Latest news with #68thJaegerBrigade
Boston Globe
6 days ago
- Politics
- Boston Globe
Russia goes after Ukraine with distant strikes and new tactics
Advertisement Moscow is betting that, no matter the diplomatic wrangling, it can eventually come out on top in a long war of attrition in which it has both numeric and military superiority. Russia has been unable to turn small gains on the battlefield into strategic breakthroughs, although it has suffered staggering human losses. For more than a year, its troops have concentrated on Pokrovsk, in eastern Ukraine, with relentless attacks from a large force that has been getting closer. Late last month, a few Russian soldiers infiltrated the city for the first time, according to Ukrainian troops defending it. The Russians set ambushes and attacked vehicle convoys before they were tracked down in several city blocks, and at least four people were killed, said Staff Sgt. Oleksandr Kanivets, a mortar battery commander with the Ukrainian 68th Jaeger Brigade. Advertisement Since then, attacks by small groups of Russian soldiers backed by drones have increased, Kanivets said. 'Our clearing operations continue, just as their raids into the city do,' he said when reached by phone Monday. Driving the Ukrainians out of Pokrovsk would allow Russian troops to bolster their attacks on the remaining cities of the Donbas region that form the spine of the Ukrainian defense in the east. In the fight for Pokrovsk, Moscow has deployed some 110,000 troops, attacking from multiple directions, Ukrainian officials say. 'This is an army capable of capturing a medium-sized European country,' said Viktor Trehubov, a Ukrainian military spokesperson. Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi, Ukraine's top military commander, said Russia continues to expand the size of its forces fighting inside Ukraine, which, he said, needed to intensify its own struggling mobilization effort. After a siege that has lasted more than a year, Moscow has increasingly been turning to small units like the one that infiltrated Pokrovsk last month, backed by drones. The troops are integrating the drones into offensive operations, deploying them with elite units to wreak havoc on Ukrainian supply lines. 'How Ukraine adapts to and counters this evolving drone threat is critical,' said Michael Kofman, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, who recently visited Ukrainian troops on the front. Fighting also continues to rage across a long front, from the Dnieper River and Kharkiv in the north, to Chasiv Yar in the heart of the eastern Donbas region and Zaporizhzhia in the south. In the northeast near Sumy, months of persistent attacks by Russia have yielded minimal gains and the Ukrainians have pushed the troops back in places, according to combat footage verified by military analysts. Major assaults in the south have also recently been repelled, soldiers said. Advertisement The fiercest fighting is in the eastern Donetsk region. Most of Russia's gains in June and July -- which amounted to about 400 square miles, according to military analysts -- were there. But the fighting that has taken place this summer scarcely resembles the war's early days, or even last year's battles, military experts say. Coordinated assaults with armored columns battling between trench lines are rare. Now, Ukrainian forces are scattered in small teams occupying foxholes or basements, watching mine-strewn fields under constant drone surveillance. 'The lines are not comprised of sprawling trenches, but small defensive positions which serve as pickets, while much of the fighting is done by drones and artillery,' Kofman said. While maps show clear front lines, in reality, both sides bleed into each other across vast battlefields. The Russians more often than not move in small groups on foot, occasionally followed by groups racing forward on motorbikes or buggies, sometimes even bypassing Ukrainian positions rather than engaging them. The Ukrainians at times do not open fire so as to not reveal their positions. Valerii Zaluzhnyi, Ukraine's former top military commander and now ambassador to Britain, offered a blunt description of the new reality in a recent interview on Ukrainian television. 'Now the front line is mainly designed so that people are killed there,' he said. This grim calculus can be seen in underground command posts, where Ukraine's losses are tracked on whiteboards with code names for fighting positions and tallies of drones lost, electronic warfare systems destroyed and soldiers killed or wounded. Advertisement Capt. Dmytro Filatov, who oversees a 3-mile section of the front, spends day and night monitoring nine video feeds offering near-constant bird's-eye views of his patch of land. One morning this summer, a drone team spotted a lone Russian soldier emerging from a tree line. 'There is the Russian. There!' Filatov barked, ordering attack drones launched. But the soldier vanished back into foliage before a large bomber drone, the Vampire, could strike. The captain angrily threw down his phone in frustration. Six men in his regiment had died a day earlier after being sent forward to block an assault. Surrounded, they fought for five days before being overrun. 