Ukrainian soldiers conducting daring missions in small groups are making gains on the eastern front but face higher risks of fighting the enemy at close range.
Soldiers in the 80th Separate Air Assault Brigade prepare to ride away on a armored personnel carrier while training in the Donetsk region of eastern Ukraine. DONETSK REGION, Ukraine — The Ukrainian soldier was alone on the road when he approached the hornet’s nest under his feet: a group of about 10 Russians in a drainage pipe turned into a makeshift bunker.
Outnumbered and outgunned, Ukrainian teams numbering four to a dozen can attack on foot far less conspicuously than with vehicles, surprising complacent enemies and triggering chaos along the front. The concept of mobilizing small assault groups to knock a larger enemy off-balance is not new, but it is tailor-made for the circumstances in the Bakhmut area.
Russian commanders used a mix of counterattacks, he said — sometimes small groups and other times trying to overpower the Ukrainians with far more soldiers, in what Ukrainians call “meat assaults.”Russian soldiers learn quickly, and Ukrainian commanders don’t underestimate them, Ukrainian soldiers said. Yet the tactics sometimes sent the enemy into disarray.
There were numerous other acts of valor, big and small, during the two-day campaign to liberate Andriivka, including the soldier who blew up the drainpipe position. But that also reflects a problem, Percent said. On a recent afternoon, soldiers of the 80th Separate Air Assault Brigade, which helped liberate Klishchiivka last month, lined up at a training range to hone their marksmanship. One officer pointed to a U.S.-made M16. It’s a good rifle, he explained, but they don’t have enough weapons and ammunition to press as hard as they want.The M16 is also not a modern weapon. Its long stock and barrel make it unwieldy in trenches and vehicles.
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