09 Oct: Instant Checkmate. Russians Make a Move. Get Decimated Immediately - Reporting from Ukraine

Day 593: Oct 09

Today, there is a lot of good news from the Donetsk region.

Here, Russian forces conducted yet another attack on Novomykhailivka. As you can see, the settlement is located in a shallow salient, allowing Russians to attack it from 3 directions. It is important to note, however, that Ukrainians have been holding this settlement since the beginning of the war, and based on some unconfirmed reports, the main reason why this small village is such a powerful stronghold lies in the fact that Ukrainians have an extensive system of bunkers and underground tunnels for supplies. Moreover, the fields around the settlement have been densely mined for more than a year. Nonetheless, Russian forces still think that they can override these hurdles by leveraging the territories under their control.

Two weeks ago, Russian forces tried to break through the Ukrainian defenses by attacking them from the north with kamikaze tanks but quickly got stuck in the minefields and destroyed. That is why, today, Russian forces tried to attack Novomykhailivka from the south.

Geolocated footage suggests that Russians decided to advance along the gully between Slavne and Stepne and then attack right along the tree line. The assault unit consisted of at least 3 tanks, 3 armored fighting vehicles, and 50 soldiers. Interestingly, the tracks of the first tank were burning, suggesting that Russians ignited the field on purpose. The camera did not catch the exact moment, so it is hard to make definitive conclusions about that, but one of the purposes of this trick could be to reveal the mines. Ukrainians, for example, utilize this tactic very often as Russians do not dig them in.

The reconnaissance drone operators from the 79 Assault Brigade detected the assault group when it just departed, which is why when the Ukrainian artillery crews received the coordinates and opened fire, Russian forces barely reached the contact line. The first Russian tank was destroyed when Russians advanced by 200 meters into the grey zone. For context, in order to reach Novomykhailivka, Russians needed to cross 3 200 meters.

After immobilizing the first-in-line vehicle, the assault unit got stuck, and the first batch of Russian soldiers started running away from the front. Ukrainian forces expected such a result, which is why the moment the drone operator communicated to the artillery crews that the vehicle was immobilized, they switched to cluster shells. Soon, the tank was completely destroyed by a direct hit of an artillery shell or an ATGM.

Nonetheless, the armored fighting vehicles behind the tank tried to move around it through the field and continue the mission. Unfortunately for Russians, they got on a mine. Shortly, another tank that was providing fire support from a distance was hit. Finally, the remaining tank and 2 armored fighting vehicles were damaged, and the crew was seen fleeing the site.

Interestingly, Russian forces did not use demining equipment in this attack. They used it the last time to ensure a safe passage for a kamikaze tank, but not for the soldiers. And this is not a coincidence because Ukrainian reconnaissance teams tracked down the demining equipment that Russians used and found out where it was hidden. As a result, several days prior to this suicidal assault, the Ukrainian HIMARS crew conducted a precision strike and destroyed 2 demining systems.

Moreover, Ukrainian fighters from this region report that Russians use a lot of prisoners from Storm-Z detachments in this region, which is why some analysts concluded that the Russian command did not want to adjust the schedule of assaults after the loss of demining equipment and ordered to attack without sufficient support and preparation. Such an approach led to the complete destruction of the Russian assault unit, including 3 tanks and 3 armored fighting vehicles.