Ukraine beheaded Russia’s most successful offensive in the east.

Today, the most important news comes from the Kostiantynivka direction.

Here, Russia’s most successful offensive this year was just collapsed by a single Ukrainian strike and immense Russian incompetence, decapitating Russian forces. Recently, Ukraine’s unmanned systems forces led by Robert Magyar Brovdi released footage of a drone strike on a Russian command post in the Donetsk rear. Immediately, a follow-up strike confirmed the damage, showing the command post going up in flames, as the second hit ensured that the Russian site was destroyed completely. Shortly thereafter, a Russian statement confirmed that one of their best generals had just been killed in action due to a Ukrainian mid-range drone strike.

With this, Russians confirmed that Ukrainians had successfully killed Major General Anton Grunis, commander of the Russian fourth motorized rifle brigade. His brigade spearheaded the Russian advance into the city of Kostiantynivka, which Russians claim they had already captured in early July. He himself even reported directly to Putin that the city was fully in Russian hands, and was awarded the Hero of Russia title for his success. However, unfortunately for the Russians, Ukrainians are not only maintaining a presence in the city, but are actively denying Russians the ability to consolidate it at all. This is proven by constant streams of geolocated footage, which shows intense fighting throughout the entire city, as well as Russian shelling of Ukrainian positions still as far as the southeastern outskirts.

This major disconnect between the real situation on the ground and what Russian high command believes is already causing major problems for Russian forces in Kostiantynivka. As high-ranking Russian generals believe that the city has been captured, they are increasingly ordering infiltration efforts toward the next Ukrainian city of Oleksievo-Druzhkivka. However, with no solid staging ground to launch these infiltration efforts from, Russian soldiers are forced to abandon their positions in Kostiantynivka to push forward a frontline that only exists on commanders’ maps. As the main Russian commander who was aware that the city still needed to be captured has now been killed, an even larger disconnect is now forming.

While Russian shelling focuses on the north, it is not helping Russian soldiers on the ground moving through Kostiantynivka, who are being ambushed and killed by Ukrainian soldiers still active in the area. Ukrainians in turn are not holding back, as geolocated footage shows Ukrainian F-sixteen jet fighters dropping bombs on Russian drone operators’ launching points throughout the city. Footage released by Ukrainian special police units shows FPV drone strikes on buildings where Russian soldiers are gathering in the west. Dedicated Ukrainian drone battalions show them detecting and tracking Russian infantry as they move through the suburbs. Once they enter a building, Vampire heavy bomber drones drop handfuls of high explosive shells on top of them, leveling their hideouts completely and eliminating them before they can even engage a Ukrainian soldier.

While the situation in the city itself remains difficult, with Russians intensely striking and shelling the main Ukrainian logistical artery into the north, Ukrainians here are using ground robotics systems at a massive scale to deliver a constant stream of supplies into the city, and evacuate wounded soldiers out. The main thing allowing Ukrainians to maintain a foothold is that Russian forces are repeatedly overplaying their hand, using the grey zone to attempt deeper infiltrations without fully consolidating their rear first. Additionally, any consolidation efforts are immediately undermined by their own commanders, as these soldiers are ordered out of their hiding spots and directly out into the open. While Russian drone units are intensely trying to force Ukrainians out by targeting the ground drones delivering Ukrainians their supplies, they have failed for the entire summer now to fully cut off the Ukrainians and capture the town.

Overall, the Ukrainian decapitation strike just killed the only Russian commander who best knew that the city he was awarded for capturing was not in Russian hands at all. As he was also in the best position to redirect resources to actually capturing the city, his liquidation only further spells disaster for Russian efforts here. With Russian reserves being redirected or deployed far outside of real Russian control, more Russian drone operators and support units are being forced to operate inside of the grey zone as well. As these are much easier to track and eliminate close to Ukrainian positions, Russians are not only suffering heavy casualties among their disposable infantry, but among their high-tier elite as well.