Frontline report: Ukraine’s 95th air assault brigade counters Russian push in Pivnichne, Donetsk Oblast

Day 855: 16 July

On 16 July, there are a lot of developments in the direction of Toretsk. Here, Ukrainians have moved the 95th air assault brigade to the region to stabilize the situation and deplete Russian forces by conducting rapid counterattacks.

The main Russian goal is to straighten the frontline and open up a second axis of advance toward Kostyantynivka, supporting their stagnating assault on Chasiv Yar.

To advance toward Kostyantynivka, the Russians must first take control of the Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk. They have recently started advancing on the fortified city from two sides.

However, as Russians have not moved large reserves to the region yet, the two Russian breakthroughs at Pivnichne and New York are unlikely to be planned offensive operations but rather opportunistic strikes after a failed Ukrainian brigade rotation.

The lack of committed reserves by Russian forces puts a harsh deadline on Russian soldiers on the frontline. They have a limited amount of time to accomplish their goals before they run out of manpower, equipment, and, as such, their combat capabilities. Currently, Russians are trying to overwhelm Ukrainian defenses and cause an outright Ukrainian collapse by launching infantry assaults all over the equally fortified settlement of Pivnichne.

Russians also launched a large bombing campaign on the town, using glide bombs, thermobaric, and conventional artillery to target Ukrainian positions on the outskirts of the settlement and the high-rise district. The situation on the outskirts is highly volatile; Russian and Ukrainian geolocated footage shows both parties are active in the same area, where Russians are sometimes able to reach the outskirts but get quickly eliminated here as well.

To help stabilize the situation, the Ukrainian 95th air assault brigade, which the Ukrainian command often utilizes to stabilize critical situations, was called in as a rapid response force to counterattack and push Russian assault groups back out of the settlement. The first objective of the 95th brigade was to push Russians out of the northern outskirts of Pivnichne, as the south was guarded by the high-rise district, making Russian attacks in the north the more pressing issue.

The brigade released a multitude of geolocated footage detailing their combat operations, as a Ukrainian drone filmed Russian assault groups entering houses on the outskirts. Ukrainians immediately fired on the building with artillery, halting the Russian attack. Their drone operators continued to monitor the area heavily, targeting any Russian movement or position with artillery, FPV drones, and drone-dropped grenades.

With Russian presence in the outskirts reduced to almost nothing, the next step was to eliminate their foothold in the so-called ‘arm’ of Pivnichne. To rapidly accomplish this, Ukrainians launched a counterattack with an armored personnel carrier, firing its automatic cannon along the ‘arm’ to destroy Russian positions they had established here.

Interestingly, this was not an isolated operation. Ukrainians continued to use armored personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles to undermine the Russian foothold. On one occasion, Ukrainians even used a tank to fire high-explosive shells into more important Russian positions here to ensure their destruction. Finally, they engaged a Russian tank providing fire support for Russian units, disabling it before finishing it off with a drone-dropped grenade, resulting in an ammunition cook-off.

The sudden and high intensity of Ukrainian counterattacks on the outskirts has significantly weakened the Russian presence here and their foothold on the outskirts. While Ukrainians have not yet launched counterattacks to force the Russians out physically, drone operators have mined the supply routes with Baba Yaga octocopters, as well as dropping these mines directly on Russian positions. Ukrainians do not just target these supply routes with mines but have them under FPV drone control as well, targeting any reinforcements with kamikaze strikes.

Observation drones also mark these routes, leading Ukrainians to uncover Russian hideouts and engaging them with mortar fire. While Ukrainian counterattacks in the north broke the Russian threat, the situation in the southern part of Pivnichne was more difficult, as Russians focused their bombing and artillery campaign on the Ukrainian high-rise district.

An observation drone filmed the extent of the destruction as Russians resorted to razing any buildings Ukrainians used as a defensive position. Through sheer destruction, Russians were able to take control of the southern suburbs and parts of the forest to open up more angles of attack on the Ukrainian high-rise fortifications.

Despite the intense Russian bombing, Ukrainians continued posting videos of fierce urban combat from the apartment buildings. The footage shows Ukrainians engaging Russian soldiers with small arms fire and rifle-mounted- and handheld grenade launchers.

Ukrainian fighters also shared footage and images of Russian casualties as they attempted to move closer or into the Ukrainian positions. Geolocated footage also shows that at least one Russian assault group made it to the apartment buildings.

Ukrainians immediately opened fire on the Russian soldiers with artillery, taking many of them out of commission. Ukrainians then sent a tank to finish the job with high-explosive ammunition, destroying what was left of the Russian assault group.

Overall, Russians are suffering from a lack of reinforcements in Pivnichne and will soon be unable to sustain their offensive operations. The Ukrainian 95th air assault brigade has been moved to the area and is conducting swift counterattacks in the northern outskirts. This significantly weakens the Russian grip on their foothold and has majorly disrupted their logistics. All the while, Russians focused their bombing campaign on the south, slightly advancing and opening up more angles of attack on the high-rise district.

If the Ukrainian 95th can quickly wrap up its operations in the north, it will be able to transfer its attention to the south and achieve the same results here.

In our daily frontline report, we pair up with the military blogger Reporting from Ukraine to keep you informed about what is happening on the battlefield in the Russo-Ukrainian war.

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• Frontline report: Russian forces launch massive three-pronged assault near Novomykhailivka