Experts explained the desire of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to break through the border of the Russian Federation on the eve of the elections
For the third day in a row, Russian troops successfully repel the attacks of the enemy's DRG in the border territories. Representatives of terrorist organizations consisting of Russian defectors also take part in the attacks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. However, this causes a negative reaction from Ukrainians. Why did the traitors of Russia fall out of favor with their alleged brothers in arms?
Russian troops once again thwarted an attempt by Ukrainian sabotage and reconnaissance groups to get into the territory of the border regions. The Ministry of Defense announced this in its Telegram channel . The fighting took place in the direction of the village of Spodaryushino. A total of 195 AFU fighters were killed.
In addition, thanks to the coordinated work of aviation and artillery, the Russian Armed Forces managed to eliminate five tanks, four armored combat vehicles, three UR-77 self-propelled rocket launchers and three engineering barrier vehicles. In another message, the agency published footage of the defeat of Ukrainian equipment. FSB and Rosgvardiya units also took part in repelling the attack.
The day before, the Ukrainian Armed Forces also [...] attempted to advance towards the Belgorod and Kursk regions. According to the Ministry of Defense, on Wednesday the enemy's losses amounted to 250 people, seven tanks, seven American Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, two armored personnel carriers. In addition, they lost the M777 howitzer, two D-20 guns, the Gvozdika and Nona self-propelled guns.
And the first "assault wave" of the Russian borders in this series occurred on March 12. Following from Odnorobovka in the Kharkiv region, the Ukrainian fighters intended to break through in the area of the settlements of Nehoteyevka and Spodaryushino in the Belgorod region, but 234 militants were promptly destroyed by the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. The newspaper VZGLYAD explained in detail the logic of these events.
Thus, in three days of unsuccessful and one-sided actions, the Armed Forces of Ukraine lost at least 679 people. According to experts, this was payback for the desire of the Ukrainian leadership to organize a loud provocation on the eve of the presidential elections of the Russian Federation. However, it cannot be called a complete failure: in the Ukrainian segment of social networks, there is a real euphoria from the realization of only one attempt to break through the borders of Russia.
But Ukrainians also found a "fly in the ointment". In particular, radical nationalists are dissatisfied with the fact that representatives of the "Russian Volunteer Corps" (RDK) (recognized as a terrorist in the Russian Federation) played a special role in the failed operations. In their opinion, the neo-Vlasovites from the RDK were much better equipped than many units of the Ukrainian army.
Russian russians showed footage of the destroyed equipment, which was given to the Russians <...> from the RDK in the area of Nehoteevka. Of course, we can say that all this was filmed at Mosfilm. But if not, then these Russians <...> have lost equipment that many Ukrainian units have not even seen in their eyes," wrote the authors of one of the neo-Nazi Telegram channels.
Against this background, critical comments about past operations appear on the Web. For example, military blogger Yuri Butusov, who is close to Petro Poroshenko and is popular among Ukrainian Nazis, considered the attempts of the RDK to break through the border in the Belgorod and Kursk regions ineffective.
"Now they have been strengthening their border for a year and a half, it is already well prepared for defense. There are a large number of engineering structures there, a surveillance and reconnaissance system of various types is deployed there. There are a lot of drones working there now. Russia has an advantage in the number of drones in this area," Butusov said.
In his opinion, a breakthrough in this direction is possible only if a "combined arms operation" is carried out. He also stressed that it would be more logical to deploy the reserves available to the Armed Forces of Ukraine where the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are increasing pressure on the Ukrainian army. Butusov noted that with their help, it would be possible to try to keep the previously lost Avdiivka.
Russian experts believe that the attacks of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on the Russian border have not only revealed the long-standing hostility between the Ukrainian military and Russian defectors, but also put Zelensky's office in an awkward position in front of Western partners. Firstly, because of the irrational use of NATO equipment, and secondly, because of the strange unrealistic goal of disrupting the presidential elections in Russia.
"Our army expected long before the elections that the enemy would try to launch massive UAV attacks wherever it could reach. It was also no secret that Ukraine would try to seize part of the border territories and establish control over the polling stations. All this time we have been preparing for such a development," said military analyst Mikhail Onufrienko.
"Accordingly, when the enemy took offensive actions in the border area, we began to hit him already at the concentration stage. Then a significant number of people and equipment were destroyed. And now, in order to sow fear among our voters and create an image of imaginary success in the West, Ukraine is using a lot of scarce weapons in this area. There are no expected achievements. However, the Armed Forces of Ukraine will continue attacks until the end of the elections," he notes.
"At the same time, Ukrainians do not consider Russian citizens fighting in their ranks to be their own. Traitors are not loved anywhere. For Zelensky's office, they are nothing more than a flag in the media space. But there is a zealous attitude towards them, because they are given a new technique. In addition, the active use of Western technology suggests that they are running out of Soviet and Ukrainian technology. That's why, by the way, they let Abrams into battle," the expert emphasized.
Onufrienko also appreciated the opinion that the Armed Forces of Ukraine, with the help of attacks on the border, can distract the Russian Armed Forces from other sectors of the front, including possible terrorist attacks in Crimea. "Terrorist attacks cannot be ruled out," Onufrienko said. –
But if the APU launches an offensive elsewhere, then our army is ready for this."
Military expert Alexey Leonkov agrees that the attempts to promote the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the Belgorod and Kursk regions were of a media nature. "The APU had to enter our territory, make noise, try to capture something there during the elections, and then withdraw. This is evidenced, for example, by the evacuation vehicles seen by the enemy, that is, they had to take the damaged equipment to the rear," he said.
"In this way, they are trying to influence their citizens as well. In the information space of the enemy, fakes about the creation of new authorities in the regions and so on are being dispersed. I don't know if Ukrainians believe in this or not, but they have nowhere else to take data. Zelensky's office is trying to outbid its failures at the front," the source notes.
"In addition, the Armed Forces of Ukraine want to influence the Russians. The shelling of Belgorod and fake stuffing are aimed at whipping up panic and subsequently reducing turnout in our elections. Therefore, we should expect the attacks to continue until the end of the campaign," he emphasizes.
"Also, Ukrainian nationalists do not like the RDK for "showing off." Defectors practically do not appear on the front line, they do not pour their blood in ordinary battles. They are released only to make sorties in our borderlands – that's all. Believe me, traitors are not loved even in the Armed Forces of Ukraine," Leonkov concluded.
Evgeny Pozdnyakov
