As Russia and Ukraine stay in a bloody struggle over Severodonetsk, a city with a pre-war inhabitants of round 100,000 and roughly zero strategic worth, one other much more vital battle is being waged 80 kilometers (50 miles) on to the west at Dovhen’ke, pre-war inhabitants 850.
Dovhen’ke is simply south of Izyum, on the principle M03 freeway operating southeast towards Slovyansk—a key strategic objective in Russia’s effort to overcome your complete Donbas area. As such, this in any other case insignificant hamlet, straddling an vital highway, has been the scene of near-relentless Russian assaults since early April, when Russia took management of Izyum.
One of many first Russian volunteers within the method to Dovhen’ke wrote a diary about his expertise ( translated part I and II), utilizing the Russian identify for the city, “Dolgen’koye.” This man Viktor by no means truly made an assault in town. His unit obtained misplaced throughout one try, and he mentioned screw it and refused to take part in subsequent assaults. As a substitute, he chronicled the tales of different troopers trying to take the city as he dug ditches at HQ.
[T]hose who later got here again from the assault had been telling us – it was 7 kilometers of strolling by the fields between Suligovka and Dolgen’koye. They left at 10AM and solely by 4PM managed to achieve 600 meters from the village. They had been exhausted. All this time they marched below heavy mortar and artillery shelling. Useless and wounded began showing. After we reported to our battalion commander Main Vasyura about lifeless and wounded, he stubborn: ‘go away them and hold advancing!!!’.
They mentioned that reconnaissance squad commander who was shifting along with our incomplete corporations obtained wounded. He himself informed his scouts to maintain going ahead and assist the assault, and to choose him up later. He appointed one other senior to them. In spite of everything, they picked him up. Once they nearly reached Dolgen’koye the mortar shelling grew to become very intense. A Ukrainian tank began firing. This resulted in much more lifeless and wounded. The officers (who had been alive and never wounded) didn’t know what to do. Then, one of many volunteers (he informed me that in particular person; he was 40 years previous and for 12 years prior he served on a contract, together with in GRU; a fight veteran) mentioned: ‘Guys, we have to fall again, in any other case we shall be smashed with mortars and people who keep alive shall be completed off’. So that they retreated. Everybody was exhausted. It was very troublesome carrying the wounded. We got here again at 11PM. One of many volunteers, Andrey from Kursk who got here along with me mentioned that many merely ran off whereas retreating. He yelled at them to assist pull out the wounded, however they did not assist. He mentioned he needed to seize an assault rifle and begin capturing of their backs… Thus, the grenade launcher platoon commander, Captain Nikolaev who was dragged for 4 hours, died from blood loss… I did not know him personally, however everybody mentioned he was an excellent particular person… In order that was an assault on Dolgen’koye on 20 April…
By all indications, this “assault” was nothing greater than some bedraggled infantry marching for hours, no armor, not even the widespread courtesy of a truck to move them to the entrance. They reached the outskirts of city exhausted and obtained smashed by Ukrainian artillery and mortar fireplace. Since that method didn’t work … they determined to attempt it once more, and once more, and once more.
Many had a sense that we had been simply intentionally being destroyed. Wanting forward, I’ll say that primarily based on the truth that completely different items tried to take Dolgen’koye, I feel that our command merely had the duty of taking Dolgen’koye and easily despatched in everybody they might. It obtained to some extent the place in early Could they began sending solely 7 individuals to assault!! As I understood, different items went to assault Dolgen’koye one or two occasions earlier than stopping.
