The international delegation, headed by Ana Lucía Bueno, ICRC Public Health Coordinator, and Sujit Panda, Head of the Physical Rehabilitation…
Over the past week, the 13th Operational Assignment Brigade “Khartiia” of the National Guard of Ukraine destroyed approximately 70 Russian infantrymen on the northern border of Kharkiv region in the direction of Kharkiv.
In an exclusive comment to ArmiaInform, Chief of Staff of the brigade Andrii Pomahaibus explained what enabled the “Khartiia” fighters to repel yet another enemy assault.
“The enemy tried, as it has done repeatedly before and continues to do now, to probe for weak spots in our defense. This time, they thought they could do it in our sector.
However, the Russians suffered a failure, and the assault once again turned out to be purely ‘meat-based’— that is, the enemy simply throws its infantry forward without any planning, ‘as cannon fodder,’ ‘to be slaughtered’”, — he said.
Having timely detected the movement of enemy infantry using surveillance assets — groups up to squad size advancing across snow-covered fields — the “Khartiia” fighters delivered coordinated strikes on the enemy using various means of firepower.
“We struck them with 155mm cluster munitions, with drops from heavy bomber drones of the ‘Vampire’ type, and with FPV kamikaze drones”, — the serviceman reported regarding the means used to destroy the enemy infantry.
Thanks to this comprehensive fire engagement, over the course of just a few days in northern Kharkiv region, the Khartiia Brigade alone destroyed around 70 Russian assault troops.
This became possible due to the brigade’s prior daily and round-the-clock combat work.
“The key to success was high-quality planning, quality reconnaissance, observation of the forward edge, timely detection of the enemy, and the delivery of fire strikes”, — the officer explained.
Another extremely important factor is the high morale of Ukrainian defenders.
“The readiness of the guys at firing positions to carry out tasks, destroy the enemy, and defend their territory, to actively hold the defense and eventually fully liberate their land from the invader — this is what helps Khartiia and all the Defense Forces of Ukraine to prevail”, — Andrii Pomahaibus emphasized.
Separately, the Chief of Staff of Khartiia stressed that a certain prior “lull” on the section of the frontline north of Kharkiv was felt only at the level of media reports, which mentioned this segment of the line of combat contact less frequently due to the absence of large-scale enemy assaults.
“If a direction is mentioned less often in the media, it does not mean that there is no daily combat work taking place here. Combat operations are ongoing constantly; the enemy is constantly trying to probe for a weak spot somewhere.
Our infantrymen are on the forward line, trying to keep warm in –15°C frost. They are holding the defense, conducting observation, and preventing the enemy from advancing, while the enemy regularly fires on our personnel and our positions.
FPV drones and fiber-optic UAVs are also actively operating. The enemy is trying to destroy our bridges, cut off lines of communication, and complicate our logistics. That is, the line of combat contact here is always active — there has never been a real lull.
This is happening because Kharkiv remains a priority for the enemy, and they continue to attempt to approach the outskirts of the regional center from the north”, — the Chief of Staff of Khartiia emphasized.
