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Today, there is a lot of news from the Lyman direction.
Here, one Ukrainian brigade found an ingenious use for ancient Roman tactics on the current battlefield, combining them with modern warfare elements and technology to sabotage the Russian advance toward Lyman. This created a zone so lethal that these Ukrainians are eliminating at an insane ration of 66 Russian soldiers for every Ukrainian casualty they take.
In the sector near Lyman, despite holding a substantial bridgehead across the Zherebets River, Russian forces remain critically overstretched. Their goal to establish a direct route towards Lyman, a town they've fruitlessly sought to capture for over two years, remains distant. Consequently, Russian commanders have redirected significant effort toward breaching the defensive lines around Torske, hoping to improve their severely limited logistical situation across the Zherebets River.
Standing firmly against this intense Russian pressure is Ukraine’s battle-hardened 63rd Mechanized Brigade. Exploiting favorable terrain, the brigade has expertly leveraged local geography for defensive advantage. To the north of Torske, large reservoirs limit Russian maneuverability and prevent effective flanking actions, isolating their frontal assaults. South of Torske, expansive forested areas have allowed Ukrainian forces to establish deep fire control zones, creating lethal chokepoints for attacking Russian infantry and motorbike squads.
The results of this skillful Ukrainian defense have been devastating for the Russians. Despite substantially increased assaults, Russian forces face severe shortages of armor, forcing commanders to resort primarily to infantry assaults on motorcycles and ATVs. In response, the 63rd Brigade has perfected a ruthless, cost-effective defensive strategy that has yielded a stunning kill to death ratio in their favor. The extraordinary figure indicates that for each Ukrainian soldier lost, Russian forces lose around 66 troops, a devastating statistic demonstrating Ukrainian tactical superiority in the area.
Key to Ukraine’s remarkable defensive success here is the innovative revival of ancient Roman warfare tactics, particularly the widespread use of caltrops. Historically, Roman soldiers employed caltrops, metal devices designed with spikes positioned in all directions, as highly effective area-denial tools. Placed on roads, fields, or forest pathways, caltrops punctured enemy horses’ hooves, forced troops into open, vulnerable spaces, and slowed advancing units significantly, enabling Roman forces to saturate their exposed enemies with projectiles.
Now, the Ukrainian 63rd Brigade applies this ancient tactic using drones to disperse modern versions of caltrops across Russian assault paths. Unlike traditional mines, caltrops are inexpensive, safe to deploy remotely, and difficult to detect through drone surveillance.
When Russian motorbike squads inevitably run over these hidden traps, they are flung off their bikes and forced into exposed areas to clear these small but numerous obstacles, instantly becoming easy targets for Ukrainian artillery, small arms fire, and precision drone strikes.
The Ukrainian effectiveness is further strengthened by their approach to active defense. When Russian units temporarily occupy forward positions, the Ukrainians immediately launch aggressive drone strikes before enemy soldiers can consolidate or recover. These rapid, coordinated counterattacks exploit the exhaustion and disorder of freshly arrived Russian troops, further compounding their casualties before they are completely pushed back and eliminated.
The desperation of Russian forces in this area is increasingly evident. Troops are frequently spotted employing thermal cloaks intended to shield them from detection, yet their poor implementation renders them ineffective, making Russian soldiers even more visible to Ukrainian drones equipped with standard or thermal imaging. Consequently, geolocated drone footage frequently shows Russian units easily identified and swiftly eliminated, despite their attempts at concealment.
Recognizing their unfavorable situation, Russian soldiers in this sector are increasingly choosing to surrender. Facing overwhelming tactical and technological inferiority, many Russian personnel clearly understand they will never survive long enough to leverage their numerical superiority and engage directly with Ukrainian positions.
Overall, Ukraine’s creative application of ancient Roman caltrops combined with cutting-edge drone warfare has produced a lethal defensive tactic. The persistent employment of this approach by the 63rd Mechanized Brigade near Torske has devastated Russian infantry assaults, completely undermining the Russian offensive and maintaining relentless battlefield stagnation. The resurrection of ancient warfare techniques, enhanced by current technology, has decisively turned this frontline area into a killing ground that Russian commanders can neither bypass nor penetrate.
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