'Did I know it was a big risk? Yes,' he said. 'Did I hesitate? No.' While Russia has kept up relentless attacks across the front, Pokrovsk faces a particularly urgent threat, Ukrainian soldiers and commanders said. Kanivets, the Ukrainian mortar unit commander, was sent to the Pokrovsk area in March 2024. Russian troops had recently taken Avdiivka, about 25 miles to the east, and were moving steadily in the direction of Pokrovsk, which at the time was a critical logistical hub for Ukrainian forces in the region. They reached the outskirts of the city before their march was halted. A year later, as Russian forces once again ramp up attacks, the skies are thick with drones, Kanivets said. Soldiers are often forced to spend weeks at fighting positions without rotation and only limited resupply. Squeezed from all sides, Ukrainian forces could once again be faced with a choice they have confronted time and again, deciding when the price of holding their ground outweighs the cost of retreating. Advertisement They have dug extensive defensive lines behind the city. Families in nearby villages are being evacuated as the war closes in. And the city itself is steadily being destroyed. Filatov, on the front line, said there was no time for wishful thinking about diplomacy or leaders bringing an end to the conflict. 'We've fought so long that we rely only on ourselves, not on presidents, gods or talks,' he said. When asked if his men maintain hope, he glanced at a passing soldier: 'Vasyl, do you have hope?' The soldier laughed. 'No,' he replied. This article originally appeared in
American Military News
05-07-2025
- General
- American Military News
Ukrainians Turn Soviet Van Into Modern Warfare Tool To Fight Russian Drones
This article was originally published by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty and is reprinted with permission. A clunky Soviet-designed off-road van, has become a tool of modern warfare for Ukrainian soldiers. The Bukhanka, the Russian word for a loaf of bread, may be one of the oldest in-production vehicle designs in the world, but a retrofitted version with a modern electronic warfare system is playing a key role in frontline survival in Ukraine's Donetsk region. Performing its 21st Century call of duty, the vehicle scans the skies for Russian drones, alerting troops of the 68th Jaeger Brigade near Pokrovsk and even intercepting camera feeds being sent back to Russian soldiers. For Yuriy and other soldiers in his brigade, the van and its technology are a life saver. 'If we can see what the drone sees, we can get out before it hits,' he explains as the van is quickly camouflaged to avoid enemy surveillance or kamikaze drones once it arrives in support of the troops. The Pokrovsk sector has become one of the hottest war zones along the front line in Russia's full-scale invasion of its neighbor. The vehicle travels down a road lined with netting, including overhead, to ward off incoming drones. But the netting offers limited protection. 'You're lucky none is flying right now,' says Andriy, an artilleryman. 'At night, it's two or three drones overhead, and then glide bombs. It's a concert starting at 9 p.m.' Andriy's story reflects the broader wartime shift many have endured. Before the full-scale invasion, he worked across Europe, repairing cars in Germany, milking cows in Denmark. After Russia invaded in February 2022, he volunteered to defend Ukraine. Even after being wounded, he refused to leave his unit. 'Here, everything is clear. You know what to do,' he says. Our interview is interrupted as the brigade receives an order to fire. A short circuit delays the self-propelled artillery system, but the crew resolves it in minutes, fires on the target, and immediately moves to a shelter to wait for the likely Russian response. According to Ukraine's General Staff, Pokrovsk is currently experiencing the most intense Russian assault activity of any frontline sector. 'Firing is one thing, return fire? That's when it gets intense,' says one soldier. The Bukhanka may have been around since 1965, but it arrived just in time for Yuriy, Andriy, and their Ukrainian colleagues.
Yahoo
23-04-2025
- Yahoo
68th Jaeger Brigade destroys Russian vehicles with FPV drone and artillery
Soldiers of the 68th Jaeger Brigade, named after Oleksa Dovbush, destroyed a Russian ATV (all-terrain vehicle) with Russian troops inside using an FPV drone, and later, artillery completed its destruction with a precision strike. Source: 68th Jaeger Brigade on Facebook Details: Soldiers of the 68th Oleksa Dovbush Brigade showed a video of their drone chasing an ATV with Russian soldiers. Despite the attempts of the Russian paratroopers to fight back, the drone hits the vehicle, and those inside escape. Moments later, Ukrainian artillery finished the job with a precise strike. The abandoned target erupted in a blast so powerful it was torn apart, sending up a cloud of fire. "The explosion was like a haiku. Concise, meaningful, and beautiful," the military briefly commented. Support Ukrainska Pravda on Patreon!
