Main points
- In the Lyman direction, the Russians are using infantry as a “living radar” to detect Ukrainian positions, and drones are the main threat to Ukrainian logistics.
- Ukrainian defenders are trying to destroy enemy drone takeoff points, but weather conditions, including frost and wind, are making this task difficult.
In the Lyman direction, the Russians are infiltrating in small assault groups, using infantry as a “living radar” to detect Ukrainian positions. Drones have become the main threat – any logistics, evacuation or ammunition transport has become a mortal risk, and the constant tension is exhausting the personnel.
Olena, the head of the planning group of the MARA 66th Motorized Rifle Brigade's UAV battalion, explained to Channel 24 that the Ukrainian defenders are countering by destroying the take-off points of enemy UAVs, but it is extremely difficult to do this in frosty conditions.
Why does the enemy throw infantry forward first and how does Ukraine respond?
We already know all the enemy's routes and their equipment, we work behind their backs, so all assaults are repelled. However, the enemy is still accumulating equipment here, cheap drones and infantry, which he uses to detect our positions,
– said Elena.
The Russians are continuously seeping in in small groups and taking advantage of the frost and lack of mud to bring up equipment and troops. However, this is temporary, because modern warfare is a battle of wits, and the one who is better prepared to counter the enemy wins.
The Russians value their equipment and robotic systems much more than infantry, so they throw manpower forward first. The infantry goes exclusively to force Ukrainian units to open fire and thus reveal their positions.
After that, enemy UAV operators calculate the take-off points of Ukrainian drones and try to suppress them with CABs in order to deprive the defenders of air cover and ensure further penetration of their infantry.
How does Russia keep Ukrainian soldiers in constant tension?
The main weather problem for Ukrainian drones is not frost, but wind. Gusty headwinds require pilots to be extremely skilled to reach their targets. The Russians take advantage of this – they don’t care whether the infantryman reaches the target or not, the main thing is that he will reveal the position from which they are working on him.
Using infantry as the main resource, while having robotic complexes, is shameful for any commander. But Russia does not neglect anything in its work,
– Elena noted.
The frontline road as such no longer exists – any logistics, evacuation of the wounded or transportation of ammunition have turned into a game of Russian roulette, as the crew is forced to constantly look into the sky in anticipation of an enemy FPV drone.
The Russians massively use cheap drones not only for strikes, but also for psychological pressure – they force Ukrainian fighters to be constantly under tension, without any opportunity to relieve themselves, because at the front every minute is someone's life.
“Imagine: a frozen dugout, frost that even equipment cannot withstand, and you have to find a place in the frozen forest where the enemy is operating. The enemy is masked, setting up false positions, and you have to see the real take-off point through a thermal imager. Destroying one such point is minus one eye for the enemy, which can make life easier for the entire brigade for at least a few hours,” Olena explained.
Pay attention! Oleksandr Musienko, a serviceman of the Territorial Defense Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, explained that the enemy's tactics in offensive operations do not change. If we talk about the section from the Liman to Sloviansk, then the Russians are pressing and want to cut off one of our key routes.
What else is known about the situation in the Limansk direction?
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In the Lyman direction, Ukrainian soldiers captured two occupiers who were trying to get to the positions of the Defense Forces.
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The enemy is most active in the Porovsky and Lymansky directions.
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In the Lyman direction, the Russians deliberately set fire to their own equipment to avoid being destroyed by Ukrainian drones. Fighters of the drone battalion watched as the enemy doused their UAZ SGR with gasoline and set it on fire.