14 Apr: Nice. Russian offensive quickly turned into a disaster - Reporting from Ukraine

[TexasTowelie]

Day 415: April 14

Today there are a lot of updates from the Donetsk region. Here, Russian forces indeed had plans to resume their offensive campaign in an attempt to engulf Vuhledar. They took a big detour to storm Ukrainians defenses from a more advantageous position, however, the increased leverage put Russian supplies at risk, and the moment Ukrainians got an opportunity, they undercut Russians and completely reset their gains.

Last time I told you that Russian forces spent the whole of March preparing to recapture the positions that they lost in the aftermath of the Ukrainian counterattack.

Since Ukrainians were not planning on turning their counterattack into a large-scale operation for recapturing Pavlivka and Mykilske, maintaining positions in the residential area between these two settlements did not make sense. So, in order to avoid suffering from crossfire, Ukrainians withdrew most of their forces, and the residential area, to a large extent, became a grey zone. In this grey zone, Ukrainians mostly had their reconnaissance squads and artillery observers who helped to correct fire on Russian objects in Pavlivka and Mykilske.

However, when Russians resumed offensive actions, Ukrainians were pushed out of the western part of the settlement and assumed defense along the southern hamlet and tree lines. Soon, Russian sources started releasing videos of how they target Ukrainian positions in the tree lines with grenade throwers. Russian 155th Naval Infantry Brigade, which should have been substituted with fresh formations, was reconstituted for the eighth time and sent to fight once again.

Ukrainians started increasing support for the groups that were holding positions in the tree lines, while Russians became more and more aggressive and would send their units deep into the flanks. This approach worked, and by conducting a series of ambushes, Russians managed to undermine Ukrainian strong points and push Ukrainians closer to Vuhledar itself. Ukrainians immediately switched to armored vehicles and were able to destroy several Russian groups that attempted to ambush Ukrainians, but they adapted very quickly as well and brought ATGMs to cope with armor.

The main goal of the Russians was to recapture the eastern hamlet because, with this position, Russians have the highest chance of penetrating the Ukrainian defense deeper and finally entering the town itself. This time Russians decided to make a detour and used the distant tree lines to move north and then attacked from there.

Ukrainians spotted an increased movement in the distance and launched intense reconnaissance with fire. The famous Ukrainian 72nd Mechanized Brigade even unveiled Russian artillery positions, the drone destroyed the truck with ammo deliveries, which was followed by the destruction of the artillery. Certain sections of the roads very quickly became equipment graveyards. However, despite such losses, Russians heavily leveraged artillery and aviation to push through and soon captured several positions inside the eastern hamlet.

Unfortunately for Russians, the heavy snowfall during the first days of April reached not only Bakhmut but also Vuhledar. Due to the weather conditions, Russians could not continue using artillery and especially aviation, and opened a window for a Ukrainian counterattack. Unlike undersupplied Russian troops on the zero line, Ukrainians assault units in Vuhledar got fully equipped, giving them an additional advantage. Judging by the combat footage, it seems like Ukrainians did not start from frontal attacks but rather by undercutting Russians from the north and recapturing positions in the tree lines.

The snow went away quickly, but it did not help Russians much, as they had already lost the momentum, and Ukrainians continued releasing footage of recaptured trenched in the fields. Soon, a Russian soldier published a complaint, where he said that his positions that are only 600 meters away from Vuhledar are simply untenable. It looks like Russian marines and special operators that were involved in attacking the eastern hamlet lost their positions because recent footage released by the Ukrainian side shows that Ukrainians are returning from a successful mission by casually passing through the hamlet.

The situation remains unstable, so Ukrainians are focusing on continuous reconnaissance. Ukrainian drone operators from the 72nd Mechanized Brigade continue to monitor the fields. The drone footage indicates that they established several vantage points in order to control all Russian movements, in particular, in the southern residential area, the northern part of Mykilske, and the tree lines in front of the coal mines.