01 Feb: Russians Take a Shot at Setting Record Losses - Reporting from Ukraine

[TexasTowelie]

Day 343: February 01

Today there is a lot of good news from the Zaporizhzhia front. Here, the Russians launched a larger-scale offensive operation in an attempt to breach the Ukrainian defense to the north of Vuhledar to cause a chain reaction and collapse for the front line. However, the Russians ran into entrenched Ukrainian tanks along the coal mines that completely defeated them and pushed the Russians all the way back to their initial positions.

Last time I told you that the Russians finally lost control over the eastern hamlet, which was essential for developing their offensive operation further, so the Russians were forced to start everything from scratch. I also told you that the Russians started shifting their focus to the west of Vuhledar, likely in an attempt to enter the town from a less fortified side.

Time works against the Russians, which is why they needed to resume their offensive actions somewhere quickly, and as Ukrainian positions in coal mines proved to be the most problematic, they made them the main focus of the second stage of their offensive. The Ukrainians here also have a very formidable defense: they control the hills by maintaining multiple entrenched positions along the tree belts and local peaks; they are controlling the farmland that needs to be taken prior to moving further, and their main base is in the industrial area with mines and Terrikon. On top of that, these battalions of the 72nd Mechanized Brigade have plenty of tanks at their disposal.

In order to create a breakthrough in this region, the Russians sent one group to imitate an attack on the eastern hamlet, another group to fix Ukrainian troops and not allow them to conduct a flank attack, and for the main axis of advance, the Russians sent their tanks. Recent footage confirmed that Russian tank units were engaging Ukrainian tank units in the vicinity of coal mines. Unfortunately for the Russians, the attack was rebuffed. A Ukrainian military officer reported that Russian forces failed to establish control over these positions and that high casualties and poor weather are constraining Russian combat effectiveness in the area. In fact, today, the Ukrainian General Staff reported almost record-high Russian losses that amounted to 920 killed and 2240 wounded.

The Ukrainian military officer commented on the losses and said that Ukrainian forces eliminated the most experienced Russian formations during the renewed Russian assaults near Vuhledar and that the 155th Naval Infantry Brigade of the Pacific Fleet had suffered extremely heavy losses. And this is not surprising because, after more than a week of incredibly intense fights, the Russians essentially have no progress. Russian sources report that Russian forces are engaging in positional fights. They also reported that the Ukrainians continue using distant mining to prevent the Russians from crossing the fields and that the area has been reinforced by artillery that has already assumed its positions and is firing at the main Russian bridgeheads, which is the northern part of Mykylske and Pavlivka.

Overall, the Russians failed to breach the Ukrainian defense in the coal mines, which was supposed to undermine the Ukrainian defense in Vuhledar. The Ukrainians maintained control over all tactically important positions, including the eastern hamlet that they took back last time. Storming Vuhledar in front once again proved to be a suicide operation. The Russians lost a substantial number of troops during the summer and autumn attempts, and they lost even more during the first week of the full-scale offensive operation.

[Botany]

1. " .... record-high Russian losses that amounted to 920 killed and 2240 wounded."

This puts the Ukrainian forces less the 100 miles north of Mariupol and if the U.A. and its allies are able to
push through to and retake and hold Mariupol this would split the Russian forces in two.