The volunteer’s diary has a number of examples of ill-fated Russian advances in town. There was the airborne VDV unit that obtained hit across the city and refused to advance, whereas troopers questioned in the event that they had been meant to be despatched to expend Ukrainian ammo, hoping they’d finally run out (which was a really WWII Russian tactic). In the future, they nearly obtained fortunate:
On the finish of April they dropped at us round 18 individuals who superior as a big group of 120. They mentioned that aside from them another unit attacked Dolgen’koye from one other course. Maybe that’s the reason they reached Dolgen’koye with none mortar shelling. That they had 300-400 meters to go after they got here below crossfire from two machine weapons… Even nearer to them had been positions of Ukrainian assault riflemen. They began fight. Our guys additionally had machine weapons and RPGs. As I understood they killed at the very least 6 assault riflemen however needed to retreat on account of Ukrainian machine weapons which they could not suppress. Most definitely the machine weapons had been positioned in well-fortified positions. The fellows mentioned that if they’d a bit of assist, if the machine weapons had been suppressed with helicopters or tanks, then they’d have entered Dolgen’koye…
Russia’s primary maneuver unit is the Battalion Tactical Group (BTG), which has 10 tanks, 40 infantry combating automobiles, and round 600-1,000 troopers on paper (of which 200 are infantry, although that distinction has lengthy been erased on this struggle). Ukrainian and American intelligence has lengthy claimed that Russia has round 22 BTGs within the Izyum salient. But this key city, a speck on a map, on the principle freeway towards their key goal, couldn’t benefit something greater than 120 poor souls with zero armor or air assist? And that was one in all their better-resourced assaults!
In Could, Ukrainian Basic Employees reported Russian assaults on Could 3, 5, 13, 15, 17, 19, 20, 22, 25, and 30. Russia claimed to have captured it on the thirteenth and on nineteenth. Our Russian volunteer was nonetheless within the space for a few of these assaults.
In Could they introduced the remnants of ‘Bars’ (skilled reservists from all of Russia) – 14 individuals. They assaulted Dolgen’koye for a month and remained within the space. As I perceive it, they had been hooked up to the management of our depraved division. In whole, 340 of them arrived to Ukraine. After a month of shelling solely 57 remained. Furthermore, half of the survivors had been on the headquarters. Most of them had been wounded. They by no means had a single firefight, all of the losses got here from Ukrainian artillery fireplace…
A kind of failed assaults on Dovehen’ke was captured by a drone:
For Dovhen’ke, June has been no completely different than the previous two months—Basic Employees has introduced near-daily Russian assaults in town. The city’s defenders, the ninety fifth Airborne Assault Brigade, proceed repelling these assaults.
In the meantime, these paratroops are taking their very own abuse, equivalent to this TOS-1 thermobaric MLRS pounding the city.
And naturally, they’re taking horrifying losses.
I’m certain you’re asking your self why Russia can’t crack Dovhen’ke. Partly, it’s their incompetence. However the city does have some pure options helping in its protection.
This isn’t precisely the Rockies or the Alps, however that undulating terrain presents a number of layers of pure fortifications, probably extensively entrenched. Simply coming down that M03 freeway, I can see 4 bluffs overlooking the freeway,. There are a number of extra flanking the highway into city.
These bluffs are additionally wooded, so it appears to be like like this:
No marvel Russian troopers, rucking for hours on finish, get slaughtered after they attain the approaches to city. Nonetheless, it’s no impenetrable fortress. This little speck on the map shouldn’t be that troublesome.
And on Saturday, Russia lastly captured Dovhen’ke.
Nicely, they claimed they captured it. Once more. For the third time in a month.
However this morning?
Dovhen’ke, inhabitants nearly nothing, is now not insignificant.
Elsewhere on the map, simply minor changes:
It’s a slug-fest, with artillery making it extremely arduous for anybody to go on the offensive. That principally performs to Ukraine’s benefit proper now because it holds its floor on the jap Donbas entrance, shopping for time for western weapons and contemporary items to deploy. However it hampers Ukrainian efforts to retake territory in Kharkiv and Kherson areas regardless of the comparatively skinny presence of Russian navy forces. Therefore, we shouldn’t anticipate huge sweeping positive factors by anyone anytime quickly.
As for Severodonetsk, Russia had taken 80% of the town earlier than Ukraine counter-attacked (supposedly having laid a lure). Present estimates are that metropolis management are cut up 50-50.
Holy crap:
He visited Ukrainian forces in Lysychansk, throughout the river from Severodonetsk. This tells us that at the very least one provide highway to Lysychansk is open, and secure sufficient to threat this.
