As of: April 7, 2024, 10:55 a.m
By: Fabian Hartmann
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It was planned to be one of the largest tank attacks of the entire war. But the Russian attack at Tonen'ke goes differently than expected - and leads to losses.
Avdiivka - In mid-February, Russian forces captured the eastern Ukrainian town of Avdiivka in Donetsk Oblast and have been advancing westwards from there ever since. On Saturday (March 30), Russia launched one of the most extensive tank attacks in the Ukraine war, which has now lasted more than two years.
The plan: A total of 48 tanks and armored vehicles were to attack Ukrainian positions west of the village of Tonen'ke. This was to be carried out by the 6th Tank Regiment, which is considered to be a “breakthrough unit” of Russia’s 90th Armored Division, as reported by the US news magazine
Forbes
. According to the Ukrainian Center for Defense Strategies, the regiment “advanced slightly northwest of the village.” But the attack goes differently than planned.
Because the column of the sixth tank regiment, consisting of 36 pieces of T-90 tanks and 12 pieces of BMP fighting vehicles with hundreds of soldiers, ran into a minefield. They were then attacked by Ukrainian paratroopers with anti-tank missiles and ego drones loaded with explosives.
“Column of enemy equipment destroyed” – Russia loses numerous tanks at Tonen'ke
A total of four Russian tanks and two armored personnel carriers were destroyed as a result of the regiment's defense, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry announced on Monday on the short message service X (formerly Twitter). In a separate statement on Monday, the 25th Airborne Brigade also released footage and said its fighters had "destroyed a column of enemy equipment." In the 30-second video, multiple explosions can be seen affecting a number of vehicles as they appear to try to escape the fire.
Abandoned Russian tanks in the Irpin region (symbolic image) © IMAGO/xOksanaStx
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW), a US think tank, described the Russian attack on Tonen'ke as Moscow's "first battalion-strength mechanized attack" since the Kremlin began its offensive on Avdiivka in October 2023. And according to
Newsweek
magazine,
Ukrainian journalist Yuri Butusov called the advance "one of the largest tank attacks in months."
Russia has regularly carried out large-scale attacks using tanks and other armored vehicles. In the first weeks of last year, three weeks of fighting for the southern Ukrainian village of Vuhledar resulted in the “largest tank battle of the war so far,” Ukrainian officials told the
New York Times
in early March 2023.
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Russia can still conduct “above battalion level” operations in Avdiivka
According to analysts from the Ukrainian association
Frontelligence Insight,
the situation in the war zone around Avdiivka
make “two important observations”: “First, Russian forces in the area have lost neither the ability nor sufficient resources to conduct operations above the battalion level.” Russia’s ability to field a reinforced tank battalion therefore continues to pose a threat to Ukrainian defenses .
The second observation from
Frontelligence Insight
is a little more hopeful for Ukraine. “The 6th Regiment was reportedly tasked with exploiting gaps in defenses and advancing further into Ukrainian territory,” the group said. In other words, the 90th Division may have realized that it was not making progress as planned - and became impatient and therefore careless. She deployed her breakthrough regiment before she could break through the Ukrainian lines.
Despite Ukrainian efforts, Russian forces have advanced southwest and west of Avdiivka in recent days, the ISW Institute said in its latest assessment. In addition, the Ukrainian armed forces appear to be struggling to fully man and supply their frontline positions. Not only are they still waiting for further military aid from the USA, but also for Kiev to pass a new mobilization law that would authorize the Ukrainian armed forces to call up tens of thousands of new soldiers.
(fh)