Russia Ukraine war, page-182509

On southern front, Ukraine's struggle to pierce Russian lines

12/10/2023

When Ukraine announced it had re-captured the village of Robotyne, its message to the world was that it had found a way to pierce Russian lines on the southern front.
Six weeks on, no such breakthrough has materialised and soldiers from the 65th brigade that led the assault admit they do not fully control the village.
The recapture of the small village in the Zaporizhzhia region was announced in August as a strategic victory in the counteroffensive.Yet eight Ukrainian soldiers involved in the fighting told AFP their forces were only inching forward with heavy losses against a Russian army entrenched behind heavily fortified positions.

Speaking in an area usually closed to media, they complained of a lack of manpower, ammunition and drones.Igor Korol, the heavily tattooed commander of the brigade's first battalion, spoke calmly but did not mince his words.For him, the announcement of the capture of Robotyne on August 28 was primarily a PR move, since the village, occupied since early in the war, has no strategic value."We could have gone around it," he said, speaking to AFP in an area near the front line."We love big announcements, quick victories. The reality is different," said the commander who uses the call sign "Morpekh" (Marine).

While Russian forces are no longer in Robotyne, the area is within their range so large-scale infantry operations with armoured vehicles are impossible.

"Poltava", a deputy commander of the first battalion, said the Russian army "spares nothing in terms of ammunition or bombs".As a result, the Ukrainian advances are slow, with heavy losses.

Soldiers from the 65th brigade said Russia fires 10 shells for every "one or two" from their side. The same goes for drones."We are fighting against... a massive country. They have more men, more equipment," said Oleksandr, a 27-year-old soldier with the call sign "Storm".

"The price is the life of our men... and we have very few (reserves) of men," Korol said.

https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20231012-on-southern-front-ukraine-s-struggle-to-pierce-russian-lines