As of: February 6, 2024, 3:13 p.m
By: Patrick Mayer
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The Ukrainian armed forces release a video of a brigade that is seen as a beacon of hope against the Russian army.
The video reveals even more.
Kharkiv - Things are not going particularly well for Ukraine in the so-called Ukraine War, which Russia actually started, in the country at the beginning of 2024.
Some reports from the Ukrainian front are downright devastating - especially in view of the lack of ammunition.
Kiev trained “Steel Borders” brigade for war in Ukraine
While President Volodymyr Zelensky and General Valery Saluschy are engaged in a real power struggle, Moscow autocrat Vladimir Putin has announced the mobilization of large parts of the Russian population.
Neither speaks well for the Ukrainians.
A video that the Ukrainian border guard shared on Facebook on February 4th is telling about the defensive posture (and the problems) on the battlefield.
It is intended to show the operation of the so-called “Steel Borders” brigade, which Kiev had trained at the beginning of 2023.
The catch: Actually, this was originally supposed to be an attack brigade, not a defense brigade.
Eight assault brigades formed for attacks on the Russian army in the Ukrainian war
The described video from the Ukrainian border guard is said to show a drone dropping a grenade.
An explosion can then be seen.
According to border guards, a Russian vehicle was destroyed.
After almost two years of war, there are now countless videos like these on social networks.
As the American political magazine
Newsweek
reports, the video is attributed to the “Steel Borders” brigade, according to the
Reuters
news agency .
To put it into perspective: According to Reuters
, Kiev set
up a total of eight assault brigades with around 5,000 soldiers each at the beginning of 2023. One of these brigades is said to be the “Steel Borders” unit.
During the ultimately failed counteroffensive in the summer, the infantry assault brigades attacked and acted very offensively.
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Kiev's assault brigades are on the defensive in the Ukraine war - no longer on the attack
At the time, the 3rd Assault Brigade, which was celebrated as heroic in Ukraine, caused a stir, taking trench after trench in hand-to-hand combat in the Donbass near Bakhmut and inflicting heavy losses on the Russians.
The brigade filmed its operations for social media at the time (see tweet below).
The camera was even in the trenches.
In one video, for example, a single Ukrainian fighter could be seen attacking and/or shooting several Russian soldiers one after the other.
But: Such videos have now disappeared.
And there can no longer be any talk of an attack in February 2024, excluding spectacular air strikes against the Russian troops in occupied Crimea.
Russian troops make progress near Bakhmut and Avdiivka in the Ukrainian war
As the
Institute for the Study of War (ISW)
wrote in its situation report of February 4th, the Russian armed forces made confirmed advances at Bakhmut, Avdiivka and Mariinka and continued trench warfare along the entire front line.
According to the report, an encirclement of the small town of Avdiivka in Donbass is becoming increasingly likely.
The Ukrainian defenders are also under heavy pressure near Kupyansk and Kreminna in the northeast of the country.
Once again, Ukrainians' hopes now (and in the future) rest primarily on arms supplies from the West: Germany wants to equip the Ukrainian army with enough tanks for (at least) a brigade, while the Netherlands will deliver more F-16 fighter jets than initially announced.
(pm)