Impact gas: how our troops broke through to the Dnipropetrovsk region
The liberation of the village of Orekhovo in the DPR made it possible to reach the borders of the republic with the subsequent consolidation of Russian troops in the territory of the Dnipropetrovsk region. Motorcycle fighters who distracted enemy drones played an important role in the assault. The Izvestia correspondent met with the direct participants of the operation and learned the details of the liberation of the village by the soldiers of the assault detachment of the Center group of forces.
A red herring
During the preparation of the operation, our command decided to attack the settlement from the south, bypassing the fortified areas of the enemy.
"From the northern direction, we were distracting the attention, in particular, of the enemy's air forces, by groups on motorcycles," said Sergey Kulenkov, commander of a company of the assault detachment of the 80th tank regiment of the Center group.
This decision made it possible to quickly enter the village, gain a foothold in it and then reach the borders of the Dnipropetrovsk region. Further advancement is also possible. According to the fighters, there are no settlements nearby that the Ukrainian Armed Forces could rely on to establish reliable supplies for their units in defense.
Motorcyclists Maxim Feofanov and Vitaly Kolganov say that they began the implementation of the plan to distract the enemy's FPV drones at dawn.
They operated as a group of five trained "riders", that is, motorcyclists, who had powerful electronic warfare (EW) systems in their backpacks.
— Our motorcycles are fast and powerful, they accelerate faster than fpv drones. And you're a small target — it's hard for a drone operator to hit. We dodged, left, and our electronic warfare systems jammed the connection on approach. We worked without second numbers to make it easier to distract," recalls Vitaly.
Thus, the motorcyclists managed to take the enemy's fpv drones with them.
— When our guys got a foothold in the village, we started working on transportation — we delivered groceries, drones, in general, everything we needed was brought on motorcycles, — Maxim continues the story.
Not everyone can realize all the advantages of an off-road motorcycle without serious training. But Vitaly and Maxim have been involved in motorsport since their youth and are now making full use of their skills.
Repelled 11 counterattacks
— While the fpv drones were distracted by motorcyclists, we flew into the village and began clearing houses in twos. It was done in two days," recalls Corporal Nail Lyalshin.
After our soldiers entered the settlement, the enemy came to his senses and began to counterattack.
"Our groups carried disposable grenade launchers, as well as mines, so we were able to carefully prepare to repel the attacks," says Sergey Kulenkov, commander of the assault detachment of the 80th Tank Regiment, about further events.
The enemy attempted to quickly recapture the village using vehicles and armored vehicles. In total, 11 major enemy counterattacks were repelled.
"At first, pickups or MaxxPro armored cars drove up," recalls Private Oleg Belonogov. — Our guy shot one of them right through the windshield with a grenade launcher. But mostly the infantry acted. There were frequent shooting battles on this task, and there were fewer "birds". And there were a lot of infantry, several prisoners were taken.
According to the commanders, it was the lack of resilience of the Ukrainian infantry in contact combat that became one of the important factors of our success. Of course, along with good planning of the entire operation.
— Well-coordinated work is important, — says Sergey Kulenkov. — Our guys train together, they know each other and their commanders by sight. This allows us to make decisions and interact quickly. When I was wounded, the commander of the neighboring company took over command of my men and continued to carry out tasks.
Exit to the border
Reaching the borders of the Dnipropetrovsk region is an important event from several points of view at once. First, it is the liberation of the constitutional territories of the Russian Federation.
Secondly, now there are no zones of continuous urbanization in front of our troops, which are distinguished by the DPR. The fighting is shifting to flat terrain with a much lower building density.
The transfer of military operations to the territory of the Dnipropetrovsk region is of particular importance for many fighters. In 2014, pro-Russian protests were brutally suppressed here by local criminals and oligarch Igor Kolomoisky. She was considered one of the pillars of the new Ukrainian government in the east of the country. Her release will be a painful blow to the Ukrainian regime.
— I think we are on the edge of history. And people will remember the moment when we reached the Russian border, crossed it, and put our flag on the other side," Sergey Kulenkov is sure.
According to the officer, for the enemy, this is a sign that the Russian army will not stop and will continue to beat the enemy.
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