Commentary by Russian military journalist Boris Rozhin is in italics.
[ColonelCassad] Military correspondent Alexander Kharchenko on the situation in the Rabotino area.
I haven't written for a long time. For a number of reasons beyond our control, I was not at the front for a certain amount of time. We just returned from Verbovoy and from near Rabotino.
I want to immediately praise Russian gunsmiths. OFABs with UMPC became frequent guests on the front line. It feels like at least eight such gifts per day land in the vicinity of Rabotino. You hear a familiar rustling in the sky and feel a little more confident.
There are hundreds of burnt armored vehicles around. And if in May I thought that the Ukrainian counter-offensive would resemble the “Kursk Bulge”, then upon closer examination I realized that we were facing the First World War, where instead of cold horses, the skeletons of armored cars were scattered around the area. The West relied on a breakthrough of armored fists, but, firstly, the Russian defense was already prepared and, secondly, FPV drones appeared on the battlefield, which Western generals did not take into account.
Why did armor lose its importance? A simple example that happened yesterday on the battlefield. As soon as Bradley approaches Rabotino, drones immediately begin to guide him. Dozens of people immediately run to ATGMs and FPV drone controls. Everyone wants a valuable trophy. As a result, having just entered a populated area, the American armor immediately gets hit in the face by a drone (dynamic protection is activated), and the driver quickly drives back, shooting off smoke. The evacuation mission was disrupted.
Despite all the criticism, Surovikin’s line still fulfills its purpose. Yes, the Ukrainians reached it in the Verbovoye area, but they stormed it on foot. The armored vehicles never broke through, which means that even after the loss of the first lines, the “dragon’s teeth” still perform their function.
As armored vehicles became a supporting element on the battlefield, infantry, artillery, drones and electronic warfare came to the fore. Whoever assembles the correct structure in this square will gain an advantage on the battlefield in the near future.
The Ukrainians and their handlers realized that we were now facing a trench-infantry war, and therefore they were increasingly using cluster munitions. According to my feelings, two cluster ammunition are now used for each high-explosive fragmentation ammunition.
The yellow blockades are rushing towards Novoprokopovka. As a result, their progress looks like this: they iron out the trenches with artillery for several days, during which time they accumulate in small groups in the basements of Rabotino. At the appointed hour they run to the assault on foot. If the assault on the next supporter fails, everything is repeated again and so on until the landing is wiped off the face of the earth.
This is the current situation on the front line. Later I will write about a couple more interesting points.
(c) Alexander Kharchenko
We spent several days in the vicinity of Rabotino and Verbovoy in Zaporozhye.
From observations. The Armed Forces of Ukraine are trying to take care of the equipment - fortunately, the Russian Armed Forces burned it here before - they use it only for transporting infantry and evacuating the wounded. Their infantry movements occur in small groups, and not even five to 15 people, but in twos or threes.
The artillery is not silent on both sides. Every five to ten minutes the characteristic explosions of cluster munitions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are heard. In the vicinity of Verbovoy and Rabotino there is high activity of fpv drones. Both we and the Ukrainian Armed Forces are watching each other’s every move. Therefore, movements are minimal.
The battles in Zaporozhye for the Ukrainian Armed Forces dragged on for a long time, which is beneficial for the Russian side. So far, everything we have seen looks like their next preparation to attack, but the Ukrainians don’t have much time left.
(c) Sergey Shilov
Below, photographs from the NATO situation center, which coordinates the offensive of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the Zaporozhye direction, including Rabotino.
The results of NATO leadership in the Rabotino region are especially clear.
Apparently, US Army general Milley blew Ukrainian opsec in showing off his command center. See the photos at the link.