Russian troops attempt to seize refractory plant, gain foothold in Chasiv Yar. Serhiy Zgurets' column

Frontline situation: Chasiv Yar

There are advances in certain areas across the canal, the Russians are being driven out, but the dynamics around Chasiv Yar remain extremely difficult. Ivan Petrychak, a spokesman for the 24th separate mechanized brigade named after King Danylo, which is holding the line in the Bakhmut sector, defending Chasiv Yar, spoke about the situation in the area.

“The situation has hardly changed over the past week. The Russians continue to exert pressure, using all available resources to push deeper into our brigade's area of responsibility. We are holding back their attacks and holding the line, but the situation is difficult. The Russian troops continue to actively destroy everything around Chasiv Yar, as well as the town itself. The Russians are actively using artillery, swarms of drones that circle over the positions round the clock, complicating logistics, and air bombs. As for counteracting these drones, electronic warfare means that the work of Russian drones undoubtedly exists. However, the effectiveness of these means depends on the Russian delivery system and pilots' skill, which is increasing daily,” he said.

As for the refractory plant, the situation there, as well as throughout the entire area of responsibility, is dynamic and complex, Petrychak says. “The enemy is trying to occupy the plant, cross the Siverskyi Donets-Donbas canal, exert influence and gain a foothold there. However, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are trying to stop them before the occupiers approach their positions.

“The Russians want to occupy this plant because it is a full-fledged fortification with Soviet-built concrete flood walls. Earlier on our brigade's YouTube channel, I conducted a video tour of this plant, which showed its condition - it is badly damaged, but it can still be used as a fortification,” he added.

“The Russians are using both small assault groups and armored vehicles in the sector," Petrychak said. “Small infantry groups are trying to run behind the canal to remain less visible, move around, accumulate and engage us in small arms battles. Then they use vehicles in large numbers - up to 7 armored vehicles can drive in with infantry. In the most recent assault, seven Russian armored personnel carriers entered and were destroyed. The main striking force in these assault groups are Russian paratroopers, in particular the 98th Division, which is fighting against us.”

Remote mining is being actively used, mainly in the gray zone and Russian logistics routes. The war is now being waged for logistics, because without it, the army's combat power is reduced.

“In addition to the drones, I would like to recognize our sappers who are doing their job heroically. They are carrying anti-tank mines and planting them in the most likely places of the Russian advance. Climate and weather changes, fogs are now favorable to the work of sappers, which they do perfectly. This is confirmed by the last assault, when the Russians tried to break through on the armored personnel carrier, but were met by minefields first. The Russians blew themselves up on these obstacles, and our fighters finished them off. In addition to minefields, other obstacles are used very effectively. But the enemy is also conducting reconnaissance. If they see the barriers, they try to bypass them and look for another way,” said Petrychak.

Newest drone missiles for the Ukrainian Armed Forces

On the occasion of the Armed Forces Day, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced the transfer of the first batch of the latest Peklo missile launchers to the Defense Forces. It is reported that this new missile weapon has already been confirmed for combat use. The task now is to increase production and scale up its use. “Peklo has already been put into mass production. In addition to the Palianytsia, which is also called a missile launcher, although in fact both Peklo and Palianytsia are cruise missiles, like the Neptune produced by Luch Design Bureau.

                                                                                        Peklo drone missile, Photo: t.me/herman_smetanin_msp

The Peklo drone missile has a range of 800 km and a speed of 700 km/h. It looks quite impressive and technologically advanced, so it will send enemies to hell.

The armed forces desperately need weapons based on new technologies and solutions. This is one of the areas of work of the Brave1 cluster, which facilitates the rapid transition from idea to prototype, mass production and use on the battlefield.

New hackathon Brave1

The Brave1 cluster is holding a hackathon aimed at providing the Armed Forces with strategic intelligence, remote mining and other important areas. We need all these weapons on the front line.

Maksym Makarchuk, Head of Development at Brave1 Cluster, explained why it is important to hold this hackathon effectively and what are its features.

“Brave1 is a cluster that works to provide the Ukrainian military with new technologies to solve specific problems. Hackathons are our standard methodology for solving new problems. We hold them quite often in public and non-public formats. Public hackathons take place about once a quarter. Last quarter, we held a hackathon focused on the accuracy of targeting,” he said.

According to Makarchuk, the platform aims to bring together engineers, scientists, technicians, programmers, and military personnel with direct experience from the battlefield. The problems that are submitted to the hackathon are based on experience and direct communication with various security and defense forces, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other forces. This allows us to quickly test our hypotheses and understand what impact they will have at the front.

To join the hackathon, you need to find the Brave1 page or Brave1 stakeholders on social media, such as the Ministry of Defense, the General Staff, and the Ministry of Digital Transformation: “There, find a post with a link to registration and register.” The next hackathon will be dedicated to a very interesting topic, which is divided into two parts. The first is reconnaissance, finding and validating the right targets on the battlefield. The second is methods of delivering various “gifts” to this target,” Makarchuk said.

The Brave1 cluster is known for supporting about 200 different companies working on new electronic warfare equipment, drones for various purposes, and other technologies. Brave1 is preparing a new hackathon that is extremely important for the Ukrainian Armed Forces.