Al Arabiya
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Ukrainian soldiers dismiss Trump-Russia peace push
Peace talks this week between Russia and the US aimed at ending three years of war in Ukraine have not impressed front-line Ukrainian troops, who see no quick end to the fighting if Kyiv is left out of negotiations. Clutching an assault rifle, an infantryman who goes by the call sign 'Rugbyist' recalled Ukraine's fierce resistance in the first weeks of Russia's February 2022 invasion, before Western support poured in, and suggested his country could do it again if needed. In any case, he had not placed high hopes in US President Donald Trump standing up for Ukraine: 'You can't be betrayed by a person you didn't expect anything from.' 'Maybe they decided something over there - but that's their opinion,' the 21-year-old, whose call sign means 'spring', told Reuters at a training base in southeastern Ukraine. 'Ukrainians won't believe all that.' Trump's push for a quick peace with Moscow while sidelining Ukraine has caused fear among many Ukrainians and their allies. But front-line troops say they are determined to fight on, citing three years of bitter sacrifices and the loss of tens of thousands of comrades-in-arms. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has dismissed any deals made behind Ukraine's back and has sought strong security guarantees from Kyiv's partners before agreeing to any settlement. Trump envoy Keith Kellogg said on Friday that he had 'extensive and positive' talks with Zelenskyy during a trip to Kyiv but offered no further information. Also on Friday, the Kremlin hinted at a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin but said the details had yet to be worked out. On the battlefield, meanwhile, outmanned and outgunned Ukrainian troops are struggling to hold back Russian advances along much of the sprawling eastern front. Fighting has been particularly fierce near the embattled logistics hub of Pokrovsk, defended in part by troops from Ukraine's 68th Jaeger Brigade.
Yahoo
21-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Ukrainian soldiers dismiss Trump-Russia peace push
By Vitalii Hnidyi and Valentyn Ogirenko DNIPROPETROVSK REGION, Ukraine (Reuters) - Peace talks this week between Russia and the U.S. aimed at ending three years of war in Ukraine have not impressed front-line Ukrainian troops, who see no quick end to the fighting if Kyiv is left out of negotiations. Clutching an assault rifle, an infantryman who goes by the call sign "Rugbyist" recalled Ukraine's fierce resistance in the first weeks of Russia's February 2022 invasion, before Western support poured in, and suggested his country could do it again if needed. See for yourself — The Yodel is the go-to source for daily news, entertainment and feel-good stories. By signing up, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Policy. In any case, he had not placed high hopes in U.S. President Donald Trump standing up for Ukraine: "You can't be betrayed by a person you didn't expect anything from." Another soldier, known as "Pruzhynka", was equally dismissive of the Russian-U.S. talks held in Saudi Arabia and said he still plans to take the fight to the enemy when he returns to the front. "Maybe they decided something over there - but that's their opinion," the 21-year-old, whose call sign means "spring", told Reuters at a training base in southeastern Ukraine. "Ukrainians won't believe all that." Trump's push for a quick peace with Moscow while sidelining Ukraine has caused fear among many Ukrainians and their allies. But front-line troops say they are determined to fight on, citing three years of bitter sacrifices and the loss of tens of thousands of comrades-in-arms. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has dismissed any deals made behind Ukraine's back and has sought strong security guarantees from Kyiv's partners before agreeing to any settlement. Trump envoy Keith Kellogg said on Friday that he had "extensive and positive" talks with Zelenskiy during a trip to Kyiv but offered no further information. Also on Friday, the Kremlin hinted at a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin but said the details had yet to be worked out. On the battlefield, meanwhile, outmanned and outgunned Ukrainian troops are struggling to hold back Russian advances along much of the sprawling eastern front. Fighting has been particularly fierce near the embattled logistics hub of Pokrovsk, defended in part by troops from Ukraine's 68th Jaeger Brigade. At their training ground, soldiers said they had little faith in the ongoing peace effort and saw no immediate end to the fighting. "There are many patriots among us - we're descendants of the Cossacks," said "Alladin", who was training the troops. "We will fight till the end." (Writing by Dan Peleschuk; editing by Giles Elgood)
