Frontline report: Ukrainian defenses hold as Avdiivka faces up to 60 Russian airstrikes in one day

Today, there is a lot of news.

First of all, the Ukrainian Special Forces conducted a successful operation where they engaged and neutralized the large Russian landing ship Caesar Kunikov south of Crimea. This vessel, part of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, represented one of the newest and best additions to the Russian naval capabilities. Russian sources reported that Ukrainians utilized seven unmanned surface vessels to target the ship at night, more precisely, the fifth generation of Magura drones.

Russian analysts note adaptations of the Ukrainian so-called “Wolfpack” tactics, which are especially successful against stationary targets at sea. This tactic implies a coordinated attack where each drone plays a crucial role in the success of the operation, be that a role of reconnaissance, decoy, or striker. Based on the combat footage released by the Ukrainian Main Intelligence Directorate, four drones inflicted critical damage to the port side of Caesar Kunikov, leading to its sinking.

Preliminary reports indicate a significant loss of life among the Russian vessel’s crew. Search and rescue operations conducted by Russian forces were reportedly too late and unsuccessful. The analysts noted that Russian commanders made a fatal mistake by stopping in the middle of the sea. Based on the footage, the drones were approaching the ship relatively slowly, which means that they were much quieter and harder to detect. Getting so close while being undetected would be impossible if the ship was moving because the drones would have needed to move faster to catch up.

However, the marine drone strike actually happened only after the aerial drone strike. Russian sources reported that before sinking the ship, Ukrainians launched several waves of aerial drones. Russian analysts note that the area of operation of Ukrainian aerial drones increased significantly because now Ukrainians are attacking Crimea not only from the west but also from the north and east. This implies that the January strike campaign considerably degraded Russian air defense capabilities.

Russian sources even reported that Russians had to engage their fighter jets to intercept two out of three waves of drone attacks. The fact that Russians were engaging additional resources for aerial drone interception indicates that they were once again overly focused on the problems in the sky, failing to prepare for the main attack on their ship from the sea.

At the same time, Russian sources confirmed the death of the commander of the Russian 77th Marine Brigade, who died in a hospital in Crimea. Some sources indicate that he was wounded during the previous strike on the Russian headquarters in Crimea, while others say that he was wounded in the Kherson region.

Recently, Russian forces also conducted a series of strikes. Their first target became a thermal power station in Dnipro, resulting in the suspension of electricity production. The attack, executed under the cover of night, inflicted substantial damage on critical and large-scale equipment without causing injuries.

The second target became Selydove, which is located around forty kilometers away from Avdiivka.

Russian sources reported that Russian forces hit a large deployment point using Iskander missiles with cluster munitions and killed up to six hundred troops. Some sources claimed that Russians hit newly arrived detachments from the third assault brigade that were supposed to reinforce Avdiivka. Shortly after that, Ukrainian fighters from the third assault brigade released combat footage confirming that they were already in Avdiivka, not Selydove.

Confirmation has emerged that Ukraine has indeed deployed one of its best brigades, the 3d Assault Brigade, to defend Avdiivka

According to early reports, the Russians have been pushed away from the main supply road; however, situation changes rapidly

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