The international delegation, headed by Ana Lucía Bueno, ICRC Public Health Coordinator, and Sujit Panda, Head of the Physical Rehabilitation…
On the Kupiansk axis, the Defense Forces have confidently seized the tactical initiative and firmly hold a bridgehead on the left bank of the Oskil River.
This was stated during an Army TV livestream by Major Yurii Fedorenko, commander of the 429th Unmanned Systems Regiment “Achilles”.
Despite the fact that the enemy strikes the crossings with all available weapons — in particular, dropping between 20 and 40 guided aerial bombs per day — engineering units of the Defense Forces ensure the stable operation of the crossings.
“‘Achilles’ is fighting on five axes simultaneously, and the Kupiansk axis is one of them. At present, this is an example where the Defense Forces, through the coordinated joint work of a number of structural units from different security agencies operating as a single mechanism, have managed to seize the tactical initiative”, — he said.
Speaking about the bridgehead on the left bank of the Oskil River, which the Defense Forces of Ukraine continue to hold, the officer emphasized that the Russians had been tasked with capturing it by November 1, 2024.
“The enemy was assigned the task of occupying the left-bank bridgehead (just think about it!) by November 1, 2024. At present, despite constant enemy assault actions, the bridgehead is held by the Defense Forces, and the enemy is suffering quite significant losses not only in manpower but also in lightly armored and armored vehicles, because they systematically attempt to use them under unfavorable weather conditions”, — the serviceman reported.
Holding the bridgehead is possible thanks to stable logistical connectivity across the Oskil River, enabled by the crossings. The occupiers regularly attempt to destroy them.
“The condition for holding this bridgehead is ensuring stable logistics. That is, we need to transfer forces across and deliver logistical supplies from the right bank to the left bank. For this, the Defense Forces use crossings. The enemy understands where the crossings are located, actively conducts aerial reconnaissance, and as a result strikes them with all available weapons. These include UAVs, their Molniya drones, fiber-optic drones, missile weapons, rocket artillery and artillery in general, and, of course, guided aerial bombs. There are days when the enemy can drop between 40 and 60 guided aerial bombs in the area of the crossings”, — Yurii Fedorenko said.
However, thanks to the heroic work of the Defense Forces’ engineering units, damaged crossings are restored and logistical connectivity remains stable.
“Engineering units, as well as Defense Forces units tasked with defending the crossings and restoring them, carry out heroic work every day. The connection from the right bank to the left bank functions, enabling logistical support for our units and, accordingly, necessary evacuations”,— emphasized the commander of the Achilles Regiment.
