Based on the words of Ukrainian troops, the edition of ArmyInform reconstructed the battle for Sviatohirsk, which resulted in russian forces being pushed out from the city they occupied.
The most interesting detail about this story is that two weeks ago, an unknown unit of russian special forces arrived in the outskirts of the city and started to launch strikes against Ukrainian positions with kamikaze drones of an unspecified type. The authors do not detail the casualties suffered in these attacks, either. The only thing said in this regard is that "bravery, perseverance, professionalism and extreme motivation made their job – and the enemy was pushed out".
Read more: Russians Try to Prevent a Chaotic Escape From Kherson Oblast, the Order "No Step Back" Given In Donbas – ISW
Another remarkable detail is that russians were trying to start a counterattack near Sviatohirsk even despite the so-called "dagger fire" of Ukrainian artillery – tactics implying sudden shelling of a designated area in close combat.
In particular, the soldiers say that artillery of the Armed Forces of Ukraine has targeted a square area of 2x2 meters of a road across the Yarova village nearby. The guns fired on this area in volleys of three shots, but the russians were nonetheless coming there again and again with their heavy equipment, suffering heavy losses in the most stubborn manner.
When Ukrainian forces were liberating Sviatohirsk, their artillery was firing from 8 AM to 2 AM, i.e. for 20 hours in a row. From firing so much, the barrels were overheated, but the russians were trying to advance, until they had no more units to deploy, apparently.
The "technology" of russian retreat is another interesting topic. As far as we can see, they have a "good ol’ tradition" that manifests in commanders fleeing first, and then the personnel follows. And the mass retreat starts no earlier than a few hours past the commander has already left his post in the defending city. The key role in this situation belongs to how "commanding" is the voice of such a commander – sometimes they manage to scare subordinates with a firing squad just enough to make them stay and defend, otherwise the manpower flees in chaos.
In the case with Sviatohirsk, something in between happened. On the one hand, the already gone commanders did not allow any soldier to withdraw from his position. On the other, these threats didn’t help at all, because russian troops left abandoning a huge amount of ammunition to various arms and weapons. The withdrawal was so "well organized" that one of russian columns was wandering in the nearby woods for several days while Ukrainian artillery continued to hunt it.
"The occupiers say, that [Ukrainian] men have already recovered, moved in their reserves and began shelling with artillery and multiple rocket launchers," the article reads. If it really is that way, then the liberation of Sviatohirsk had become a real "game-changer", because now Ukrainian artillery can fire hours long: both because of a good spot and all the ammunition left by russians.
Read more: Despite Any Losses, russia Will "Fight" In Donbas With Its Usual Tactics - Business Insider
