Russia’s attacks kill three, injure an ambulance team in Kherson. Russian forces launch motorcycle assaults, a drone commander says.
Russia’s attacks kill three, injure ambulance team in Kherson
A Russian drone struck an ambulance in Kherson on Thusday morning, injuring a paramedic and the driver, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine said. It added that a joint team of prosecutors and investigators was documenting the war crime.
Later that same day, Russia’s artillery, drone and air strikes killed three people and injured four others in Kherson, local authorities said.
On Wednesday, Russian glide bombs and artillery struck the city, killing one person and wounding at least nine others. The attack damaged 20 residential buildings, a sports facility, two supermarkets, a shopping mall, two education facilities and civilian vehicles.
Russian forces launch motorcycle assaults, drone commander says
Russian forces maintain the tempo of offensive operations, adjusting tactics and widely using motorcycle assaults, the commander of the drone crew “Kara Nebesna” (Punisment from Heaven) of the 4th Rubizh Operational Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine, Andriy Otchenash said on Espreso television channel on Thursday.
“The situation on the front lines where our Rubizh brigade is holding positions is quite tense. The enemy is conducting assault operations three to five times a day, using not much equipment, but a lot of personnel. They do not give us rest and are constantly storming [our positions]. At the same time, we see them amassing materiel, meaning that they will use it in further assaults. They will fail, that’s for sure. This is not the first assault operation, not even the tenth one that our brigade is repelling on the line of contact. Still, we see that they are constantly trying [to storm]. They conduct aerial reconnaissance to find our weaknesses and are adjusting their tactics accordingly. But our brigade is ready for this, and I am sure that everything will be fine,” Otchenash said.
He said Russian forces are trying to break through Ukrainian lines of defense using different types of vehicles, including motorcycles.
“Motorcycle [assaults] are already routine. There can be five to ten motorcycles that are trying to break through not to the contact line, not to point zero, but a little further away in order to consolidate positions and cause chaos. [They aim to] create a situation when out troops would have to fire both backwards and forward to destroy the enemy that is staying in the middle. At the same time, these are motorcycles, and it’s funny to see half of Russian soldiers fall from the motorcycles. Any type of shell knocks them down and they fall over. They use this method to launch a blitzkrieg — to drive the furthest possible distance and establish positions there,” he said.
Russian forces do not stop offensive operations, he added.
“Their offensive operations do not stop. At the same time, on the front lines where our brigade is holding defensive positions the tempo of offensive operations is stable. We know that they are getting new fighters. Russian soldiers recently taken prisoner by the Rubizh brigade received one-week training [before being sent to fight]. They lack training completely. We took a soldier prisoner two weeks after he signed the contract. These were his two weeks of service, and that was it,” Otchenash said.