December 23, 2024

Ukraine War: Drone Warfare Dominates; Russian Troops Suffer Crushing Defeats

Senior Associate Copy Editor038 mins

The war in Ukraine has turned into a macabre demonstration of 21st-century warfare, where the skies are dominated not by fighter jets, but by the chillingly silent dance of drones. Recent footage released from the front lines, like the engagement near Ivano-Darivka involving the Ukrainian 4th Rapid Reaction Brigade and the brutal losses suffered by Russian Marines near Kursk, highlight a grim reality: drone warfare is now a decisive factor on the battlefield. Russian troops, once lauded for their military prowess, are suffering crushing defeats, their offensives thwarted by the omnipresent eyes and deadly payloads of Ukrainian drones. This shift in the balance of power, evident in the increasing number of drone strikes on Russian soil and the Kremlin’s desperate attempts to counter this new threat, raises a critical question: is Russia losing the drone war?

My analysis of the situation, based on years of experience in both Iraq and Afghanistan, is that the situation for Russian troops is only going to get worse. Their reliance on outdated tactics and their failure to adapt to the new reality of drone warfare will continue to cost them dearly. The recent drone strikes on Moscow, while not strategically significant, are indicative of Ukraine’s growing ability to project power and strike deep behind enemy lines. This, coupled with the relentless pressure on the front lines, paints a bleak picture for the Russian Army in the coming weeks.

The evidence is clear: Ukraine’s mastery of drone warfare is turning the tide of this conflict. Whether it’s the pinpoint accuracy of their strikes on Russian military infrastructure or the psychological impact of their drone campaign, Ukraine is demonstrating a new paradigm in modern warfare. Scroll down for a further, more in-depth analysis of the videos.

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20 Nov: BRUTAL DEFEAT. Russians ARREST ALL GENERALS. Siversk Offensive Ended. | War in Ukraine Reporting from Ukraine
472,513 views | 33,872 | November 20 2024 02:00:10 (775 comments)[ Read more … ] 🔴 Support via Online Store: https://goldenheart.store/collections/bestsellers 🔵 EXCLUSIVE Strategic Updates on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/RFUnews 🔵 EXCLUSIVE Strategic Updates on YouTube Membership: https://www.youtube.com/ReportingFromUkraine/join 🔞UNCENSORED COMBAT FOOTAGE on Telegram: https://t.me/RFUEnglish or @RFUEnglish 🟠 Support via Thanks button donation under the video (next to “like” and “share”) 🟠 Support via 1-time donation: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ReportingFromUA ⚫ Follow us on Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/RFUEnglish or @RFUEnglish

Today, there is a lot of news from the Siversk direction.

Here, under mounting pressure to achieve promised results, Russian commanders launched a desperate final wave of armored vehicles to breach the Ukrainian stronghold around Ivano-Darivka. However, this move ended in such a disaster, that the Russian generals were arrested and the whole Russian Siversk offensive was completely canceled.

After initial Russian attempts to storm the Ukrainian defensive positions on the hill ridge above Ivano-Darivka from the south led to heavy losses, Russian forces changed the vector of their attack to the north-east of the village, using the Lysychansk Oil Refinery as an operational base to gather forces but again with no success. This renewed failure caused a backlash in Russian media with prominent military analysts putting local commanders under heavy criticism and requesting their dismissal.

With everything on the line, the responsible Russian command staff in the region launched another wave of assaults in a desperate attempt to achieve some results, save their public image, and rescue their military careers. The new assault wave consisted of a turtle tank, multiple tanks equipped with smaller cages against FPV drones, and multiple infantry fighting vehicles. These vehicles used again the dirt road from the oil refinery to reach Ukrainian positions quickly, shortening reaction time for the defenders.

Drone operators from the 4th Rapid Reaction Brigade Rubizh of the National Guard of Ukraine have released a video showcasing the strength and preparedness of their regional defenses. The footage emphasizes the critical role of early detection in successfully repelling enemy assaults. Typically, drone reconnaissance units conduct continuous day and night surveillance across every sector of the frontline. This persistent monitoring prevents surprise attacks and ensures swift, decisive reactions, an essential factor in maintaining effective defense.

