The fighting has been going on for weeks in a city buried in piles of snow;
A nuclear fallout found in the frozen rubble on either side of the front that crosses the city;
During the truce in house-to-house battles, Ukrainian intelligence manages to locate more gunmen with machine guns hiding inside a 9-story administration building on Captain Lazarev Street, and the enemy also manages to establish an outpost at a crosswalk down the road.
Then the decision is made: the Ukrainian National Guard forces, despite the cold and fatigue, go on the offensive along with the special forces.
The mission: to smash the enemy and withdraw beyond the line and maybe even bite a few more meters from its surface.
Fortunately, this is just the "doomsday" scenario that was part of simulations held in Ukraine over the weekend.
In light of rising tensions with Russia, everyone in Ukraine is preparing for the possibility of a massive invasion that will bring most of the country, including the capital Kiev, under its control.
The fighting has been going on for weeks in a city buried in piles of snow;
A nuclear fallout found in the frozen rubble on either side of the front that crosses the city;
During the truce in house-to-house battles, Ukrainian intelligence manages to locate more gunmen with machine guns hiding inside a 9-story administration building on Captain Lazarev Street, and the enemy also manages to establish an outpost at a crosswalk down the road.
Then the decision is made: the Ukrainian National Guard forces, despite the cold and fatigue, go on the offensive along with the special forces.
The mission: to smash the enemy and withdraw beyond the line and maybe even bite a few more meters from its surface.
Fortunately, this is just the "doomsday" scenario that was part of simulations held in Ukraine over the weekend.
In light of rising tensions with Russia, everyone in Ukraine is preparing for the possibility of a massive invasion that will bring most of the country, including the capital Kiev, under its control.
The Ukrainian leadership still publicly claims that the chances of a Russian attack are low, even though the West is sending increasingly alarming messages.
either way,
The National Guard and other security forces are conducting exercises, including those simulating heavy fighting on the streets of Ukraine.
Last weekend, the exercise they performed included a not-so-simple backdrop: Pripyat - the ghost town remembered from the Chernobyl disaster.
It was once a bustling city of 50,000 people, but has in fact remained empty since the tragedy of 1986 that occurred at the power station 3 km east.
The area is saturated with empty and neglected buildings that have already begun to become part of nature.
Even today, even though decades have passed, it is still not recommended to stay in the area for a long time because of the nuclear fallout.
But for the Ukrainian military, the empty streets of the "closed area" are ideal for practicing combat in a built-up area.
The exercise is preparing for a severe attack on Captain Lazarev Street.
The unmanned aerial vehicles identify enemy forces (although not defined as Russian, it is clear to everyone that they are referred to as Russian or pro-Russian),
And have no supply and reinforcement lines.
Therefore, it may be a good time to "act" against them again.
But they are still waiting for the emergency units to evacuate the civilians who remained in the area and were "liberated" by Ukrainian forces.
The hungry and exhausted citizens crawl out of the basements where they "hid" for days and weeks.
The last moments of silence are interrupted by loud whistles in the streets: Ukrainian snipers "eliminate" enemy positions "exposed" by the UAVs. All this is accompanied by mortar shell fire. And so the Ukrainian attack begins. But according to the scenario described in the exercise, some of his forces manage to reach the fortified positions in a 5-story building down the street.
A foot force joins him from behind and slowly the Ukrainian forces manage to "clean up"
The hostile forces from the nearby buildings.
The special forces, accompanied by armored vehicles, raid the building.
The machine gun fire stopped shortly afterwards and black smoke enveloped the building.
The enemy meets its end.
Ukrainian forces have managed to capture another small chunk of the city, but this tactical success comes at a price: a soldier was badly wounded.
The simulation conducted at Pripyat creates a pretty plausible scenario of the bloodbath that would result in fighting in a built-up area if Russia decides on a full-scale invasion and occupation of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian defense minister said that Kiev does not see Chernobyl as a potential target of Russian forces.
Despite all the speculation in the media, this area with dense forest and extensive swamps will greatly complicate the ability to make a quick ground move.
The simulation conducted at Pripyat creates a pretty plausible scenario of the bloodbath that would result in fighting in a built-up area if Russia decides on a full-scale invasion and occupation of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian defense minister said that Kiev does not see Chernobyl as a potential target of Russian forces.
Despite all the speculation in the media, this area with dense forest and extensive swamps will greatly complicate the ability to make a quick ground move.
The simulation conducted at Pripyat creates a pretty plausible scenario of the bloodbath that would result in fighting in a built-up area if Russia decides on a full-scale invasion and occupation of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian defense minister said that Kiev does not see Chernobyl as a potential target of Russian forces.
Despite all the speculation in the media, this area with dense forest and extensive swamps will greatly complicate the ability to make a quick ground move.
The Ukrainian leadership still publicly claims that the chances of a Russian attack are low, even though the West is sending increasingly alarming messages.
Either way, the National Guard and other security officials are conducting exercises, including those simulating heavy fighting on the streets of Ukraine.
Last weekend, the exercise they performed included a not-so-simple backdrop: Pripyat - the ghost town remembered from the Chernobyl disaster.
It was once a bustling city of 50,000 people, but has actually remained empty since the 1986 tragedy that occurred at the power station 3 miles east.
The city is in the heart of the "closed area" that was announced immediately afterwards, within a radius of 30 km. The area is saturated with empty and neglected buildings that have already begun to be part of nature. But for the Ukrainian military, the empty streets of the "closed area" are ideal for practicing combat in a built-up area.
Ukrainian army forces in an exercise in Pripyat,
The exercise is preparing for a severe attack on Captain Lazarev Street.
The unmanned aerial vehicles identify enemy forces (although not defined as Russian, it is clear to everyone that they are referred to as Russian or pro-Russian), and have no supply and reinforcement lines.
Therefore, it may be a good time to "act" against them again.
But they are still waiting for the emergency units to evacuate the civilians who remained in the area and were "liberated" by Ukrainian forces.
The hungry and exhausted citizens crawl out of the basements where they "hid" for days and weeks.
The last moments of silence are interrupted by loud whistles in the streets: Ukrainian snipers "eliminate" enemy positions "exposed" by the drones. All this is accompanied by the firing of mortar shells. And so begins the Ukrainian attack.
The first blow succeeds, and the enemy "retreats" from the central point, but according to the scenario described in the exercise, some of his forces manage to reach the fortified positions in a 5-story building down the street.
Ukrainian forces pick up gear: a National Guard APC travels slowly on the battle street and fires at the rubble. A foot force joins it from behind and slowly Ukrainian forces manage to "clean up" the hostile forces from nearby buildings.
The special forces, accompanied by armored vehicles, raid the building.
The machine gun fire stopped shortly afterwards and black smoke enveloped the building.
The enemy meets its end.
Ukrainian forces have managed to capture another small chunk of the city, but this tactical success comes at a price: a soldier was badly wounded.
The simulation conducted at Pripyat creates a pretty plausible scenario of the bloodbath that would result in fighting in a built-up area if Russia decides on a full-scale invasion and occupation of Ukraine.
The Ukrainian defense minister said that Kiev does not see Chernobyl as a potential target of Russian forces.
Despite all the speculation in the media, this area with dense forest and extensive swamps will greatly complicate the ability to make a quick ground move.
Were we wrong?
Fixed!
If you found an error in the article, we'll be happy for you to share it with us