Two Russian divisions attacked fiercely, the 109th Ukrainian Brigade fled.

The situation on the Russian-Ukrainian battlefield is extremely fierce. Recently, the Russian Armed Forces' (RFAF) "thousand cuts" tactic has become increasingly effective. The shadow of this tactic can be seen everywhere on the more than one thousand kilometer long front line. This tactic has confused the Ukrainian army.

The reason is that because the RFAF uses this tactic to create the illusion of a large-scale attack on the entire front, the Ukrainian army (AFU) is always in a passive position, always guessing where the RFAF will launch the main attack?

Let us first talk about this “thousand cuts” tactic; it was precisely a large-scale war of attrition, of the “eat small pieces without fear of choking” type. The RFAF launched attacks on the Ukrainian defense line from every point along the entire line, advancing silently and continuing to wear it down over time; until the AFU was exhausted.

The RFAF has seized the opportunity and broken through the Ukrainian defenses at certain points. To achieve this goal, the RFAF has had to continuously deploy offensive troops on all fronts. The US media outlet CNN reported that under the cover of this tactic, the RFAF is secretly moving troops and weapons to the front lines.

Anyone with a keen eye could see that the RFAF was preparing for a larger-scale offensive, possibly this spring-summer campaign. Of the many possible main attack routes, Konstantinovka was considered one of the key targets.

The area south of Kostiantynivka has now become the focus of the RFAF's attack. The Russian 20th and 150th Motorized Rifle Divisions are advancing at full speed here and launching a full-scale offensive, in the southwestern direction; the main direction of attack is from Chasov Yar.

According to Ukrainian military expert Yuri Podlyaka, revealed on April 13, the AFU is “busy” trying to fill the defense gap. How did this gap appear? It turns out that the 109th Homeland Defense Brigade was too weak, when faced with the RFAF attack, it fled, leaving the Russian troops with little resistance.

As a result, the Russians overran the RFAF's main defense line in one fell swoop. Now the defense line was on the verge of collapse; if the AFU could not hold it, the RFAF would be able to take control of the village of Kalinove, then advance towards Stara Mykolaivka and the H20 highway. This was not good news for the AFU.

When the AFU General Staff realized the danger of the situation, they knew that things were not going well and quickly resorted to the "patchwork" tactic, urgently transferring part of the 93rd Motorized Rifle Brigade fighting near Toretsk to Kalinove, to retake the defense line.

On the evening of May 12, at least one battalion of the 93rd Brigade reached the Kalinove defense line and engaged in fierce and bloody fighting with the 242nd Motorized Infantry Regiment of the Russian 20th Division. At the same time, the next unit of the 93rd Brigade directly encountered the shock troops of the 68th Tank Regiment of the RFAF 150th Division on the H-20 highway, with fierce fighting between the two sides.

The 68th RFAF Regiment advanced north along the H20 highway from west of the village of Arkhanhelske, advancing rapidly the entire way, breaking through successive AFU defenses and reaching southwest of Valentynivka.

At this time, the RFAF's spearhead began to attack the AFU's second line of defense in the village of Valentynivka. This wave of Russian attacks was fierce, and at the same time they created a potential encirclement west of the H20 highway. According to analysts, if the Ukrainian troops here did not quickly retreat, they would be surrounded.

Taking advantage of the momentum of the attack, on April 14, the Russian troops in Panteleimonivka overran Valentynivka in a single attack. At this time, more than half of the village was engulfed in gunfire. An AFU commander nicknamed “Flour” said that the Ukrainian troops defending the village were seriously lacking in UAVs, but the RFAF had a large number of UAVs concentrated here. With such a disparity, the Russian troops easily entered the village.

On May 15, the RFAF captured Valentinivka, breaking through the second line of defense from the west, the AFU’s largest logistical line at Sukhaya Balka; simultaneously creating a pincer attack from three directions. Faced with this attack, the Ukrainian forces there had no choice but to retreat.

After taking control of Sukha Balka, the RFAF continued to advance along the H20 axis, attacking Romanivka, forming a flank to close in on Shcherbynivka from behind. By then, the RFAF's western flank at the Toretsk front would be secure and the Russians would be able to shift the focus of their attack north of Toretsk and then advance towards Kostiantynivka.

Although the AFU tried to defend the second line of defense, after the fall of Sukha Balka, the defense of this line collapsed. If the AFU did not quickly redeploy the defense line along the Torets branch, the Russians could cross the Torets branch from the north and attack the second line of defense and the village of Romanivka from behind.

The village of Romanivka was important, as it was the AFU's key point south of Kostiantynivka. If the RFAF captured it, the entire salient would be lost; the Russians could then quickly "fill in" and then advance straight to the city of Kostiantynivka.



In fact, the RFAF siege of Konstantinovka has already begun quietly. According to the Military Chronicle, Russian commandos attacked the village of Pleshchiivka a few days ago, but have not yet gained a foothold near the village; some have now moved towards the village of Ivanopillya.

Although the RFAF had not yet fully established a foothold in Nelipivka, their advance had also exposed major problems in the AFU's loose southern defences. The reason could be that

The village of Ivanopillya is said to be on the outskirts of Konstantinovka, so the attack on the village could also be considered part of the attack on the city. However, the Russian commandos would probably not be so foolish as to launch a frontal attack, but instead would carry out sabotage operations through infiltration. The Russians call them a reconnaissance and sabotage team.

Source: https://khoahocdoisong.vn/hai-su-doan-nga-tan-cong-du-doi-lu-doan-109-ukraine-thao-chay-post1542265.html