Leading the Russian column was a heavily fortified “turtle tank,” outfitted with solid metal plating, additional protective cages, and electronic warfare systems, all designed to ensure its progress to breach Ukrainian defenses. Images reveal the moment a Ukrainian FPV drone struck the tank; despite being shrouded in smoke from the explosion, it pressed onward. The footage then shifts to the perspective of a kamikaze drone, bypassing the next tank in the column to focus on targeting the third vehicle. This tactic aimed to maximize disruption and chaos within the Russian assault group, effectively hindering their advance.

The turtle tank and the second tank pressed forward alone, leaving the rest of the convoy behind. Ukrainian drone operators quickly deployed additional FPV drones, inflicting further damage on the turtle tank and eventually bringing it to a halt. This forced the crew of the second tank to change direction, turning it sideways—a risky maneuver that soon proved disastrous as Ukrainian forces enhanced the dense minefields in the area. As a result, the second tank struck a mine and erupted in a spectacular explosion. Moments later, another tank advancing from the rear met a similar fate, exploding after being hit by a drone strike.

The Ukrainians then focused on the rear of the column, launching simultaneous drone strikes that highlighted their operators’ skill and the Russian convoy’s unpreparedness. In the video’s final moments, they showcased the destruction of the remaining enemy vehicles, including the abandoned turtle tank.

Following this third major setback, outcries from Russian military bloggers grew so intense that the Russian Ministry of Defense was compelled to arrest and remove several high-ranking officers within the 3rd Combined Arms Army overseeing this sector of the frontline. Among those dismissed were the army’s commander, the chief of staff, and the commander of the 7th Motorized Rifle Brigade. They were charged with submitting false reports to their superiors and orchestrating poorly conceived assaults near Siversk. This series of failures resulted in hundreds of Russian casualties, with many wounded soldiers dying on the battlefield without evacuation, while Ukrainian strongholds remained intact and their defenders with no losses.

Sources within the Russian military revealed that authorities also removed the commanders of several unnamed battalions and are investigating the…
16 Nov: DROWNED IN DEFEAT. Russian Marines Suffer Heavy Losses in Kursk Assault | War in Ukraine Reporting from Ukraine
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Today, the biggest news comes from the Kursk direction.

Here, Russians continued the 3rd wave of their counteroffensive, trying to overcome Ukrainian defenses with a new tactical approach. Despite disastrous results, Russian commanders stubbornly refused to change their tactics, leading to many Russian marines finding a watery grave.

The main Russian goal in this stage of their counteroffensive is to penetrate the Ukrainian defenses in a pincer maneuver, and take the northern front of the Ukrainian incursion into a pocket. Recently, Russians decided to double down on their assaults on Novoivanovka, assuming they were on the brink of collapsing Ukrainian lines. This time, Russians tried to use a different tactic, assaulting the settlement head-on from the east to distract Ukrainians, while launching a flanking attack from the south. A small river runs south of Novoivanovka, with only one bridge that Russians must cross to enter the town from the south. Unfortunately for Russians, Ukrainians were prepared, holding an all-round defense in the settlement, and the Russian flanking attacks being exposed to more Ukrainian fire from the south as they tried to cross the river.

Ukrainians shared geolocated footage of one of these assaults, as the Russian column started hitting landmines as soon as they left the town of Liubimovka. As they crossed into the southern fields, many Russian vehicles were hit and caught fire. At the same time, the infantry prematurely dismounted in a desperate attempt to reach the safety of the forest. Only one of the six Russian vehicles managed to enter the settlement in the end, but was ambushed and disabled by a Ukrainian anti-tank weapon, whereafter Ukrainians quickly finished off the scattered Russian infantry.

Despite the Russian attack failing, and Ukrainians now knowing the Russian plan of attack, Russian commanders ordered another five waves of mechanized assaults in the same way as before. Expectedly, these attacks ended even worse for Russian forces, as Ukrainians now knew the exact Russian plan of attack, along with Russians not changing their tactics in the slightest. Ukrainians continued to share geolocated footage of them repulsing the Russian frontal and flanking assaults, showing many burning Russian armored personnel carriers failing to cross the river. Released footage of the aftermath of the Russian assaults at the river crossing shows that the Russian marines of the 810th Naval Infantry Brigade suffered heavy casualties in their attempted flanking maneuver. The footage grimly shows the river banks and the reeds being littered with dead Russian soldiers and destroyed armored vehicles. The original uncensored combat footage of all Russian assaults can be found on our Telegram channel through the link in the description.

