Posted on 05/12/2022 8:12:19 AM PDT by Cronos
The aftermath of the Russian attempt to cross the Siverskyi Donets River.
The better part of a Russian army battalion—50 or so vehicles and up to a thousand troops—in recent days tried to cross a pontoon bridge spanning the Siverskyi Donets River, running west to east between the separatist provinces of Donetsk and Luhansk in eastern Ukraine.
Ukrainian artillery caught them at the river bank—and destroyed them. The rapid destruction of around three dozen tanks and other armored vehicles, along with the bridge itself, underscores Russia’s deepening woes as its troops try, and fail, to make meaningful gains in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas region.
“We still assess Russian ground force in the Donbas to be slow and uneven,” an unnamed U.S. Defense Department official told reporters on Tuesday. The Russians’ inability to cross rivers might explain their sloth.
The Siverskyi Donets, which threads from southern Russia into eastern Ukraine then back into Russia, is just one of several water barriers Russian battalions must cross in order to advance west into Ukrainian-held territory. According to the Ukrainian armed forces’ general staff, the battalion that got caught at the pontoon bridge apparently was trying to strike at Lyman, a city of 20,000 that lies 17 miles west of the doomed crossing.
The Ukrainian army’s 17th Tank Brigade spotted the bridge, perhaps using one of the many small drones that function as the army’s eyes over the battlefield. The 17th is one of the army’s four active tank brigades. Its line battalions operate T-64 tanks and BMP fighting vehicles. But it was the brigade’s artillery battalion with its 2S1 122-millimeter howitzers that apparently got first crack at the Russian bridge.
The 17th’s shelling destroyed at least seven T-72 and T-80 tanks, 17 BMPs, seven MT-LB armored tractors, five other vehicles and much of the bridging unit itself, including a tugboat and the pontoon span.
It’s unclear how many Russians died or were wounded, but it’s worth noting that no battalion can lose three-quarters of its vehicles and remain capable of operations. In one strike, the Ukrainians removed from the battlefield one of the roughly 99 Russian battalion tactical groups in Ukraine.
In the aftermath of their defeat, local Russian forces are sticking to their side of the river, “trying to hold positions on the right bank,” according to the general staff in Kyiv. The disastrous river-crossing comes as Russian forces also are retreating away from the city of Kharkiv, farther north.
To be fair to Moscow, crossing any water obstacle during wartime is dangerous. The Ukrainians can claim perhaps the most lopsided victory over an enemy bridging effort, but the Russians have knocked out some Ukrainian spans, too.
The Russians are not fighting in pure battalions but in Battalion Tactical Groups.
—
BTG are a western construct - no one in the orc or UA army has a clue about such a thing
Here’s the actual structure of Russian Mechanized Infantry Brigades according to the UA and the RGF:
The RGF once used the Army with many Divisions. But that was during WWII and the cold war. Since there were no more major wars, the RGF downsized its unit division from Division to Battalion. However since 2012 or so they have begun to convert back to Division.
Now there is a mix of unit designations Division and Battalion.
None of the smaller divisions are even close to Western unit make up (totally forget the “BTG” terminology - a Western construct).
For instance: there are 2 kinds of Mechanized Infantry Brigades, each with a different, but similar, make up. Call them Type A and Type B.
Type A has 2 tank battalions (~60 T-72 tanks), 2 Infantry battalions, Engineer battalion, Recon battalion, 2 self propelled arty battalions (could be up to 3 battalions), MLRS (Grad) battalion, AA battalion, Comm battalion, UAV battalion (Orlon-10), Sniper battalion, and Support battalion. Self-sufficient.
Type B has 3 infantry battalions (mixed as A& B below), 1 Tank battalion.
Infantry battalions in each Brigade are of two types, call them A & B.
A has ~540 troops, 49 BTR-82s, 8 120MM Mortars, 6 AGS-17s, 15 AT missile. 3 SPG-9s. 3 companies of about 109-110 troops.
Fighting force about 300 troops.
B has ~460 troops, 42 - BMP-2s, 8 120mm mortars, 6 AGS-17s, 15 AT missiles, 3 SPG-9s. 3 companies of 91 troops.
Fighting force about 270 troops.
Troops on the frontline are never more than half, but more like 40%
—
They took pieces from intact Divisions and Brigades to make the original unit make up at the start of the invasion. This cannot be fixed.
Kremlin could blame it all on “Ukrainian programmed Nazi Piranha fish with steel implants”, and the cherry picking/revisionist history Putin/Xi globalists on FR and many formerly conservative sites would circulate the info as “gospel”.
We should “photoshop” some images of the “Ukrainian programmed Nazi Piranha with steel implants” to help prove it...
Looks like more than one Mechanized Infantry Brigade, possibly even 2 or 3 mixed and thrown together to make a fighting force.
Waiting for the usual here to claim this is Uke propaganda.
3... 2... 1....
You're right, Russians are destroying their main enemy-Ukrainian tractors
A tractor working the fields was hit by a Russian airstrike
Still claiming Russia Will make ukraine land locked...no onto the third month and it isn’t so...denial ain’t just a riverine eygpt.
Vladolf’s cheering section are going to have to hit the copium pretty hard
“How long has Russian troop mass been parked outside Kiev”
You think there is rooskies outside Kiev? Thats news to the rooskies
You dudes stop that utter nonsense. I would rather cut off my own dick than get involved in anything like that.
Go Ukes ! Burn the mongol rus nazis. Glory to the heroes. Death to the rus nazi pigs !!!
Prolly be better just to take a bridge.
Why do Russian tanks that got flooded in a river crossing have their turrets blown off and missing. Those Russians!!
6up. It’s not western bias
Maybe ultimately war is just two robot armies soplugging it out and no humans killed.
The best zamoyski book is a short one, about the1920 battle of Warsaw
The sources are multiple witnesses, satellite imagery etc.
Kazan “There is but one outcome to this war — Russia will control the entire Donbass region. The “
Just stating your and Putin’s dream won’t make it happen.
In fact the opposite seems to be true.
Your Rossiya is weak.
Whoa. That appears to be a major ass kicking.
Arty rules!
Any generals killed this time?
5.56mm
““...the Ukrainians removed from the battlefield one of the roughly 99 Russian battalion tactical groups in Ukraine.”
Only 98 to go.”
Exactly! Also, the whole special operation was intended to last 3 months and not 3 days. Everything is going according to plan.
Then only about 10 more days to go until the special operation “plan” will be over. If Putin still has any generals left alive by then, I’m sure they will join him in Moscow for a big victory parade.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.