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According to preliminary reports from the southern Ukrainian frontlines, Russian forces launched a counterattack in the settlements located on the border between the Zaporozhie region and the DPR.
On June 11, the AFU managed to take control of the villages of Neskuchnoe, Storojevoye and Blagodatnoe, after the Russian military wethdrew from the settlements. Ukrainian forces also attempted to advance southward and attacked Makarovka and Urozhainoe. As a result of the night battles, Russian troops were reportedly forced to retreat from Makarovka.
According to preliminary reports on the afternoon of June 12, clashes resumed in Makarovka, where Russian forces launched a counterattack. The village reportedly came back under the control of the Russian 127th division. The mop up operation is ongoing, while the Russian military continues pushing enemy back northward.
The AFU failed to break through Russian defence in Urozhainoe. The village remains under the Russian control. As well as the village of Novodonetskoe, located several kilometers to the east. To the west, battles are ongoing near Levadnoye and Novodarovka, where the AFU failed to establish a stronghold. The villages remain in the gray zone.
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British armored vehicles Husky TSV and Mastiff PPV captured by Russian forces in Novodonetskoe:
An American HMMWV armored vehicle was blown up on a mine during one of the recent attacks on the Russian positions:
If the reports are confirmed, Russian gains reveal the tactics of the Russian military in the area. Since holding control of the villages located in the lowlands along the Mokrye Yaly river may lead to heavy losses and surrounding of Russian troops, the Russian military command decided not to fight for them ‘to death’. After Russian forces withdrew and the AFU could declare control of the settlements, the Ukrainian units are heavily shelled by Russian artillery from the commanding heights as well as by Russian aircraft. Having inflicted heavy damage to the Ukrainian grouping, Russian forces launch a ground counterattack on the remaining enemy units. Such “flexible defense” allows to inflict maximum losses to the advancing Ukrainian forces.
Control of the villages located south of Velikaya Novoselka were strategically important for the Russian military during the first days of Ukrainian offensive, since the military positions there allowed to spot the advancing Ukrainian troops in advance and destroy their vanguard forces. The main line of the Russian defence is located about 15 kilometers to the south, near Staromlinovka. The AFU need to break through several more Russian lines of strongholds in the area before they could reach it. Today, the main goal of the Russian military in the villages south of Velikaya Novoselka is not to hold or return the entire abandoned territory but to exhaust the AFU before they reach the main defensive lines.
