allowed them to take the town in the first place.  This allows the Ukrainian forces to observe Russian movements in and into the town from the high ground and target them with precision using anti-tank-guided missiles, artillery, and drones. 

Furthermore, the Mokri Yaly River and its tributaries reinforce the Ukrainian defenses, preventing Russian forces from directly approaching Ukrainian positions without preestablished crossing points. The rivers further complicated Russian logistics, as all the bridges were destroyed during the fighting, slowing down Russian columns as they tried to maneuver through the ruined town. This forced the Russian forces to restrict their movement along predictable roads leading into the northeastern part of the town, which isn't blocked by any river crossing. 

Lastly, as Russians had unleashed the largest artillery bombardment since Vuhledar on Velyka Novosilka, they had reduced most of the town's buildings to ruins. The withdrawn Ukrainian soldiers, therefore, also knew exactly which buildings in the town still provided the best protection against enemy fire, further allowing them to more effectively target static Russian positions with artillery and drones. 

Combat footage from the area reveals how a Russian column of eight armored vehicles carrying reinforcements entered the northern part of Velyka Novosilka, where they were immediately targeted by already zeroed-in Ukrainian artillery fire. 

Interestingly, the footage shows how the first salvo of Ukrainian artillery landed nearly simultaneously, indicating that Ukrainians have deployed an entire artillery battalion to focus fire on Russians in Velyka Novosilka. 

The footage shows that Ukrainians had also used distant mining shells over the town as the lead Russian vehicle struck a landmine, forcing the rest of the column to stop, causing them to become sitting ducks as their infantry started dismounting. 

Subsequently, additional footage reveals that Russians sent in multiple waves of reinforcements after the first had dropped off their soldiers. However, many of these vehicles met the same fate as the first, being caught in an artillery fire pocket in the lowlands. 

Besides targeting dismounted Russian infantry with intense artillery barrages, Ukrainian drone operators effectively hunted down the Russian fighters by striking the still intact buildings with high-explosive FPV drones, and flying conventional drones into the basements Russians were hiding in, eliminating them with the shockwaves. 

Overall, the lack of any tactical advantages and poor planning led to predictable Russian mechanized assaults that were effectively countered and eliminated by the Ukrainians. The scale and intensity of Ukrainian precision fire led to tremendous losses among the Russian units, including the elimination of the commander of the third mechanized battalion that participated in the assaults. Such tremendous losses among foot soldiers, armored equipment, and their officer corps will considerably drain Russian resources, forcing the Russian command to put a hold on their planned future operations in the Velyka Novosilka area.

‍