27 May: No Match. Russia's Turtle Tanks Shattered by Mines and Drones! - Reporting from Ukraine

Day 824: May 27

Today, there are a lot of updates from the Kurakhove direction.

Here, following the withdrawal of Ukrainian forces from Novomykhailivka due to intense Russian pressure after half a year of heavy fighting, Russian troops are now attempting to seize the next tactically valuable position: Kostyantynivka. Capturing this location could enable them to achieve their primary objective in this direction—to bypass the Ukrainian stronghold of Vuhledar.

After initial unsuccessful attempts to capture Kostyantynivka with attacks from the west and southwest of Novomykhailivka, Russian forces decided to take a brief tactical pause to bring in reinforcements and prepare better for the upcoming battle. Kostyantynivka, a key transportation hub in the region, is crucial for any side that controls it. Prominent Russian military bloggers have noted that controlling Kostyantynivka would complicate Ukrainian logistics along the Vuhledar-Mariinka highway and create conditions for encircling the Ukrainian army group around Vuhledar.

The next logical step for the Russians was to commit significant forces to operations aimed at breaking through the Ukrainian defense line near Novomykhailivka. According to a Ukrainian commander in the area, the Russians have concentrated approximately ten units, including two brigades and several regiments, conducting over ten daily assaults with infantry and heavy equipment. These attacks follow the same two main vectors: one directly to the west and another heading southwest. The assaults are supported by strikes with guided aerial bombs and the continuous use of Lancet loitering munitions against relatively small targets, such as individual mortars, to undermine Ukrainian defensive capabilities.

Geolocated footage has emerged online, showcasing some of these attacks and their typical unfolding. In the first clip, published by Russian sources, an armored group is seen advancing against a Ukrainian position along a tree line in front of Paraskoviivka, a suburb of Kostyantynivka. Russian artillery provides suppressive fire against the defenders. Paraskoviivka is considered tactically important by the Russians due to its location just east of Kostyantynivka, with both settlements separated by a small lake. To advance into the village from the south of this water obstacle, the Russians need to capture the suburb on the north side, as failing to do so would leave their flank vulnerable to Ukrainian counterattacks. To support these multi-directional assaults, the Russians have conducted several heavy bombardments on Paraskoviivka.

Ukrainian soldiers from the 79th Separate Airborne Assault Brigade, responsible for the defense of this region, have released several videos showing in detail how they are countering Russian attempts to gain ground. These elite forces are engaged in relentless day-and-night operations, prioritizing the destruction of enemy armored vehicles. The first Russian vector of attack is through the farms located north of Novomykhailivka and east of Paraskoviivka. A turtle tank is leading the attack but explodes after hitting an antitank mine. Once it is disabled, the rest of the assault group, consisting of T72B3 and T80BV tanks, is also targeted with FPV drones and Javelin-guided missiles until all vehicles are destroyed. Simultaneously, the Russians also started another attack southwest of Novomykhailivka in an attempt to outflank the defenders in Kostyantynivka and attack them from the south. Here, their assault group consisted of several T-62M tanks, BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles, and BTR-82A armored personnel carriers, which tried to cross the open fields at high speed but were quickly spotted and destroyed by the Ukrainians. Although the published videos show only a fraction of the destroyed equipment, they highlight the resurgence of powerful Javelin anti-tank guided missiles, now widely available to the Ukrainians due to new aid packages from the United States.

After neutralizing the armored vehicles in both vectors of the attack, the Ukrainians quickly shift their focus to the enemy infantry and the surviving crews. Their drone operators documented how they finish off enemy soldiers in trenches, tree lines, and various hideouts using drone-dropped...