Don's Weekly, 4 March 2024: Part 3

(…continued from Part 2…)

Marinka

North of Marinka, the Russians have managed to reach the edge of Krasnohorivka, but Ukraine pushed them out.

Last week, Russia occupied Pobieda and threatened Novomykhailivka from the north. Ukraine was hampered by the lack of artillery but this week pushed the Russians out of the eastern half of the village. Both sides in the village are separated by a small creek but Russia is pushing to the west of the village.

Inside Novomykhailivka itself, Ukraine started pushing out the Russian survivors from multiple armored assaults that sought refuge in the rubble of the houses.

UMPK, MLRS and artillery bombardments before a Russian assault on Krasnohorivka…

https://twitter.com/EjShahid/status/1762861948339675613

One of the battalions of the 3rd Assault Brigades clears out the eastern outskirts of Krasnohorivka. They are eventually aided by a tank. At the end, they’re using red lights because you’re able to see without destroying your night vision. Maps usually use red ink for certain topographic features but they are altered so the “red” features can be read with a red flashlight. (I enjoyed writing that)…

https://twitter.com/EjShahid/status/1763238330299195533

As is the norm, Novomykhailivka has been pounded by UMPK bombs. The bombs haven’t killed very many Ukrainians but there have been a lot of wounded from bomb splinters and the heavy shock wave. A lot of Ukrainian equipment untouched by fragments are still damaged by the pressure waves…

https://twitter.com/JohnH105/status/1763576194023202867

This is on the road approaching Novomykhailivka from the south. 23 Russian vehicles are in the image…

https://twitter.com/666_mancer/status/1762484537202794842

The war of attrition continues as the 72nd Brigade destroys a Russian 122mm self-propelled howitzer…

https://twitter.com/front_ukrainian/status/1762806405046608298

There are so many Ukrainian towns/villages with the same name that you can’t identify a location just by the town name, but some other nearby geographic description. At Krasnohorivka (near Marinka) a UMPK bomb hits a factory…

https://twitter.com/JohnH105/status/1761116900237398051

East of Pobieda and maybe 500 meters from Ukrainian positions, an FPV takes out a Russian infantryman…

https://twitter.com/EjShahid/status/1763614196577468886

A Russian BMD-4M just north of Pobieda suffers an internal hit from a drone…

https://twitter.com/EjShahid/status/1762186178088800516

***

Zaporizhzhia

This week, Russia has made several assaults and all have ended with very heavy losses.

Last week, the Russian assault on Robotyne tested Ukraine’s defenses. Their infantry reached the village before Ukrainian counterattacks killed or captured almost all the involved Russian troops. On the perimeter outside the town, the Ukrainians evacuated their wounded leaving only four soldiers in one sector. They planned to send reinforcements but they didn’t arrive in a timely manner. The Russians had been observing them by drones and attacked them that night with three vehicles and 24 soldiers. Backed by artillery and drones, the four of them held the line. After stopping the assault, reinforcements finally arrived and the four soldiers, all of whom were wounded, were evacuated. Their replacements captured the surviving Russians and reestablished the defensive line.

Several Russian assaults on Robotyne have been destroyed…

https://twitter.com/Tendar/status/1764018202793705914

This soldier took part in an assault in which everyone was eliminated but him. He sought refuge in a trench…

https://twitter.com/TOGAjano21/status/1762891328935924166

A Ukrainian NASAMS component was hit…

https://twitter.com/99Dominik_/status/1762070420239348220

10 km northeast of Robotyne, three clusterbombs accurately hit a Ukrainian treeline…

https://twitter.com/EjShahid/status/1764073382511792278

Ukrainian positions near Robotyne are shelled…

https://twitter.com/EjShahid/status/1762820154025476208

South of Kopani, a BTR-82 is destroyed by a drone…

https://twitter.com/EjShahid/status/1763219144621556129

Andrew Perpetua described Russian trenches that had dug out holes carved out in the sides of the trenches. These dug outs provided protection from bombs dropped from drones, so Ukrainian operators flew drone bombers quickly into the trench and flipped thermobaric charges into those dugouts before flying away. Andrew said an entire trenchline was cleared by drones in this manner.

***

Kherson

Ukrainian air defense systems were stored in a warehouse 42 km from the river. Unfortunately, a Russian drone observed this…

https://twitter.com/EjShahid/status/1764226986581315889

Ukraine traded a drone of a surveillance camera…

https://twitter.com/EjShahid/status/1763957302208454681

***

Crimea

The situation is paradoxal. While ‘disheartened’ viewers of Fox News and similar ‘infotainment’ platforms can’t stop crying about how pointless is Ukrainian resistance and Western aid for Kyiv, how the war is lost, how the Russians have neutralised the threat of Storm Shadows and SCALP-EGs, reports from the Crimea are clearly speaking an entirely different language.

After shooting down two A-50s, and then mauling the Russian ‘super-SAM-site’ in the Dzhankoi area (this SAM-site is including a full S-400 system, and at least one, possibly two each of Buk, Tor, and Pantsyr SAM-systems) the last week, the last few days Ukrainians have re-focused to their actual targets.

Rather unsurprisingly, in the last few days there’ve been reported attacks in Sevastopol, Saky, and Fedosya. Explosions were heard in Yevpatoria, Simferopol, and Fedosya. Air defenses were activated in Sevastopol, Simferopol, Yevpatoria, and Saky. And the Crimean bridge was closed to traffic…https://www.ukrinform.net/rubric-ato/3834455-missile-attack-reported-in-crimea.html

….and all of this because Western weapons delivered to Ukraine are all ineffective, you know…

(….to be continued…)