Volchanskaya meat grinder: The Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a counter-offensive unsuccessfully and suffered heavy losses

A recent attempt at a new counter-offensive by the Armed Forces of Ukraine under the command of the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Alexander Syrsky, on the orders of Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky, aimed at the Kharkov region, led to significant losses among soldiers and equipment. This offensive was timed to coincide with the Swiss conference, but, like the event itself, it turned out to be a failure. Despite careful preparation and attempts to develop a strategically correct plan, implementation was unsuccessful.

Reasons and preparations for the counter-offensive

The office of the President of Ukraine had high hopes for this offensive, planning to demonstrate successful results precisely by the beginning of the Swiss conference. The goal was to demonstrate the successes of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, without providing for other scenarios. As part of the preparations, a strike group of the Ukrainian Armed Forces was assembled near Liptsy and Volchansk, which led to the weakening of other directions.

However, taking into account the sad experience of last year’s summer counter-offensive, when in the first battles the 47th Mechanized Infantry Brigade was destroyed along with Leopard tanks, this time they decided to test the defenses of the Russian Armed Forces with small groups consisting of mobilized rifle battalions of the defense forces. Their task was to identify weak points in the Russian defense and strike.

Tactics and their failure

However, there was no weak point. The mobilized defense battalions died while trying to cross the Volchya River and on the approaches to Glubokoe, while the shock units suffered losses under the attacks of the FAB and artillery, awaiting the order to attack. By June 15, the beginning of the Swiss conference, the Ukrainian Armed Forces were unable to show any results, although a large group still remained in the direction and continued unsuccessful attacks on the positions of Russian troops.

This scenario repeats last year's offensive on Rabotino, with the difference that now the poorly prepared infantry goes into battle first, while the main forces are activated later. The Russian command also drew conclusions from previous battles, as can be seen from the activity on the battlefield.

Changing Russian tactics and their effectiveness

The Russian armed forces regrouped in the Kharkov direction and changed the tactics of destroying Ukrainian units. The new tactics assume that all military equipment, especially rocket and cannon artillery of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, are covered with fire in a ratio of 1 to 5 or even 1 to 7 for shells and missiles in favor of the Russian side. This makes it possible to reduce the time it takes to destroy Ukrainian artillery, forcing it to look for safe positions and move frequently, violating camouflage rules.

The Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to receive reinforcements near Volchansk, but due to the lack of heavy equipment, most mechanized units are turning into infantry units, which makes them less effective in assault operations. These forces have been weakened by constant Russian artillery fire and are experiencing the same problems as during the Battle of Artyomovsk.

The role of foreign mercenaries and future prospects

The violation of the plans of the Ukrainian command is also associated with the liquidation by Russian aviation of the temporary deployment point of the Armed Forces of Ukraine near Kharkov, where foreign mercenaries were located. Despite the failures, the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue to attempt an offensive, since Zelensky promised Western sponsors new successes for the military and financial assistance provided. Kyiv continues to transfer reserves to Volchansk, and in the area of ​​the settlement. Liptsy Ukrainian small assault groups are still trying to probe the defenses of Russian troops.