Don's Weekly, 28 April 2025: Part 2
by Donald Hill
(…continued from Part 1…)
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Vovchansk
Six kilometers from the front line, a Ukrainian drone likely detected a T80 tank when it was in the open and tracked it back to its hidden and partially protected shelter. Another Ukrainian drone was able to navigate past the hanging nets to hit the tank.
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Kupiansk
Kupiansk was hit by a Russian airstrike, as was Kurylivka. There were no territorial changes, just heavy bombardments.
A Russian soldier was spotted by a drone in the woods west of Kruhliakivka. He walks south 2 km to surrender.
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Terny
A Russian airstrike on a house in Zarichne which supposedly has another drone team inside. Another airstrike in the village supposedly destroys yet another drone team. There’s no way to determine one way or another from the videos, but at the rate of the Russian reports it would be safer to be an assault infantryman. This airstrike in Ridkodub makes no mention of drone teams.
A house in Torske was hit, possibly by a guided artillery shell. The other two impacts were presumably nearby.
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Siversk
Three BTRs were destroyed attacking from Zolotarivka in a failed attack.
Serebrianka is hit by rocket artillery.
Russia lost two APC attacking Visiukivka.
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Chasiv Yar
Chasiv Yar and Shevchenko were bombarded by TOS attacks.
4 km from the front line, the Russians claim a drone launcher and a towed howitzer with artillery shells.
Three Vampire drones on night missions and another Vampire on this video are intercepted by Russian drones. A net finally takes down this Vampire.
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Toretsk
The 49th Separate Assault Battalion at work in the city. A Ukrainian airstrike in the middle of Toretsk. Ukrainians in an armored car are hit be a drone but escape with concussions. Russia bombards Sukha Balka before advancing into it. The Russians made small advances between Tarasivka and Toretsk and that probably will continue in the coming days.
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Pokrovsk
All of Russia’s advances of the last week were on the flanks. A Russian attack towards Nadiivka results in the destruction of 4 AFVs and a car. East of Uspenivka, the 59th Brigade drones chase vehicles and motorcycles carrying two people.
One of the roads leading into Shevchenko is blasted by TOS attacks. The 25th Airborne Brigade hunts targets south of Lysivka. The Russians conduct a TOS attack north of Lysivka.
A Ukrainian Vampire drone over Vodiane Druhe is destroyed. An FPV impacted it before the mavic with a string could entangle it. An M113 is hit and abandoned outside Tarasivka and Russia advances into the southern half of the village.
A ten minute video with English subtitles showing highlights of another week’s worth of 414th drone attacks. At the 0:30 mark, a fiber optic drone enters an open door of a warehouse and then an open door of a vehicle inside the warehouse. Magyar claims that for 6431 sorties, 1246 targets were destroyed, which is a little more than 5 drones per destroyed target, a ratio that has been constant for two years. Of the sorties, 2818 were Mavic drones, 2266 were FPV, 931 were night bomber attacks.
Some of the destroyed targets are 18 tanks, 29 APC/IFVs, 3 MLRS, 5 SP artillery, one air defense system, 25 towed artillery, 13 trucks, 74 motorcycles, 8 mortars, 78 antennas, 11 pieces of communication equipment, 4 cameras, 12 pieces of engineering equipment, 26 warehouses 392 shelters, 181 dugouts, and 27 recon/Lancet/Molniya drones were intercepted.
Their goal is to kill 100 Russians a day and they managed to kill 75-77 a day in the first two weeks of April. In 22 days they report 1516 killed for an average of 69 per day. Magyar explains that a Russian battalion has 600 people, 200 of which are headquarters and support personnel, so 1500 represents the assault infantry of four battalions, or one brigade.
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Andriivka
Novoukrainka and Oleksiivka are hit by rockets. A Ukrainian truck is destroyed in Bahatyr. 2km south of Bahatyr (and 2 km past the front line), 15 motorcycles were attacked with artillery and DPICM. Then 2km southeast of Kostyantynopil, 9 civilian vehicles with cages and infantry are attacked by drones and DPICM. Russia drops ten bombs on the village, and Russian artillery focuses on the southern end of it.
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Komar
Four bombs are dropped on a woodline 600 meters west of Zelene Pole. Three more were dropped on a woodline a kilometer north of the village.Ukrainian movement is spotted in Vilne Pole and that draws artillery fire. Three Russian turtle tanks were destroyed by Pryvilne. Komar is hit by rockets. The only Russian gain was a small strip in the village of Dniproenerhiia that has changed hands a couple times already.
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Zaporizhzhia
A lot of Russian drones are intercepted. Russian rockets bombard Mala Tokmachka. This is footage of a large Russian attack two weeks ago. No terrain changed hands.
GRAPHIC (Bodies but no blood): The overcast weather inhibits drones so the Russian casualty collection team can do their job. They ask soldiers to carry bags with notes that would help identify their bodies. “Nobody wants to head back like that, but what can you do? At least this way, you’ll get out quicker.”
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Crimea
The home used by the Chechen deputy Murad Saidov, was attacked by a drone.
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Unknown Location
A Russian tactical logistical center was destroyed in some manner at an unknown location.
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Black Sea
A 20-year-old ship, previously named the Xin Long Zhou 155, Vera 777, Victoria and now the Anka, was registered with the Chinese, Panamanian, Comoros, Cameroon, Palau, Mongolian and now Tanzanian flag, and was, believe it or not, part of Russia’s shadow fleet. Not long after leaving Moldova, it was seized by Ukraine for transporting 5,000 tons of Ukrainian grain. It is impounded near the Ukrainian port of Reni and the crew have been arrested.
On 25 November 2018, two Ukrainian gunboats and a tug were trying to pass through the Kerch Strait. Russia said they could not pass without a Russian navigator. Ukraine said they had the right to free navigation through the strait. The Russians rammed the ships, fired on them and eventually captured them.
During the incident, a cargo ship initially reported as the Aviona blocked the passage of the Ukrainian ships. It was later identified as the Nemya, which was renamed the Nika Spirit. In 2019, the Nika Spirit sailed into Izmail, Odesa Oblast, in need of repairs, and was seized and finally sold at an auction six years later. Old, worn out and in need of $500,000 in repairs, it was expected to sell for $60k but actually went for $150k.
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(…to be continued…)
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