Don's Weekly, 7 October 2024: Part 2

by Donald Hill

(…continued from Part 1…)

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Northern Kharkiv

In Vovchansk, Russia tried to retake the aggregate plant. Considering the difficulties they had supplying the garrison before, it was as surprising, as an ill-conceived operation. They attacked with 3 tanks, 17 MT-LBs and about 100 VDV infantry. They lost one tank and 16 MT-LBs, and the infantry were hunted down by drones. This five minute video shows some of the vehicles and infantry being hit by drones dropping munitions. One Russian holds a thermal blanket over his head. It probably would have worked if he was stationary amid some debris, but motion is easily detected.

The Ukrainians were able to gain territory in the northeast section of the city.

On the Russian side of the border, a Nebo radar was hit by a drone.

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Western Luhansk

From Pishchane to Andriivka, Russia was able to make further gains. This week they used mostly infantry instead of large amounts of armored vehicles. Nevertheless, Russian vehicles near Pishchane continue to be destroyed.

The 3rd Assault Brigade destroys a 240 mm mortar. A Russian BUK-M2 air defense system was hit near Svatove. A 12 minute video of life on the front line with the 3rd Assault Brigade, featuring a rotation to the front line, treating a leg wound, using mortars and recoilless rifles to fire on Russian positions, receiving mortar and drone attacks and rotating off the front line.

The 92nd Assault Brigade salvages a thousand pieces a month of unexploded ordinances and recycle the explosive material into drone munitions.

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Terny

Russia was able to secure the rest of Nevske.

A soldier walking across a field is exposed to enemy fire. A soldier crossing the field on a motorcycle is just as exposed but he can cross it more quickly and minimize the time he is exposed to enemy fire. But Russian motorcyclists are still slower than drones.

The 60th Brigade hit a Russian tank with a drone and the initial indication was that it was destroyed.

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Siversk

The 54th Brigade observes two five-man assault groups walk for several kilometers and enter their trench line. The Ukrainian company commander sends a reserve section to engage them but the battalion commander tells him to wait and let the drones do their work. The Russians are about to attack a bunker when the drones start dropping munitions. The Russians are then hunted over a period of time and several are wounded and killed. A two-man Russian evacuation team was making their way to the wounded but are killed first. The Russian assault is defeated without any rifle fire. The 14 minute censored video with English subtitles is here.

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Bakhmut

The 30th Brigade demonstrates that dragon drones not only burn vegetation, but at 2000 degrees Celsius, it also burns tanks. It is likely that Russia will develop its own version of the dragon drone at some point.

Despite having different EW jammers on board, one of Putin’s propagandists and another Russian were hit by a drone.

The S-70 Okhotnik drone, which was designed to work with the Su-57, was shot down by a Russian interceptor (Su-30 or Su-35) near Kostiantynivka. The aftermath on the ground.

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Toretsk

There’s hard fighting in Toretsk, as seen here, with Russians assaulting into the centre of the town and a mine on its southern side. Another example of the bitter combat is when Ukraine assaults a building controlled by Russia but decides not to clear it room by room. Demolition can also be effective. Some more scenes of fighting.

The 12th Azov Brigade used light AT weapons, cluster artillery shells and drones to destroy Russian vehicles.

Russian sources say that Ukrainian missiles hit a training ground in occupied Donetsk. 20 soldiers were killed, six of which were North Koreans observing the training. Three more North Koreans were wounded. A number of North Korean engineering troops entered Ukraine last year to work on construction projects.

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Pokrovsk

Russia is slowly encroaching on Selydove and they just took a well-built underground shelter. If the above-ground fortifications were built this well and correctly placed, it would make life difficult for Russia.

The Russians consolidated the headquarters of the 2nd Combined Arms Army, the 27th Motorized Rifle Division, and the 35th Motorized Rifle Brigade at the Avdiivka Railway and Concrete works. That target was worth two Storm Shadow/SCALP cruise missiles and a GMLRS attack.

Magyar narrates a video-compilation of Russian vehicles being destroyed.

Since October 2023, Ukraine lost over 369 pieces of equipment and Russia lost over 1830 pieces of equipment in the Avdiivka/Pokrovsk area.

Russia once again killed Ukrainian prisoners, this time in the Pokrovsk sector. The murder of 16 soldiers is the largest known case of execution. This is the actual video. Ukraine knows of 93 POWs that have been executed since 2022. This is a 37 minute documentary video on the cases and investigations of executed Ukrainian prisoners. For those Ukrainians that survive their surrender, many face torture, starvation and sexual abuse. At least 177 of them have died while in Russian custody but the number is almost certainly higher. 3,600 Ukrainian POWs have been exchanged. The exact number of Ukrainian POWs is unknown but is believed to be in the thousands. Every day the spend it prison brings them closer to death.

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Makiivka

The 79th Brigade reports that Russia sent 19 armored vehicles and lost six of them, plus over 40 soldiers killed and wounded. The video is GRAPHIC.

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(…to be continued…)