The Daily Populous Wednesday June 19th, 2024 evening edition
Authored by thedefensepost.com and submitted by new974517

Russian Soldier Says Ukraine Almost Wiped Out His Entire Unit in Kharkiv

A Russian soldier has reported that Ukrainian troops almost wiped out his entire unit amid heavy fighting in Kharkiv.

Anton Andreev, assigned to the fifth company of Moscow’s 1009th regiment, told Russian Telegram channel Astra that half his unit had been eliminated on the first night of fighting in Vovchansk.

He also revealed that only 12 of his 100-strong unit were left to fight as the invading forces attempted to advance and gain more territory.

He attributed the huge Russian loss to Kyiv’s powerful artillery and drone strikes.

“You walk through the street, and everything seems to be fine,” Andreev said in a video message verified by The Guardian. “But then you get caught up in a massacre.”

Fighting has intensified in Kharkiv since last month when an estimated 30,000 Russian troops caught the Ukrainians off guard and quickly seized 99 square miles (159 square kilometers) of territory.

But the mission was not easy, as Andreev lamented about being sent there to die “like meat.”

He claimed that their commanders always insisted on advancing even if they were already taking huge casualties.

“They just chop us up! We are sent under machine guns, under drones in daylight, like meat. And commanders just shout ‘forward and forward,’” he said.

If confirmed, Andreev’s statement would lend weight to claims that the Russian military has been making costly mistakes on the battlefield resulting in heavy losses.

Earlier this year, a Ukrainian artillery commander said the invading forces continued to carry out large-scale “meat assaults,” in which a large number of soldiers swarm an enemy area with almost no cover.

n00chness on June 19th, 2024 at 03:41 UTC »

The common thread in this conflict is that the defenders can see everything on the battlefield and the attackers, lacking air superiority, can't make gains. There are just two exceptions, the initial February 2022 invasion which coupled Russia's best punch with the advantage of surprise, and Ukraine's Summer 2022 dual Kharkiv/Kherson offensives, which occurred against severely depleted Russian lines

TheDarkRabbit on June 19th, 2024 at 02:46 UTC »

Good. Go home.

InflamedLiver on June 19th, 2024 at 02:42 UTC »

Russian Command: well that didn't work. Let's try it exactly the same tomorrow