Russian army tries to advance to Kupyansk, west of Avdiivka. Column by Serhiy Zgurets

The Pokrovsk and Kupyansk sectors remain the hottest spots at the front 

The situation along the entire frontline remains extremely difficult. According to the General Staff, there are two of the hottest areas of the frontline. In particular, the Kupyansk and Pokrovsk sectors.

In the Pokrovsk sector, the Russian army is trying to push west of Avdiivka. In the Kupyansk sector, 17 firefights took place over the last day.

Russia has been trying to advance toward Kupyansk for a long time. The Russians are failing to accomplish this task. Despite the fact that the invading troops have a significant number of armored vehicles and artillery in the Kupyansk sector, our powerful brigades are holding back the enemy. In particular, the 3rd Separate Tank Iron Brigade, among others, is holding the line in this area.

Map of combat operations in the Kupyansk sector as of May 22

Work of Ukrainian tank crews in the Kupyansk sector

Volodymyr Hontar, an officer with the 3rd Separate Tank Iron Brigade, said that the invading Russian troops are not actively conducting assault operations in the area of their brigade's responsibility. However, the Russians are constantly using unmanned aerial vehicles. According to him, enemy subversive reconnaissance groups are also active. The enemy continues to use multiple rocket launchers and other weapons to shell Ukrainian positions.

Volodymyr Hontar also said that the brigade's tank crews operate from both closed positions and direct fire. Ukrainian tanks are fighting alongside active UAV reconnaissance. Accordingly, as Hontar elaborated, as soon as the UAV operator detects a target, the tank immediately engages. Currently, Ukrainian tank crews are not involved in direct attacks on the Russian positions.

Volodymyr Hontar noted that there are a number of comprehensive measures to protect tanks from Russian attacks. Technical support specialists are constantly working to improve the protection of heavy armored vehicles. As for the restoration and repair of equipment, the whole process is also well organized and works smoothly. Hontar said the brigade has its own battalion logistics and maintenance base. The specialists always try to complete their work on repairing equipment as soon as possible. If a tank cannot be repaired at the repair base, the equipment is sent to a factory where specialists can complete the repair in a short time.

Volodymyr Hontar said that the main tanks in the 3rd Separate Iron Brigade are T-72s. Some of them have already been modernized. In particular, Ukraine received modernized T-72 tanks from the countries of the former Warsaw Pact.

Russia stages drills with the use of tactical nuclear weapons

Today, Russia is trying to exert ideological pressure on Ukraine's partners by conducting exercises involving tactical nuclear weapons. On May 21, it was announced that Russia had begun training its tactical nuclear forces. In fact, the first and only video of these exercises has already appeared. It should be noted that these drills were announced in Russia on May 6, and on May 21, the Russians announced that they were already conducting such maneuvers.

In general, these exercises are Russia's ideological response to make all processes related to helping Ukraine impossible. For example, US congressmen are already asking the Pentagon to allow the use of US weapons to strike Russian territory. This is especially true for striking Russian army personnel. If there were permission to use American weapons to strike Russian territory, there would be no such offensive potential near Ukrainian borders.

Accordingly, Russia is hysterically reacting to such calls by announcing tactical nuclear weapons exercises. In fact, if you analyze the video of the exercise, there is no evidence that Russia really has the capabilities to put pressure on Ukraine's partners.