Ukrainian soldiers active in the region state that the activity of Russian forces in the Kursk direction remains steady. They add that Russians regularly deploy armored vehicles along their main attack vectors, which get destroyed before they can achieve any significant breakthrough. The Institute for the Study of War reports that the Russian military frequently transfers new reserves to the Kursk region to replace high personnel and equipment losses.

Overall, Ukrainian units have even described their defensive situation as stable, despite defending against the 3rd wave of the Russian counteroffensive and coming under near-constant Russian assault. Thanks to frequent rotations, Ukrainian soldiers in the Kursk region remain well-rested and more able to leverage their superior training and equipment to achieve tactical victories on the battlefield. This allows Ukrainians to quickly adapt to the constantly changing situation, and effectively respond to new Russian tactics. As Russian losses rapidly mount and their progress stalls, Russians are quickly depleting their more elite assault units, further diminishing their prospects of breaking through Ukrainian lines.
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13 Nov: New Record! Ukraine LAUNCHES BIGGEST STRIKE YET! | War in Ukraine Explained Reporting from Ukraine
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Today there is a lot of news from the Russian Federation.

Here, in a daring raid, Ukrainian forces made the biggest drone attack yet against Moscow. Ukrainians continue to use their latest drone developments to target critical Russian infrastructure, including airfields, oil depots, and military bases. The goal of these is to disrupt Russian offensive operations against both the Ukrainian armed forces and the country’s civilian population.

First of all, Ukrainian drones targeted Russia’s capital, Moscow. According to Russia’s Ministry of Defense, 84 Ukrainian drones were intercepted over six regions, with nearly half approaching Moscow and causing flights to be diverted from three major airports in the area. This was the largest attack on the Russian capital since the start of the war and was described as massive by local officials. Footage released by residents, who defied government orders, not only contradicted official claims that no damage occurred but also showcased the aftermath of the strikes, including the operations and locations of Russian air defense units. Officials reported that most of the drones were intercepted over the Ramenskoye, Kolomna, and Domodedovo districts. The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed that 34 drones were shot down over the town in total.

Earlier Ukrainian forces struck Russian ammunition warehouses in the Bryansk region during another large-scale drone attack. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that drone operators of the Unmanned Systems Forces successfully hit warehouses at the Russian military’s 1060th Logistics Center, known for storing missiles of various types, causing initial explosions and secondary detonations at the facility with geolocated imagery showing two large fires burning near it. Bryansk was also targeted 10 days before that when one of the largest microelectronics plants in Russia caught fire after a drone strike. This plant is located over 100 kilometers north of the border with Ukraine’s northern Sumy region and was attacked at least once before as well it produces key components used widely in Russian defense production, including Pantsir air defense and Iskander missile systems. The full uncensored footage of these Ukrainian strikes against key Russian infrastructure can be found on our Telegram channel through the link in the description.

In parallel, Ukrainian forces have maintained a series of strikes on military training camps in Russian border regions, seeking to disrupt Russia’s efforts to train newly mobilized troops. These operations are often executed with high precision, aided by reconnaissance drones for fire correction. One recent strike targeted a tent encampment at a Russian military training ground in the Rostov region, with geolocated video footage revealing significant damage. Russian military officials reported that the attack took place overnight, catching many soldiers from the 150th Guards Motorized Rifle Division while they were resting in their tents. Lately, Ukrainian forces have escalated attacks on Russian military positions, both within Ukraine and across the border, frequently focusing on such training grounds to weaken Russian capabilities.

On the night of November 7th, units from Ukraine’s Main Military Intelligence Directorate executed a significant drone strike on an oil refinery in Saratov Oblast, reportedly causing damage to the facility’s infrastructure. Social media footage captured a fire near the refinery, while a local Telegram channel reported that debris from a downed drone struck a fuel oil tank and a specialized installation. The refinery, a subsidiary of the Russian state oil company Rosneft, is said to produce approximately seven million tons of oil annually.

