Don's Weekly, 30 September 2024: Part 3

by Donald Hill

(…continued from Part 2…)

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Toretsk

The front lines did not move last week but Russia lost three armored vehicles during an assault in Niu York.

Russian infantry in Toretsk are hunted by mortars and drones.

25 km behind the front lines a stationary Russian convoy was detected and engaged with GMLRS.

Back in July or August, a Ukrainian nano drone flew a reconnaissance mission before a building was attacked.

An 85 second view of what Russia has done to Toretsk.

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Pokrovsk

Russian advances continued but they lost 22 armored vehicles and 5 reconnaissance drones.

The 15th Kara Dag brigade eliminates a small assault near Selydove and other Russian infantry. Magyar’s Birds posted a compilation video of their work with drones.

A Ukrainian ground drone detonates under a railroad crossing used by Russians for shelter.

All the highway overpasses across the railroad have been destroyed. Of the 60,000 people that used to live there, only 15,000 remain and many are planning to leave.

A master sergeant commanding an artillery battery in the 68th Jaeger Brigade said that the front is stabilized but is a nightmare. At times, a drone will arrive every 15-20 minutes. If the EW jammers fail to disrupt the drone then they’ll use the shotgun as a last resort. Based on experience, he believes that even if the defensive lines hold, Pokrovsk will be leveled by the Russians.

The White Angels are a special unit of the Ukrainian national police unit that evacuates civilians from homes that are threatened by fighting. At times, they evacuated people that were only a couple hundred meters from the front lines. Here they are trying to convince two residents to leave Myrnohrad, northeast of Pokrovsk.

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Marinka

There were very few attacks by Russia and the front lines remained static. Two Russian reconnaissance drones and three armored vehicles were destroyed according to Perpetua’s map.

Seven Russians try to surrender to the 33rd Brigade after an assault fails and they are hunted by drones. As they walk towards Ukrainian lines, Russian artillery starts firing on them, as they have in many other instances. Not all of them survive.

The rate of Russian casualties increased when they began offensive actions last October, it increased again in May when they opened up a new front near Kharkiv, and increased once more when Ukraine invaded Kursk. Reliable numbers for Ukrainian casualties are hard to come by but it is safe to assume they have increased, as well.

Ukraine’s 33rd Brigade is fighting near Pobieda, in between Marinka and Kostiantyivka. After being given first aid near the front lines, they are transported to a stabilization point that receives casualties from a 90 kilometer section of the front. It is located far enough from the front lines where they hopefully won’t be spotted by reconnaissance drones and targeted by Russian missiles. There they treated 70 wounded Ukrainian soldiers in 24 hours. Some of those included soldiers with severe head injuries and burns over 20% of their body. A medic points out that the good thing about wounded soldiers that are screaming is that they are breathing. Once they have been stabilized, they are transferred further west for more extensive treatment and safety.

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Vuhledar

Russia advanced two kilometers to the west of Vuhledar, closing the noose around the town. Since there have been no indications of Ukrainian counter-attacks, both sides expect Ukraine to withdraw from Vuhledar very soon.

As they’ve done in Mariupol, Marinka, Bakhmut and other places, the Russians used magnesium submunitions fired from rockets in Vuhledar.

Russians bombard Vuhledar with rockets while observing from a fly-infested bunker, and also bombard them with artillery. A Ukrainian mortar was destroyed. Russians then entered the city and planted their flags.

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Zaporizhzhia

A Russian drone flies around Nikopol firing flares to burn down civilian houses.

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Kherson

Russia continues to expend munitions on Ukrainian civilians, in this case, a cyclist who tries to hide under a tree near Kherson.

Russian bombs Darivka.

A drone tracks down two Russians on a jetski.

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Kerch Bridge

A couple weeks ago, Russians began erecting platforms for Pantsirs air defense systems to help defend the Kerch bridge.

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Unknown Location

A Russian is enveloped by the explosion of a drone. Afterwards he gets back on his feet and keeps walking.

This is listed as somewhere it “southern Donetsk”. It could be in Kostiantynivka, where Ukrainians have hidden in cellars before. If a Russian soldier can walk to your ‘position’ upright and throw an AT mine, it’s not a defensive position, it’s a potential deathtrap.

(….to be continued…)