war in Ukraine
Battle of Robotyne – Ukrainian troops have broken into the main Russian defense line for the first time
Ukrainian Assault Group of the 47th Brigade.
© Twitter Screenshot
Kiev needs a hit on the ground. At Robotyne, the Ukrainians were able to throw the Russians out of their trenches. Casualties are high, but for the first time Russia could lose a cornerstone of its main line of defense.
It is now a truism that the Ukrainian offensive is not progressing as hoped. The Russian resistance is more efficient than Western experts and probably also the Ukrainian high command predicted. Nevertheless, the Ukrainian advance continues. At Robotyne, Ukrainian troops for the first time reached and partially broke through the main Russian defense line north of the village. So far, the battles along the front have only taken place in an outpost field. A zone in which individual trenches and firing positions are posted. Behind this veil come the actual defenses. They have connected deep trenches, bunkered dugouts and armored firing positions.
Long march across fields
The Ukrainians are coming from the area around Novodanylivka and are advancing along the fields next to the main road To408. In front of the village of Robotyne, the Russians have fortified the rows of trees bordering the fields. Battles took place there, the Ukrainians managed to defeat them To attack the main line of defense, first parts were abandoned by the Russians. Kiev’s soldiers try to advance in the fields east of the town to attack Robotyne from the side.
In this respect, the advance is a success, especially if it leads to the Ukrainians breaking out a first cornerstone of the defensive line. But it comes at a high price. Nearby, Kiev suffered a heavy defeat early in the offensive when Leopard main battle tanks and Bradley infantry fighting vehicles were shot up in minefields. The losses in the battle for Robotyne seem to be at least as high, but this time the Ukrainian fighters also achieved something. These days will show whether they will succeed in pushing the Russians out of Robotyne. The position is favorable. But they have to bring supplies and new troops over a comparatively long distance of almost ten kilometers, where they are fired upon by the Russians.
Russia responds with firepower
The Russians, for their part, will try to clean up the breach in their positions with massive firepower. Just like last week. The Ukrainians were about to liberate the village of Klishchiyivka south of Bakhmut. They had already established themselves in the ditch system above the village. But they could not withstand the incessant bombardment of the Russians and had to give up the position they had reached with difficulty.
The NATO summit in Vilnius also casts its shadow over the Battle of Robotyne. Kiev may be determined to secure victory on the front lines, but the Russians will be just as strenuous in their attempts to deny Ukraine a triumph.