War in Ukraine: an entire Russian battalion with more than a thousand men fell into the death trap

“The artillery of the 17th Tank Brigade of the Ukrainian Army opened the holiday season for the Russians. Some bathed in the Siverski Donets River, and others were burned on the day of May”. The tweet full of paradox from the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense was accompanied by an image with the burnt remains of an entire battalion of Russiawho fell into the death trap while crossing a bridge in Eastern Ukraine.

The Russian battalion consists of two companies of soldiers and 30 units of equipmentincluding tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers rushed to a bridge they had built on the pontoons, when the withering Ukrainian attack fell on them.

Crossing the river during the war was one of the tasks more dangerous and difficult what’s up.

Photos from the scene show dozens of tanks burned after Ukrainian forces cannonized the bridge. The troops fell into the water. The surviving soldiers attempted to swim ashore.

The incident revealed the pressure felt by Russian commanders to thrive and advance in the East, taking advantage of these dangers. It is not known how many Russian soldiers were killed, but Kyiv estimates nearly a thousand.

not so much

Security expert and former UK military officer, justin crumptold the BBC that Russia’s efforts “failed miserably”. But he said Ukraine’s claim to have killed more than 1,000 men was unlikely exaggerated.

This CEO of security consultancy Sibylline Ltd estimates that more than 140-180 Russians were killed. And he explained that it is unlikely that the 70 or 80 vehicles destroyed in the Ukrainian attack were filled with infantrymen, but instead they were used to explore the area and lay pontoon bridges.

This particular operation is evidence of Moscow’s “reconnaissance by fire” tactics, he explained, meaning “Move forward until someone shoots you.”

Kremlin troops appear to be trying to isolate the city of Severodonetsk from Ukraine, but Crump acknowledges that there is a lot of uncertainty over events.

Crump suggests that the Russian battalion was removed within a few days last week, along with Ukrainians using precision artillery. However, the Russians may have destroyed some of their own vehicles to deny their enemy any equipment.

A strategic river

The Siverski Donets river has large strategic value for both sides, Crump explains. Russia controls the link points in Izyum and downstream, while Ukraine has a stretch in between.

But the heavy losses here don’t mean the Russians haven’t made a close crossing, Crump said, citing evidence of fighting in the Ukrainian-controlled southwestern part of the river.

Furthermore, he said, the Russians remain “determined” to use such tactics to surround Severodonetsk and gain land to the east.

“Up to a point, they throw corpses into the river until they can walk on corpses ”, graphs.

Russia has not yet commented on the alleged losses.

The river flows into the Donetsk and Luhansk regions of eastern Ukraine, which recently The main objective of Russia’s military.

Despite the defeats at the Siversky Donets river crossing, Moscow forces appear to be profiting in the area.

The crossing and the attack

Russia began its attempt to cross the Siverski Donets River on May 8, carrying two companies of soldiers and 30 units of equipment, including tanks, infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers, according to the Ukrainian information service. InformNapalm.

Once they crossed, Ukrainian forces destroyed the water pontoon bridge and the Russian troops “they fell into the trap”said.

The Russian army suffered a severe defeat and many troops attempted to flee and swim to the other shore, but they were fired upon by the ukrainian armyHe added.

He reported that a tank he tried to drive onto the water pontoon bridge was shot down and “upside down” on its side, and others were destroyed.

More than 70 units of Russian military equipment were lost as a result of the failed crossing, and Ukraine claims that more than 1,000 soldiers may have been killed. However, both sides regularly report losses to each other which experts warn they are inflated

British military intelligence confirmed that the Russian battalion lost almost all of its armored vehicles when Ukrainian forces bombed temporary floating bridges used by Russian forces.

After the attack, according to the Ukrainian version, The Russian troops leftleft part of his team.

The Russians tried Four days crossed that river, west of Severodonetsk in the Donbas.

Source agencies and BBC News

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