"The rock" could not resist: how the village of Novoukrainka was liberated in the DPR
Russian troops continue to advance in the Pokrovsky direction. From the southern direction, the forces of the Center group liberated the village of Novoukrainka, which brought our forces to the outskirts of the city. During the battles for Novoukrainka, our fighters encountered the elite Ukrainian battalion "Skala", but, having found weak points in defense, they were able to gain a foothold in the building, disrupt the rotation of enemy personnel and liberate the settlement. Izvestia learned from the participants of the assault how the battles developed.
How was the preparation for the storming of Novoukrainka
— We walked hard, for a long time, not head-on. They entered through fields and forest belts in small groups to the rear. For almost a couple of months, our people were sitting in the enemy's rear. Provisions were delivered by "birds". And the main forces were advancing step by step," says Vitaly Nemudry, deputy company commander of the Center group.
The soldiers who were in the enemy's rear constantly gave target indications and adjusted the fire of their main forces, transmitted information about the rotation and movements of the enemy. When the required number of stormtroopers was concentrated inside Novoukrainka, the assault groups began to advance towards the village through the forest belts and enemy strongholds.
— This plan came gradually, we tried to advance through the forest, but there were enemy positions there. Then they decided to send fighters to the rear at night," explains Vitaly. Thermal protective raincoats were used for all movements in the dark so as not to be detected by the UAV's thermal imaging cameras.
When the enemy's locations were identified with the help of drones and stormtroopers in the village, they were destroyed by artillery and dropping ammunition from the air. In Novoukrainka, the Ukrainian Armed Forces did not have well-prepared engineering fortifications that could withstand accurate hits.
— The enemy didn't have many people on the defensive, around the platoon. When they realized that we were in a populated area, most of them left, leaving a cover," says Senior Lieutenant Maxim Vakhrushev, commander of the Center group company.
How was the storming of Novoukrainka
Most likely, the fighters of the elite Ukrainian battalion "Skala" were among those who withdrew. They also left less trained and equipped fighters who did not expect a direct assault and cleansing of their strongholds. During their stay in the village, our servicemen detected several times, and artillery and UAVs disrupted enemy rotations. The stormtroopers themselves were not detected. According to our interlocutors, the inability to establish rotation was the reason for the withdrawal of the main enemy forces. After that, it was decided to start the cleanup.
— We came close to the dugouts and started throwing grenades, then they realized that they already had us, and started working with artillery and drones. Although their people were still fighting us on the ground, the Ukrainians were firing at both their own and ours," says Starley.
During the mopping up and securing of the captured enemy strongholds, our assault groups held a quadcopter over the battlefield with ammunition ready to be dropped in order to destroy the heavy UAV bombers of the Ukrainian side from above.
While behind enemy lines, our stormtroopers found civilians hiding in basements and shelters.
— The 15 people we found decided to evacuate after clearing part of the village from Ukrainian militants. But the enemy killed civilians in cold blood by dropping an anti-tank mine from a Baba Yaga drone, and only two were saved," recalls the company commander.
The officer emphasizes that the soldiers showed the civilians the direction of movement to their own and explained the way. But they did not accompany those who were leaving precisely in order not to provoke an attack by Ukrainian UAVs with their presence in uniform and with weapons. They guided people from the air with their drone, pointing the way. Fighting was still going on in the village, and Ukrainian drones were burning down houses one by one. That is why it was decided to withdraw the residents before the end of the fighting, so that they would not be inside the village at the final stage of the assault and in case of possible enemy counterattacks.
— They marched with white flags, in civilian clothes. There was even one child, there was a family, the daughter was about six or seven years old. Of the whole family, only the husband came out wounded, but alive. When we found out about this, we felt even more anger towards the enemy, hatred. And we just started destroying everything there, both with artillery and infantry," the senior lieutenant ends the story.
Переведено сервисом «Яндекс Переводчик»
