What are results of Russia’s 15-day offensive in Kharkiv region?
Actions of Russian and Ukrainian troops on 25 May, 23.00
Russian troops:
seized a border strip up to 70 km wide and 10 settlements. All of these villages are located near the border, in fact in the war zone, and only a few dozen residents remain there.
The depth of the advance is maximum in the direction of the village of Lyptsi - up to 9 km into the depths of Ukraine.
In the city of Vovchansk, the advance is up to 7 km.
In the direction of the village of Starytsia - up to 5 km.
At the moment, the enemy is gaining a foothold in the captured territory, continuing attacks, deploying fresh reserves, striking at our rear and continuing to hold the tactical initiative.
On 25 May, Russian troops attacked in the direction of Lyptsi and Vovchansk. All attacks were repelled.
Actions of Ukrainian troops:
The threat of a Russian breakthrough in all directions has been repelled, and a stable front has been created on the northern front of the Kharkiv region. Wherever the Russians continue their attacks, the enemy suffers significant losses.
The Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, appointed the Deputy Chief of the General Staff, an energetic and competent general, M. Drapaty, as the new commander of the Kharkiv military operation. Syrskyi also quickly deployed several combat-ready brigades and battalions to the area, especially those with a significant number of Kharkiv residents. The troops are being supplied with artillery ammunition. Artillery and infantry interaction and situational awareness have been established along the entire frontline.
It is worth noting that the Ukrainian command does not use brigades in separate platoons and companies in this area, does not disperse troops, but rather cuts the brigades into separate areas of responsibility (as if this were the case on the entire front). As soon as combat formations became more dense, the enemy's advance became as difficult as in Donbas.
It is also worth noting that our command does not throw troops into quick and ill-prepared attacks to report on the alleged measures taken, but rather thinks about defeating the enemy. This tactic is fully consistent with the situation. Yes, we missed the attack, but there is no need to rush, because the battle is not over.
What are the enemy's further plans in this area?
1. To capture the ridge of dominant heights that control the border strip and the villages of Lyptsi-Vesele-Ternova-Starytsia.
2. To capture the city of Vovchansk and the forests with dominant heights around it.
3. To connect the two bridgeheads from Vovchansk to Lyptsi and take control of the entire border strip.
4. To restrain and exhaust our troops with losses to reduce their combat capability, to prevent them from moving to Donbas - to Chasiv Yar, Krasnohorivka, Vuhdedar and Pokrovka.
Why did Russian troops manage to advance?
1. Lack of permission from NATO countries to use precision weapons on Russian territory. This allows the enemy to deploy troops on the territory of the Russian Federation with virtually no firepower.
2. An acute shortage of air defence assets to destroy bombers and reconnaissance drones over the rear areas. The enemy operates in the air with almost no obstacles.
3. Advantage in the use of high-precision weapons. For example, in one area, before an enemy assault group attacked one of the observation posts of the NGU "Charter" brigade, it was struck simultaneously with four corrected aerial bombs and one 152 mm guided missile (the attack was nevertheless repelled, the position was held, the strikes and the battle were recorded on video).
4. The enemy's advantage in the number of drones of certain types. Drones are actively reconnaissance our rear areas and combat formations to a depth of 50 km. The enemy is actively using long-range strike drones of the Lancet type. A significant number of kamikaze drones and drones with drops are being used over our positions to a depth of up to 4 km.
5. Problems with the Air Force's organisation of alerts when enemy drones transmit video signals to adjust strikes. Our ground forces do not have time to react when drones track them.
6. The enemy has changed the tactics of ground forces. The Russians have an advantage in the number of infantry in the area. The enemy is trying to act as covertly as possible, attacking in groups of up to a platoon, looking for gaps in our combat formations. Armoured vehicles are used sporadically to support the infantry. Infantry attacks are coordinated with aerial reconnaissance and are accompanied by air, artillery and drone strikes. In other words, they are trying to mirror the tactics of the world's best Ukrainian infantry as of 2022. The enemy is learning from the experience of war and improving its command, planning, training, cohesion and interaction during assault operations.
7. Deficiencies in the preparation, planning and organisation of defence for the Russian offensive. The SBI opened a case against the former commander of the Kharkiv military unit, General Halushkin, the command of the 125th TRO Brigade, the 415th Rifle Battalion of the 23rd Brigade, and the 172nd Battalion of the 120th TRO Brigade for abandoning their positions. But in my opinion, a much wider circle of senior leaders should be held accountable. I will write about what happened and who should be held accountable separately on 26 May, and in the coming days we will hold an After Action Review of the Russian offensive to learn from these lessons and assess the facts before making accusations.
Conclusions for the moment:
1. The enemy's plan to seize the border strip was thwarted by Ukrainian troops. However, in some areas, our troops were forced to withdraw where they were not supposed to. Kharkiv is securely covered. We are concerned about the situation in Vovchansk.
2. Holding the existing line of defence gives us a favourable position to gradually increase the losses of the Russian group.
3. The battle for control of the border strip will be active for a long time, at least until October.
Yurii Butusov, Censor.net
