"We can’t do without artillery": Denysov, commander of 81st Separate Airborne Assault Brigade, on drone-cannon tandem and heavy fighting on Sloviansk-Kramatorsk front. VIDEO
The Sloviansk-Kramatorsk sector remains one of the main fronts for the Russian occupying forces, who are attempting daily to breach the defences of the 81st Separate Slobozhansky Airborne Brigade of the Airborne Assault Forces. According to Censor.NET, citing an interview given by the brigade’s unmanned systems battalion commander, Oleksandr Denysov, to TSN journalist Yulia Kyrienko, the enemy has dramatically increased the intensity of its KAB strikes, dropping up to 50 bombs a day on Ukrainian logistics facilities up to 25 kilometres deep. In addition, the occupiers are sending up to a hundred infantrymen on infiltration missions every day, using both small groups on motorbikes and heavy armoured vehicles with mine ploughs and massive ‘mangals’ for assaults; Ukrainian fighters sometimes have to use up to 40 FPV drones to destroy each of these.
Commenting on the popular notion that UAVs are completely replacing traditional weaponry, Denysov emphasised that artillery remains indispensable on the battlefield, and that maximum results are achieved through their precise synergy. Thus, when enemy armoured vehicles advance, they are first subjected to concentrated fire from large-calibre guns (ranging from 120 to 152 mm). As the enemy approaches the positions, and once electronic warfare systems have been taken out by artillery fire from tanks, radio-controlled strike drones are deployed, whilst during the use of the latest fibre-optic FPV drones, the artillery temporarily falls silent to prevent shell fragments from severing the delicate control cable.
The commander paid particular attention to internal issues within the troops, noting that due to understaffing in the brigades, opportunities for timely rotation and rest for the soldiers are deteriorating. According to Denysov, the state urgently needs to increase the financial support for instructors at training centres so that motivated frontline soldiers with extensive combat experience, capable of training new recruits to a high standard, are drawn to these centres. The battalion commander emphasised that the army is not just about the trenches, as for every pilot in the rear there are another 5–7 specialists working behind the scenes; therefore, civilians should not wait for compulsory mobilisation but should independently choose units and roles in line with their skills.
