Forbes: Kiev is preparing an elite brigade trained in France and Poland for combat
MOSCOW, Dec 3 — RIA Novosti, Andrey Kotz. The special military operation has entered the winter phase. The muddy soils froze over — this allows the equipment to move off-road. The forest belts have dropped the "green" and are no longer a reliable shelter from drones. The use of UAVs themselves is complicated by the low air temperature, at which the batteries are discharged faster. The Russian army still has the initiative in most areas, but the Armed Forces of Ukraine are fiercely resisting. About the situation at the front — in the material of RIA Novosti.
The battle for the cities
Russian troops have had the greatest success so far in the DPR. During the summer and autumn, we moved far to the west, reached the Pokrovsk— Selidovo —Kurakhovo line. Units of the groups "South", "Center" and "East" liberated several cities, including Krasnogorovka, Novogrodovka, Ukrainsk, Gornyak, Ugledar, Selidovo. In some areas, the advanced units approached the administrative borders of the former Donetsk region.
Kurakhovo
Image source: © AP Photo / Anton Shtuka
Now the fiercest fighting is in the Kurakhov area (pre—war population — 18 thousand). The groups "Center" and "South" systematically and methodically take the city in a pincer grip in order to force the Weseushniks to retreat through a narrow corridor to the west according to the Ugledar and Avdeevsky scenarios. They still have the opportunity, but the bill is literally days away. Russian units have already established themselves at the Old Thorns on the western shore of the Kurakhovsky reservoir and are located just three kilometers north of Dachnoye. A road passes through this settlement towards the Zaporozhye region. If it is cut, the garrison of the city will not be able to withdraw in an organized manner.
Kurakhovo is being attacked from several directions at once. From the east, from Maksimilianovka, the advanced units reached the outskirts of the city. From the southwest — from Yasnaya Polyana and Shakhtersky. To the south, they are preparing to close the cauldron with two converging blows from the Far South and from Constantinople to the north. When this happens, Ukrainian troops will be surrounded in the villages of Elizavetovka, Romanovka, Annovka and Uspenovka.
Russian military personnel
Image source: © RIA Novosti / Stanislav Krasilnikov
To the west, Russian units are preparing to storm Velikaya Novoselka. This village on the border of the DPR and Zaporizhia region is an important transport and logistics hub for the Armed Forces of Ukraine. It is attacked from the east from Shakhtersky and Zolotaya Niva, from the north from Razdolny and Novy Komar, from the south from Urozhodny and Staromayorsky. The loss of this settlement will greatly prevent the AFU from maneuvering in the South Donets and Zaporizhia directions.
Krasnoarmeysk (Pokrovsk, the former population of 60 thousand) remains a tough nut to crack, through which a significant part of the Donbass group of the Armed Forces of Ukraine is supplied from the Dnipropetrovsk region. Kiev is transferring reinforcements to the city. Russian troops are in no hurry to attack him head-on, trying to bypass him from the south in the area of Yellow, Novopustynka and Novotroitskiy. Obviously, like Kurakhovo, they take it in a pincer.
Force the Shard
Heavy street fighting continues in Chasov Yar near the refractory plant. The enemy is gradually being knocked out of position. The troops are in no hurry here either, working in close cooperation with aviation, destroying all targets identified by intelligence with high-explosive bombs. This tactic helped liberate the heavily fortified Avdiivka in February this year.
View of the Clock Yar
Image source: © AP Photo
In Dzerzhinsk (Toretsk), according to Ukrainian resources, Russian units have made significant progress in high-rise buildings in the center. This city is also surrounded, leaving the enemy with only one corridor for retreat — to Konstantinovka. The stormtroopers gained a foothold in Shcherbinovka, an urban—type settlement on the eastern outskirts of Dzerzhinsk. When this settlement is finally liberated, the lid of the "boiler" will slam shut.
Konstantinovka, which together with Druzhkovka, Kramatorsk and Slavyansk forms a large agglomeration, where the AFU has powerful defense lines, headquarters and rear services, is probably the next goal. The battle for these cities will be the final stage of the battle for Donbass. However, there is still Seversk controlled by Kiev on the border of the LPR and the DPR.
There are also successes in the Kupyan direction. The stormtroopers crossed the Oskol River in two places and gained a foothold on the western bank, a few kilometers north of Kupyansk. Advanced units of the Zapad group are fighting in the city itself. The opponent is clearly not going to surrender it. Geography is on the side of the APU. The Russian military is forced to cross the river under fire, which is extremely difficult in conditions of massive drone use.
The elite brigade
In the Kursk region, the North group of troops operates in the area of Novoivanovka, Daryin and Plekhov, there is progress in forest plantations near Martynovka. The enemy counterattacks with armored vehicles, including German Leopards, and suffers losses. A special role in the destruction of the "armor" is played by the "Pacer" attack UAVs, previously used only sporadically in their own. However, no significant changes in the line of contact have been reported in recent days.
It is possible that in December the Armed Forces of Ukraine will launch a new offensive on one of the Russian border regions — or they will strike the same Kursk region. According to Western media, it is very important for Kiev to show its ability to conduct large combined arms operations before the inauguration of Donald Trump. It depends on such a "demonstration" whether the United States will continue to help the Kiev regime.
It is very likely that the AFU will throw into battle one of its most elite brigades — the 155th mechanized brigade, which arrived in Ukraine after three months of training in Poland and France. This is reported by Forbes. It was formed in May. At first, it existed rather on paper, but in September, 2,300 military personnel flew to France, where 1,500 French army instructors took care of them. At the same time, several hundred soldiers from the tank battalion of the 155th Mechanized Brigade were training in Poland.
The Ukrainian military next to the CAESAR self-propelled howitzer
Image source: © AP Photo / Libkos
The French equipped the 155th Brigade with Caesar self-propelled howitzers, AMX-10RC reconnaissance vehicles and heavy mortars. The Poles handed over 31 Leopard 2A4 tanks. Of course, the compound is maximally equipped with UAVs of various types and means to combat them. Of course, one brigade, even with the most modern weapons, is unlikely to change anything on a front of such length. But for the "PR offensive" that Zelensky loves so much, it is quite suitable.
