Forbes: Russian Counterattack Near Vovchansk Ended In Defeat
- 2.10.2024, 8:43
More than 100 occupiers and dozens of pieces of equipment were trapped.
17 Russian armored tracks with more than 100 infantrymen went to the assault in Vovchansk. They all replenished the losses of the Russian Federation. Forbes shared details.
The enemy thirsted for revenge a week after the liberation and cleansing of the Vovchansk Aggregate Plant in the Kharkiv region.
"It ended in disaster for the Russians," the publication stressed.
Attacking 30 buildings of the enterprise, 17 MT-LB tracks, three tanks and numerous infantry "crashed into the wall of Ukrainian firepower." Among other things, the 57th Motorized Rifle Brigade used UAVs with grenades against the occupiers.
“When the smoke cleared, 16 MT-LBs and the tank lay smashed. There were literally heaps of dead and mutilated Russians around smouldering corpses," the media described.
Russian fighters entered the battle on 13-ton MT-LBs, about 10 people per car. They probably expected mines to be more dangerous than drones. This assumption was not completely unfounded, because outdated equipment with thin armor burns from mine explosions from below. However, the enemy underestimated the damage from drones.
"Ukrainians are constantly improving their ammunition from drones, adding more sensitive fuses and powerful explosive shells. Therefore, the infantry that rolled to the chemical plant could be sufficiently protected from mines, but was catastrophically vulnerable to drones," the publication explained.
The Russian Armed Forces are getting more and more MT-LBs of the 1970s model from warehouses to replace the lost newer and heavier IFVs. However, the infantry, which has to move on this technique, faces a difficult choice. The Russians can go inside, but then they risk being blown up by a mine, or from above, becoming an easy target for UAVs.
The Ukrainian forces are also forced to rebuild the MT-LB to replace the lost vehicles. However, they are mostly on the defensive rather than attacking, so the defenders can leave the car and dig in. The occupiers often have no other options but to roll out on their “deadly traps” and try to cross the gray zone to get to the Ukrainian positions.
The media stressed that until the AFU goes on a wider attack, they can basically wait for the invaders on the spot. Increasingly, the enemy will attack on obsolete armored tractors, which will become easy prey for drones.