Monday 26 February 2024

Russian forces repel seven counterattacks in Avdeyevka area, moving to better positions

Russian forces repel seven counterattacks in Avdeyevka area, moving to better positions

Russian forces repel seven counterattacks in Avdeyevka area, moving to better positions





©Dmitry Yagodkin/TASS






Russian forces repelled seven enemy counterattacks in the Avdeyevka area in the past day, moving to more advantageous positions, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.







"In the Avdeyevka area, units of Battlegroup Center moved to more advantageous positions, hitting troops and equipment of the Third Assault Brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces and the 107th Territorial Defense Brigade near Tonenkoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic. In addition, seven enemy counterattacks were repelled near Novgorodskoye, Leninskoye, Lastochkino and Novobakhmutovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the statement reads.


According to the Defense Ministry, the enemy lost up to 100 troops, four armored combat vehicles, eight motor vehicles, a Grad multiple rocket launcher, a D-30 howitzer and a Bukovel-AD electronic warfare system.


Moreover, russian aircraft, artillery units and missile forces hit Ukrainian troops and equipment in 127 areas in the past day, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.


"Russian tactical aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, missile forces and artillery units hit enemy troops and equipment in 127 areas," the statement reads.



South Donetsk area



Russian forces defeated three Ukrainian brigades in the south Donetsk area in the past day, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.


"In the south Donetsk area, units of Battlegroup East inflicted a fire defeat on troops of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade and the 58th Motorized Infantry Brigade of the Ukrainian armed forces and the 121st Territorial Defense Brigade near Novodonetskoye, Ugledar and Staromayorskoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic. A counterattack by a Ukrainian assault team was repelled near Novodonetskoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the statement reads.


According to the ministry, the enemy lost up to 140 troops, two tanks, three armored combat vehicles, three motor vehicles and a Grad multiple rocket launcher. "In addition, a Bukovel-AD electronic warfare system and a Ukrainian ammunition depot were also hit," the ministry added.



Zaporozhye Region



Russian forces repelled two attacks by Ukrainian assault teams in the Zaporozhye Region in the past day, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.


"Two counterattacks by the assault teams of the 15th National Guard Brigade were repelled near Rabotino in the Zaporozhye Region. In the Kherson area, units of Battlegroup Dnepr inflicted a fire defeat on troops and equipment of the 28th and 65th mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian armed forces near Rabotino and Shcherbaki in the Zaporozhye Region," the statement reads.


According to the ministry, Ukraine lost up to 30 troops, three motor vehicles and a US-made M777 howitzer.



Watch Russian Heavy Howitzers Strike Ukrainian Positions in Zaporozhye



Frontline territories in Zaporozhye, Kherson and the Donbass have turned into a deadly no man’s land, with areas stretching thousands of square kilometers becoming barren landscapes of ruined buildings, felled brush and trees and steppes pockmarked by back and forth firing.






Russia’s Defense Ministry has published new footage of Msta-B 152-mm towed artillery crews firing on fortified Ukrainian positions in Zaporozhye region.


The footage, shot by drones hovering over the battlefield, shows 152-mm shells landing on a landscape heavily scarred in intense fighting, with the impacting projectiles sending earth and vegetation flying skyward as Russian forces searched for Ukrainian troops operating in the area.


Developed in the 1980s and fielded by Russia and half a dozen other post-Soviet countries, the Msta-B is among the most modern pieces of towed artillery in use in the world today. The 6.8 ton, 12.7 meter-long weapon is crewed by between 6-11 personnel, and can fire 5-6 high-explosive shells per minute. The system has a maximum firing range of nearly 29 km.


A self-propelled version of the howitzer, the 2S19 Msta-S, was put into service in the late 1980s, and has been used extensively by Russian forces over the course of operations in the proxy war with NATO in Ukraine.



Kupyansk area



Russian forces repelled four Ukrainian attacks near the Senkovka railway station in the Kupyansk area in the past day, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.


