German tanks driven by Ukrainian crew break Putin’s last-ditch effort on the front

Today, the biggest news comes from the Dobropillia direction.

Russia’s goal here is to infiltrate Dobropillia before the autumn and winter rains make any real advance impossible. Notably, heavy rains create such thick mud in Ukraine that movement through fields becomes difficult, which slows the Russian soldiers and exposes them more to Ukrainian drones. Additionally, when the foliage disappears during autumn, Russian infiltrators won’t be able to use it as cover to conceal their movement, making their movement even more difficult.

This is why Russia is sending hundreds of soldiers every day to advance as close as possible to Dobropillia and get into the town to entrench themselves. If they can get enough forces into the town, they will be able to use the roads and firm ground when the fields turn to mud and accumulate forces underground. This is crucial because basements and cellars would let them keep advancing despite worsening weather, which typically limits significant advances in winter. From these positions, Russians can cut off certain Ukrainian positions, raid them, or set up ambushes, which complicates the work of the defenders. Ukrainians then are forced to withdraw from certain positions because the large number of Russian infiltrators that have accumulated around or behind them makes resupply or a safe retreat impossible.

Ukraine cannot counter the Russians in a head-on fight because Russia has a seven-to-one manpower advantage in this sector. As a result, Ukraine is disrupting Russia’s movement with drones and occasionally with tanks before they can reach Dobropillia. This is important because after the Russian infiltrators get into the town, it is significantly more difficult to clear them out, compared to eliminating them during their advance. Dorozhne is a key chokepoint along the route, which is a small settlement located on the railway line. It is an ideal infiltration route because it has forest strips on both sides and tunnels under it, which serve as resting points for the Russian soldiers.

The settlement itself also serves as an accumulation point for infiltrators because the Russians can wait here to make their advance in parts, instead of in one go that would expose them to Ukrainian drones. Supplies can also be brought in and stored closer to the frontline, which improves Russian logistics.

However, because of the relatively small payload of drones, they cannot seriously damage the hardened tunnels and rail embankment, which is why Ukraine needs to use dozens of them to have an impact. In order to break open the cover, the Ukrainians decided to dispatch a Leopard one tank. Footage from Dorozhne shows how the tank, equipped with anti-drone cages and electronic warfare, moved right up to the enemy positions and opened fire at point-blank range. As a result, the Russian soldiers hiding inside were killed immediately.

More importantly, the tank removed cover for the Russians along their infiltration route, which they intended to use for further attacks. By blowing up their hardened hideout, Ukraine opened it up for further strikes with drones that can drop directly into the Russian position and do more serious damage. Destroying this resting point disrupts the infiltration route before Russian troops can reach Dobropillia and use the town to continue operating through the winter.

Overall, the absurdity of Russia’s objectives in this sector is becoming increasingly clear. After months of fighting and sending hundreds of soldiers forward every day, Moscow’s ambition is essentially to get its troops into a single town before the autumn mud makes further movement impossible. This demonstrates how limited Russia’s ability to achieve meaningful breakthroughs has become and that the Ukrainian defenses are forcing the Russians to spend enormous manpower just to gain a foothold. Even when they manage to infiltrate, they remain vulnerable to Ukrainian drones and counterattacks, which is evidence that Ukraine’s defensive strategy is working, while Russia is paying an enormous price for increasingly modest gains.