Kyiv’s forces are eschewing armore vehicles, which are see to be useless. In favor of close-quarters infantry warfare, which is virtually hand-to-hand. In an effort to breach Russian defenses.
Similar situations have been seen in recent weeks in frontline films posted on Ukrainian social media. Reconnaissance drones capture footage showing sections. Ukrainian forces approaching Russian-held trenches in the south of the nation, along the line from Zaporizhzhia to Donetsk. Qhere the most intense fighting is now occurring. The action is nearly hand-to-hand and there is a heavy exchange of gunfire. Neither armored vehicles nor aircraft support are visible. The Kyiv forces are systematically dismantling the enemy defenses. Trench by trench and bunker by bunker, while attempting to suffer the fewest possible casualties.
The counter-offensive started by Kyiv in early June stands out for its reliance on infantry, which has become the key to expanding their forces. Long-range battle combining aviation and armored resources has long been a hallmark of modern warfare. According to Thibault Fouillet, the scientific director of the Institute for Strategy and Defense Studies at Lyon-III University, “the Ukrainians are rediscovering trench warfare and adopting tactics reminiscent of the German Sturmtruppen,” (shock units formed during World War I to assault Allied lines).
However, last spring, Western military experts were placing their money on armored assaults to breach Russian defenses. NATO manuals advocated using this strategy, which has worked well in previous battles like the Iraq War of 2003. By asking their partners for armored vehicles, the Ukrainians themselves appeared to support this strategy. They had some success because Ukrainian forces have now received several dozen German Leopard and British Challenger tanks. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the arrival of the first American Abrams tank on Monday, September 25, with Washington promising a total of 31 pieces.
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lines with mines on them
Armoured vehicle attacks on the heavily reinforced Russian military system in the country’s southern and eastern areas, however, rapidly proved to be unsuccessful. The Surovikin Line is the name given to this region in honor of the person who led Russian forces in Ukraine from October 2022 to January 2023. Images from the Zaporizhzhia region showed Ukrainian tanks wrecked or rendered immobile by explosives or artillery fire as early as mid-June. “The Ukrainians advanced in columns without using smoke screens or artillery preparation to cover their advance. According to a French military source, it couldn’t work. The first units dispatched to “breach” the Russian lines reportedly suffered up to 20% losses.