"In the Kupyansk area, units of Battlegroup West inflicted a fire defeat on troops and equipment of the 143rd Infantry Brigade and the 25th Airborne Brigade near Prikolotoye in the Kharkov Region and Terny in the Donetsk People’s Republic. Besides, four enemy counterattacks were repelled near the Senkovka railway station in the Kharkov Region. The Ukrainian army lost up to 180 troops, a tank, three motor vehicles, a US-made M777 howitzer, a US-made M198 howitzer and a D-20 howitzer," the statement reads.



Donetsk area



Ukraine lost over 360 troops in the Donetsk area in the past day, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.


"In the Donetsk area, units of Battlegroup South improved their frontline positions, defeating the forces of the 22nd, 28th and 92nd mechanized brigades of the Ukrainian armed forces near Kleshcheyevka, Dyleyevka and Kurdyumovka in the Donetsk People’s Republic. The Ukrainian army lost over 360 troops, a tank, two armored combat vehicles and four motor vehicles," the statement reads.


According to the ministry, a US-made M777 howitzer, a German-made Panzerhaubitze 2000 howitzer, a D-20 howitzer, a Gvozdika howitzer and a Ukrainian ammunition depot were hit by counterbattery fire.



Air Force and air defenses



Russian air defenses destroyed 77 Ukrainian unmanned aerial vehicles and downed six HIMARS rockets in the past day, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.


"Air defenses downed six HIMARS rockets and destroyed 77 Ukrainian drones in the past day, particularly near Novokrasnyanka, Raigorodka, Troitskoye and Golikovo in the Lugansk People’s Republic, Sladkaya Balka in the Zaporozhye Region and Chernomorovka in the Kherson Region," the statement reads.



Destroyed equipment tally



According to the Russian Defense Ministry, a total of 574 planes, 267 helicopters, 13,392 unmanned aerial vehicles, 473 missile systems, 15,220 tanks and other armored combat vehicles, 1,225 multiple rocket launchers, 8,161 field artillery systems and mortars, as well as 19,055 special military motor vehicles, have been wiped out since the start of Moscow’s special military operation.



Watch Russian Shootin’-and-Scootin’ Giantsint-S Gun Strike Ukrainian Dugout



NATO defense officials informed Western media last fall that Russia is producing up to 7 times more ammunition than the US and Europe combined, with the Western bloc at risk of running out of weaponry and cash to continue fueling the proxy war against Moscow in Ukraine.






Russia’s Defense Ministry has published footage of a 2S5 Giantsint-S self-propelled gun speedily maneuvering around the battlefield and firing at Ukrainian positions in Kharkov region’s Kupyansk area.


The footage shows the heavy 152 mm self-propelled gun traveling through a field, stopping, communicating by radio with command to determine its fire coordinates, preparing shells for fire and launching strikes.


The MoD says the gun destroyed a Ukrainian camouflaged dugout and killed an unspecified number of enemy troops. Maneuverability can be critical for artillery forces operating in frontline areas, with the enemy able to quickly triangulate their location, meaning after firing, howitzers, guns and rocket artillery systems must quickly evacuate the area before being struck in an enemy retaliation. This strategy of firing and leaving the area is known in US military jargon as shoot-and-scoot.


Developed in the 1960s and produced for the Soviet military between the mid-1970s and early 1990s, the 2S5 Giantsint-S is one of about half-a-dozen heavy self-propelled artillery and rocket systems used by Russia in the ongoing NATO-backed proxy war in Ukraine. The Russian military is estimated to operate about 85 Giantsint-S guns at any one time, with 850 more in storage. Belarus is the second-largest operator of the system, with over 100 Giantsint-S guns in service with the Belarusian Armed Forces as of 2023. Ukraine is estimated to possess about 10 Giantsint-S systems.


The Giantsint-S uses a modified 2K11 Krug SAM system tracked chassis, which can lug its 152 mm 2A37 L54-caliber gun distances up to 500 km at speeds between 25 km per hour in rough terrain to 62 km per hour on the highway. The system has a 5-man crew, and a firing range of between 28-40 km, depending on the type of round used (rocket-assisted rounds fly further).





















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