"All of Vlad's forces and all of Vlad's men, are out to put Humpty together again." (7 Viewers)

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Couple of reports in the last few hours that Ukrainian light infantry forces/recon elements have entered the secondary line of Russian defenses around Verbove.

Some videos have been posted by Ukrainian sources showing infantry clearing what is claimed to be part of the second line of trenches defending the west of the town. Other videos have been posted showing infantry claiming to be inside the main line of Russian defenses to the southeast of Robotyne. Russian videos have also gone up, showing them shelling their own defensive fortifications in these same areas, which likely confirms some of the Ukrainian claims.

Ukrainian tactics in the last few weeks in this area have alternated between small but short/sharp armoured engagements against specific targets (fixed defensive points, identified enemy armour) and creeping advances using light infantry (sometimes with forces as small as a pair of squads), supported by round the clock artillery.

It's slow going, but Ukrainian higher ups are expecting that the advance will accelerate as more forces make it past the initial line of Russian defenses. They are reporting significantly fewer minefields and in less density once that initial line has been breached.
 

Or - the Russians are responding to the Ukrainian claims when in fact there are no Ukrainians at those locations
 
Just in time for the Abrams to make a showing. Will Ukraine add era and cope cages? Either way it will be nice to see the Abrams roaring across southern Ukraine.
 
MiTasol said:
Or - the Russians are responding to the Ukrainian claims when in fact there are no Ukrainians at those locations
Click to expand...

Unfortunately for the Ukranians, the Russians have really upped their game in terms of drone spotting, target identification and the speed of their artillery responsiveness. They've learned a lot of lessons about hitting Ukrainian forces before they can get properly emplaced and/or forcing them to abandon favourable positions because they're under constant fire or in known locations.

Ukrainian counter-battery is having a field day (or a series of field days) in return, but the sheer number of Russian systems in theater and their long-range fire capabilities means that at least some of them can operate with impunity.
 
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More on the fighting at Verbove.

Russian military bloggers are reporting local reserves are being put into the fighting, with the intention of preventing Ukrainian forces from opening up a gap in their front line across the country between Verbove and Novoprokopovka.

Elements of at least two different VDV/paratrooper brigades have been identified, as well as one naval marine infantry unit. Russian bloggers also claiming Guards infantry and special forces units have been in action in the area over the last 12 hours. Ukrainian forces have shown video of several T-80s losses and lots of activity from wheeled APCs (Typhoons and BTRs).

There's a gap between Novoprokopovka to the east and Verbove to the west is about 7 km of open country . South of these towns is 8 to 10 km of open ground - mostly rolling countryside with a ridgeline on the western side running northeast-southwest. There is a Russian defensive line (mostly infantry trenches) about 2 km into this territory, and then another about 6 or 7 km further to the southeast, surrounding the town of Ocheretuvate. That's protecting one of the main supply roads into Tokmak.
 
re "Anyone have a feel for this guys historical accuracy?"

Armchair Warlord says: "Some particularly dim Western commentators and even senior officials have claimed recently that the Russians have lost half or more of their combat power from the date of their initial invasion in February 2022 and are now weaker than the Ukrainians overall"

The problem with Armchair Warlord's post (as I see it) is that he made the above statement - and then never directly addressed it.

As an example, he could have said something like 'The Russian Army is stronger today than it was on day 1 of the war', or '3/4 as strong', etc. He does not do so. Instead he talks about reported increases in man power and possible/speculative increases in material - neither of which address the level of 'combat power'. The obvious example of this are the reports of fresh Russian troops being sent to the front line with almost no training. While the numbers are large, the quality is low. When you add in that much of the replacement equipment is inferior to what the units were equipped with at the start of the war . . .
 

HAVANA, Sept 4 (Reuters) - Cuba has uncovered a human trafficking ring that has coerced its citizens to fight for Russia in the war in Ukraine, its foreign ministry said on Monday, adding that Cuban authorities were working to "neutralize and dismantle" the network.

The statement from Cuba's foreign ministry gave few details, but noted the trafficking ring was operating both within the Caribbean island nation, thousands of miles from Moscow, and in Russia.


"The Ministry of the Interior...is working on the neutralization and dismantling of a human trafficking network that operates from Russia to incorporate Cuban citizens living there, and even some from Cuba, into the military forces participating in war operations in Ukraine," the Cuban government statement said.

The Russian government has not commented on the allegations.

Russia last year announced a plan to boost the size of its armed forces by more than 30% to 1.5 million combat personnel, a lofty goal made harder by its heavy but of yet undisclosed casualties in the war.


In late May, a Russia newspaper in Ryazan city reported that several Cuban citizens had signed contracts with Russia's armed forces and had been shipped to Ukraine in return for Russian citizenship.

It was not immediately clear if the Cuban foreign ministry statement was associated with the Ryazan report.

But Cuba's government said it had already begun prosecuting cases in which its citizens had been coerced into fighting in Ukraine.

Cuba uncovers human trafficking of Cubans to fight for Russia in Ukraine

Cuba has uncovered a human trafficking ring that coerced its citizens to fight for Russia in the war in Ukraine, its foreign ministry said, adding that Cuban authorities were working to "neutralize and dismantle" the network.
www.reuters.com
 
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