Strike in Toretsk: How UAV units destroy the enemy in the city
Fierce fighting is taking place in Toretsk in the Donetsk people's republic. Our troops have entered the town, entrenched themselves there and begun systematically squeezing the militants out of buildings and structures. The Izvestia correspondent visited the 56th Special Forces Battalion of the 51st Donetsk Army, saw how it is fighting, and learned why the soldiers chose to serve in this particular unit.
The situation in Toretsk
Heavy urban fighting is going on in Toretsk, where the UAV operators are working. The enemy is on the defense and moving reinforcements, clinging to every house in the urban development. All of our weapons in such situations work to disrupt the enemy's rotation and communications - eliminating the approach of reserves, the transfer of ammunition and equipment, and the change of personnel on the front lines.
Just as we were talking at the control point, an interview with a Ukrainian commander appears in the media, describing the loss of 500 fighters in ten days during the brigade rotation in Toretsk. So our UAVs are seriously spoiling the life of the enemy.
But the work of UAV operators on targets in the city has its own nuances - it must be jewelry.
- Air drops are much more accurate than artillery, and our units are close to the enemy - you can't hit them," said one of the fighters of the UAV group with the call sign Tokha. - A 100-150 meter spread can be critical, so we are actively working around the city as a more accurate weapon.
The fighters are constantly monitoring the enemy's movements.
- As soon as any target is identified, we punish them! - says Toha. According to him, the activity of large-caliber artillery of the enemy is falling. Now AFU units rely primarily on mortars and UAVs.
Tokha himself is from the DNR, and began his combat career in February 2022 - he was mobilized in Mariupol, where he took part in assault operations. It turns out that now he has been at the front for almost three years.
After the storming of Mariupol as part of the "iron helmets", as the Donetsk reservists were called for their characteristic Soviet helmets, Tokha was transferred to a special purpose battalion, where he became a scout sniper. And after that he mastered the profession of a UAV operator.
Searching and destroying the enemy
At night the reconnaissance detected one of the enemy groups, up to a squad, at the entrance to one of the buildings. Preparations for their destruction began. Before dawn, "gray", as they call this time of day at the front, under the light of a green lantern from the basement to the roof of the building is sent Maloy.
He needs to quickly deploy and connect the repeater and prepare the quadrocopter for the first reconnaissance flight.
Maloy works quickly: it cannot be ruled out that electronic reconnaissance or enemy drones are looking for the place of our UAV flights.
At the Mavik operator's desk is a volunteer from Crimea with the call sign Chance - his place is in the basement. When we go back down, he has already inspected his target from the air and checked the route. And now he gives a command to suspend the first ammunition.
Again we start running up and down ladders in the dark as the prepared ammunition is stacked separately, hanging the bomb on the Mavic drone, and setting it up for takeoff.
The drones with the suspended ammunition can no longer be placed on the ground, so they are launched from bricks outside.
Having to go outside from under the cover of the walls. After looking around and listening, Maloy runs the "distance", does all the manipulations and runs inside the house. Already from there, he realizes from the sound that the UAV has taken off and left towards the enemy.
UAV operators work quite close to the front. When we approached the shelter in the darkness, the queues of automatic BMP guns in Toretsk can be clearly heard, and the flashes of explosions highlight the horizon. The approach time of the small "bomber" is short, when we enter the basement, the operator Chance is already over the target, and we almost immediately see on his screen the result of the first drop. Visibility and wind allow us to work further, so sorties follow one after another.
- A successful hit was under the roof, the slate shattered. We're slowly making a hole in their house, with the possibility of filling the interior later," Chance explained. - If you have a goal, in normal weather you can make up to 30 sorties in a day. As a pilot, I work alone, and my partners refit the drone.
Maloy and Utes take turns to receive and refit the drone, they also change the batteries, putting the empty ones on charge.
Safety rings of ammunition are hung on a hook at the entrance, connecting them into a chain. By the end of the "working day" there are more than 35 links.
- In the summer, when we entered Toretsk, the enemy had active fpv-drones and mortars, but we are advancing, we are not giving up. The enemy is gradually exhausted, and we contribute to this in every possible way. You can see that the spirit of the Ukrainian troops is falling, it is very noticeable. I think that soon we will liberate our republic. I am proud to be here and to take part in this. We will definitely win and start rebuilding our cities," Utes said.
He is a native of the DNR and joined the army as a volunteer in 2023. In 2014, at the very beginning of the war in Donbass, Utes was engaged in humanitarian aid and agitation. He recalls delivering newspapers and leaflets on his bicycle as Ukrainian helicopters flew over Donetsk.
- Russia has come. We believed in 2014 that we would be part of Russia and it did happen. When President Vladimir Putin signed the decree on the inclusion of the DNR in Russia, it became a holiday for me, almost like my birthday," recalls Utes.
The end of a day of fighting
By the end of the daylight hours, the old "Stalinka", where the enemy has settled in several places through the ceilings, is pierced through, and the number of sorties approaches forty. There is no movement of the enemy and Chance summarizes in the evening twilight - most likely the enemy in the house is destroyed.
American M-113 armored personnel carrier.
In the darkness we move back together with the rotation of drones. Ukrainian fpv drone operators are constantly hitting the roads and we need to be careful. One of the landmarks in the destroyed village near Toretsk is a light in the dark "box". It is an American M-113 armored personnel carrier with a broken frontal plate. We stop at this vehicle for a few seconds and discuss what could have caused such damage, but we never find an answer.
