Don's Weekly, 31 March 2025: Part 2

by Donald Hill

(…continued from Part 1…)

Generally, relatively ‘little’ is going on around other sectors of the battlefield in Ukraine. RUMINT has it that the Russian offensive run out of steam, but they are already re-grouping with intention of re-launching it as soon as the soil is firm enough to do so. On the Ukrainian side, there is remarkably little talk about the re-organisation of the ZSU: apparently, this is coming forward in serious fashion only in regards of the 3rd Assault Brigade, i.e. the related corps. That said, there re no details in this regards. Of course, the GenStab in Kyiv is still ‘doing a lot’ to improve the training of newly-mobilised troops, which is why the number of troops that are ‘AWOL’ (absent without leave) remains high.

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Belgorod

Russian video of drone attacks and artillery attacks on Ukrainian targets in Demidovka. A Ukrainian vehicle is attacked in Popovka and a Ukrainian-occupied house is attacked in Demidovka. Ukrainian infantry encounter a mine dropped by a drone in the Ukrainian village of Marine on the border. A Russian van drives past a burning armored vehicle 5 km north of Demidovka. Russia also dropped at least eight bombs on Popovka.

60 km from the front lines, four Russian helicopters were destroyed by HIMARS.

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Kharkiv

Small-scale Russian attacks still happen in Vovchansk. Here is one in the wasteland. Usually, any advances they make in the rubble are eventually eliminated by drones. 4500 meters north of the town, the 113th Brigade uses drones to finish off a pair of abandoned MT-LBs.

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Kupiansk

Ukrainian drones attack Russsian-occupied houses in Dvorichna. A Ukrainian MRAP is destroyed 1800 meters to the west of the village. There were no further advances in the Kamianka sector but the Russians advanced a little more than a kilometer by Orlianka.

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Terny

The Russians have consolidated their hold on Terny and advanced over four kilometers towards Katerynivka. Such a narrow penetration might be very vulnerable to a counterattack, but recent experiences show that Ukraine has very limited abilities to do so in this sector. In fact, if Ukraine had enough troops in this sector Russia probably wouldn’t be making any advances at all, but infantry is in short supply - and that’s not going to change as long as the frontline remains as ‘irregular’, principally because Kyiv remains insistent on ‘no step back’ idea.

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Chasiv Yar

The intensity of the combat is lower - unless you are the target. The drones of the 5th Assault Brigade fly in the canal pipes and maintain their signal. A bunker is hit, as well. Ukrainian positions are continuously targeted, as well. A Russian armored vehicle is destroyed 2 km from the front lines.

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Toretsk

The fighting remains intense and the maps remain unchanged. A Ukrainian airstrike hits a high-rise and their artillery shells the stands of a stadium. 800 meters west of the stadium, the Ukrainians noticed Russian forces gathering in a building. With a HMMWV providing covering fire, two soldiers placed anti-tank mines in the building. After they drove away, the mines exploded and the building collapsed. Russian motorcycles aren’t safe in a building.

The Russians conduct an assault in southeast Toretsk.

This is footage of a small battle in Toretsk back in July. The assault team mentions some coordination issues with their support and transport teams. They also run across an old lady somehow surviving on her own in the rubble.

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Pokrovsk

Traffic between Novotroitske and Zhovte is constantly interdicted by Ukrainian drones making it difficult to bring in replacement and supplies. Ukrainian attacks on Solone and Shevchenko made progress and Kotlyne is under pressure, as well. Russian forces between those villages are under constant attack from drones.

An M113 is attacked west of Uspenivka.

Ukrainians successfully evacuate four wounded soldiers near Kotlyne while under drone and mortar attack.

Drones from the 155th Brigade hit Russian infantry in Shevchenko, and Russian drones hit houses in the village occupied by Ukrainians.

A Russian airstrike attacked what they claimed was a drone team 2 km north of Lysivka.

A Russian R-330Zh “Zhitel” EW vehicle was destroyed by a missile.

We’ve seen Russian wounded being sent back to the front on crutches before. You can only do that if you have at least one functional leg and foot. If both feet are hurt, you need a wheelchair, as a drone from the 25th Brigade observes.

Three Russian vehicles were moving to assault Ukrainian positions outside the village of Sribne when drones from the 72nd Brigade destroyed one of the vehicles. The infantry was dropped off at a treeline west of Novoandriivka, 1500 meters behind the front line, while the surviving vehicles retreated. A second assault dropped off more infantry. The infantry didn’t want to advance so the vehicle fired on them before withdrawing and being destroyed by a drone. A total of four assaults were defeated.

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Andriivka

Russian artillery pounds Vesele and Ukrainian positions 3 km northwest of Rozdolne. Russian forces made it into Kostiantynopil and Rozlyv before being eliminated. Russian drones attacked Ukrainian targets in Kostiantynopil, and Rozdolne was blasted by thermobaric rockets.

Odradne and Bahatry were blasted by rockets.

Three Russian vehicles were destroyed during one attack on Kostiantynopil.

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Zaporizhzhia

Russia was able to advance another kilometer: a Russian assault reached Shcherbaky.

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(…to be continued…)