Geolocated footage published on July 24 shows that Ukrainian forces stopped a reinforced battalion size russian mechanized assault near Kostyantynivka (southwest of Donetsk City) after russian forces advanced up to the southeastern outskirts of the settlement, according to the US Institute for the Study of War.
Analysts ISW note that a Ukrainian brigade operating in the Kurakhove direction reported that russian forces attacked simultaneously with 11 tanks, 45 armored combat vehicles, a rare Terminator armored fighting vehicle (of which russia has reportedly manufactured only 23 as of December 2023), 12 motorcycles, and roughly 200 personnel from several tactical directions at dawn on July 24.
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The brigade reported that Ukrainian aerial reconnaissance identified the mechanized columns from a distance and that Ukrainian forces used artillery, drones, and minefields to blunt the russian assault. The brigade reported that Ukrainian forces damaged or destroyed six russian tanks, seven armored combat vehicles, and all 12 motorcycles, and that russian forces retreated after Ukrainian forces destroyed the first wave of vehicles.
ISW last observed russian forces conduct a battalion-sized mechanized attack in Donetsk Oblast in March 2024. russian forces have not conducted larger mechanized assaults in Ukraine since the first days of russia's four-month long operation to seize Avdiivka in October 2023.
The agency reminded that russian forces likely intended to advance further into Kostyantynivka as part of their efforts to seize the settlement and cut the Vuhledar-Kostyantynivka T-0524 highway. russian sources have long identified interdicting the T-0524 highway and disrupting Ukrainian ground lines of communication (GLOCs) into Vuhledar as a primary tactical objective in this direction.
A russian war correspondent recently suggested that russian forces would intensify operations south of Kostyantynivka in support of this objective and force Ukrainian forces to retreat from positions in and around Vuhledar.
Analysts at ISW note that even if russian forces achieve tactically significant advances and force Ukrainian troops to retreat from nearby positions, they are unlikely to make operationally significant progress in this area of the frontline in the near term. The surrounding area consists mainly of fields and small, isolated settlements with no significant tactical heights or operational objectives nearby.
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