Ukraine Crushes Massive Russian Armor Assault On Zaporizhzhia

The large scale Russian armored attacks on Ukrainian forces - whether at Pokrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kupiansk or elsewhere continue to be annihilated by the Ukrainians without the Kremlin attaining its objectives. JL

Alisa Orlova reports in the Kyiv Post:

Ukrainian forces repelled a large-scale Russian assault on Mala Tokmachka, east of Orikhiv. Each wave involved five to eight armored vehicles, with a total of roughly 26 Russian units, including tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, and “Tiger” armored vehicles. Ukraine's 118th Brigade destroyed two tanks, 12 infantry fighting vehicles, six armored personnel carriers, and two “Tiger” vehicles, forcing the surviving Russian forces to retreat.

Ukrainian forces repelled a large-scale Russian assault on the village of Mala Tokmachka, east of Orikhiv, military officials said Monday.

The 118th Separate Mechanized Brigade shared a video on its Facebook page showing Ukrainian forces repelling the attack and destroying Russian armored vehicles.

The attack, launched on Oct. 20 at 2 p.m., came in multiple waves from the 71st Motorized Rifle Regiment, advancing from Verbove and Novoprokopivka.

 

Each wave involved five to eight armored vehicles, with a total of roughly 26 Russian units, including tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, armored personnel carriers, and “Tiger” armored vehicles.

 

Ukrainian soldiers from the 118th Brigade said they “struck back quickly.” In the early hours, they destroyed two tanks, 12 infantry fighting vehicles, six armored personnel carriers, and two “Tiger” vehicles, forcing the surviving Russian forces to retreat toward Verbove.

The brigade used artillery, FPV drones and other unmanned aerial vehicles to target Russian positions, while T-72 tank crews engaged enemy vehicles and personnel directly. Some Russian equipment also detonated on mines.

“The enemy suffered significant losses – personnel and armored vehicles were destroyed. We are working in a coordinated and decisive manner,” Ukrainian troops said.

 

The assault came as Russia concentrated forces for renewed offensives in Zaporizhzhia. On Aug. 18, Ukraine’s Armed Forces (AFU) Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrsky said Russia had redeployed troops from the Sumy region.

On Aug. 22, Southern Defense Forces spokesperson Vladyslav Voloshyn confirmed the Russian regrouping.

However, in September, reports indicated that Russia’s summer campaign in Zaporizhzhia had largely failed.

In early September, Syrsky reported that Russian forces currently hold a threefold advantage in manpower and equipment, which in some areas rises to four to six times.

 

He said that in August, Russia had planned large-scale offensives in the Zaporizhzhia sector, but Ukraine’s Defense Forces thwarted those efforts. As a result, Russian troops were forced to delay their push in Zaporizhzhia and redeploy marine units to Donetsk.

“In fact, the month when the Russian military made maximum efforts to break through became a month of relatively small territorial gains,” Syrsky said.

According to him, Ukrainian troops regained 58 square kilometers (22.4 square miles) and liberated several settlements in August, while holding firm in the Hulyaipole and Prydniprovske sectors.

On Thursday, Voloshyn stated that Russian forces were attempting to capture the villages of Kamyanske and Plavni to continue their offensive toward Prydniprovske and advance to the outskirts of Zaporizhzhia.