A similar attack was conducted on the Aleksin Chemical Plant in Tula Oblast with 13 drones causing a fire, halting the plant’s operations, and eventually causing a chemical explosion. This key factory produces ammunition, gunpowder, and other products for the Russian defense industrial base.

Around the same time, Ukrainian military intelligence drone operators carried out a surprising long-range attack on a Russian naval base in the Dagestani port city of Kaspiysk using their domestically produced A-22 Flying Fox drone. The base houses Russia’s Caspian Flotilla, along with Russian Marines and Coastal Troops. Reports indicate that the strike damaged at least two vessels—the…
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11 Nov: Russians Lost 120 Men in 1 Min, Forgot to Use Artillery. | War in Ukraine Explained Reporting from Ukraine
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Today there are a lot of updates from the Siversk direction. Here, after the previous disastrous assault, the Russians decided to change their vector of attack and launched a new massive assault, this time from the northern flank of Ivano-Darivka. In spite of strong pressure from another large Russian mechanized assault, the Ukrainian fighters of the 54th Mechanized Brigade took lessons from the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade and organized a multilayered defense meant to repulse anticipated Russian assaults.

Last time I told you how Russian mechanized assault south of Ivano-Darivka resulted in heavy losses of personnel, tanks, and armored vehicles, leaving many wounded soldiers stranded in the grey zone. It seems like the Russian command figured that the main flaw in their assault was the elevated Ukrainian defensive positions above the village, rendering further attacks in this direction impractical. That is why Russian forces launched a second wave of assaults along the elevated platfrom north of Ivano-Darivka, advancing from the Lysychansk Oil Refinery, where they had amassed numerous armored vehicles for the attack. This route aimed to reduce losses by positioning Russian mechanized units on the same elevation as Ukrainian defenders, hoping to reach and capture their positions. To preserve an element of surprise, Russian forces avoided heavy artillery and aerial bombardment of the Ukrainian positions, which later proved problematic. The anticipated element of surprise failed, as Ukrainian commanders had already expected an assault along the elevated funnel. With only one dirt road leading from the main Russian positions at the Lysychansk Oil Refinery, Ukrainians were prepared to concentrate drone strikes and ATGM operators ont his narrow corridor to repel the assaults. Additionally, the narrowing down of the funnel to about one kilometer in width limited Russian maneuverability during the attack, making it easy for Ukrainian forces to detect and strike.

Combat footage shows that the Russians launched a substantial mechanized assault with eleven armored vehicles and over a hundred soldiers. However, they encountered issues before reaching Ukrainian positions, as Ukrainian forces identified and destroyed Russian tanks and BMPs with Stugna-P ATGMs. Most Russian armored losses were due to ATGM strikes—a rare occurrence, as FPV drones typically cause the majority of losses nowadays. This was likely due to the Russians’ failure to organize a coherent artillery and air support on Ukrainian positions, as alluded to by Russian sources. Standard Russian military protocols suggest that artillery should suppress most ATGM positions before an assault but due to the lack of coordination this did not happen. Russian vehicles that were out of ATGM range were targeted by FPV drones, effectively forcing the remaining troops to retreat to whatever trenches and dugouts they found nearby. Ukrainian forces then deployed Mavic drones armed with grenades to eliminate Russian infantry who continued the assault, sparing only those fleeing the area. This worsened the situation for Russian forces, as disorganized stormtroopers from the damaged BMPs—many wounded—were scattered across open fields, hiding in abandoned and scattered dugouts and trenches.

Overall, despite previous failure, the Russians once again restarted their mechanized assaults towards Ivano-Darivka, resulting in heavy losses with many disorganized and wounded survivors of the assault left in grey zone. The number of Russian troops scattered across the fields near Ivano-Darivka, including wounded, is estimated to be up to a hundred. This assault and the previous one in Siversk direction met severe media backlash in Russia by their military analysts, who criticized the commanders in the area and called for their dismissal for their inability to organize offensive operations. This led to heavy losses in tanks and BMPs by Ukrainian ATGM crews, which not only prevented the Russian mechanized units from making any territorial gains, but also reduced the chances of success of any subsequent attacks due to the deterioration of combat readiness of the broken units.
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