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Today, the biggest news comes from the Kostiantynivka direction.
Russians attempted to repeat their mechanized assault from three months prior, this time with several significant new advantages that they hoped would secure them a victory. However, as they failed to address the core of Ukraine’s synergetic defense, allowing another large, mechanized assault to drive right into the meat grinder.
Russia’s goal in this sector is to open a path to Kostiantynivka from the west and encircle it from behind to cut it off from supplies. Kostiantynivka is the first of a row of four Ukrainian fortress towns and serves as a major logistical hub in the region. It is fortified from all sides, so the Russians must approach it from the west, east, and south simultaneously to stand any chance of taking it.
3 months ago, the Russians opted for a head-on mechanized assault, which was obliterated, so they tried their currently preferred assault tactic of small sabotage groups trying to infiltrate, advancing the frontline and taking a small series of trench fortifications over the past three months. Now the Russians thought they had new advantages, which would turn the tables and help them secure a breakthrough; that is why they attempted to mount an assault with armored vehicles again.
Firstly, as the Russians managed to capture more trench fortifications along the highway, they hoped that it would keep their armored column secure long enough to reach the first line of defense around Kostiantynivka. Secondly, new positions along the highway also made it so that Russian infantry could start clearing some of the obstacles off the road itself, as well as fill in some of the AT ditches Russian armor got stuck at in the last assault. The Russians also took Yablunivka under control, which is important because now, they can no longer be flanked from the south as they move along the highway, and they only need to pay attention to Ukrainian fire from the north and east. Lastly, Russians waited for bad weather conditions, because it makes it harder for the Ukrainian drones to spot them early on.
However, Ukrainian reconnaissance drones are monitoring the sector day and night, using stronger drones that work even in bad weather, to detect any movement early on deep behind enemy lines, which gives the defenders ample time to prepare. Ukrainian drone control also ensured that Russian infantry could only do the bare minimum of obstacle clearing.
They only managed to clear the road and were not able to clear the fields of mines or remove anti-tank obstacles beside the highway. Meaning if it gets blocked by a destroyed vehicle, Russians will be forced to stay stationary and become easy targets for Ukrainian FPV drones and artillery.
Geolocated footage shows how, as the Russians launched their mechanized assault, they were detected 5 kilometers before they even crossed the contact line, illustrating that despite the worsened weather conditions, Ukrainian reconnaissance remains online.
At least 3 armored vehicles drove along the highway, avoiding the defensive fortifications and obstacles beside the road, but they were easily spotted and targeted by drones. As these were quickly destroyed, the Russians sent another column of armored vehicles, but this time to cross the fields behind a mine-plowing tank attempting to move around the now blocked road.
However, the fighters of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade made sure that the rest of the vehicles were destroyed as well, with the remaining infantry picked off one by one. As a result, Russia lost one tank, two armored vehicles, and a BMP, while several others were heavily damaged but managed to retreat.
Overall, attempting the same attack again didn’t bring any results, only further losses for the Russians. They thought they had enough advantages now to mount an assault on Kostiantynivka, but they met the same in-depth, carefully placed fortifications as last time and were obliterated again without gaining ground. They failed to nullify Ukraine’s advantages as they were too hampered by continued Ukrainian drone fire control to also clear all the obstacles beside the road. The combination of the defensive setup and the well-prepared defenders played a key role in halting the ambitious mechanized assault, which turned out to be another costly setback for the Russians.
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