Ukraine’s counteroffensive in south is slowed down by minefields with density of 1 million mines - military expert Serhiy Zgurets

'Kamikaze' drones in Crimea and Moscow

Military installations in the occupied Crimea have suffered another effective attack by 'kamikaze' drones. This is the second successful attack since July 22, when an ammunition depot and oil tank farm near the village of Oktiabrske were hit. This time, the target was a facility near the village of Vesele in the Dzhankoi district. Most likely, it is another ammunition depot. There are many videos that show how ammunition explodes and how smoke rises over this storage facility. Also during that night, 'kamikaze' drones were targeting facilities in Feodosia, Armiansk, Staryi Krym, and Simferopol with varying degrees of effectiveness.

In addition to Crimea, drones also attacked Moscow at around 4:00 a.m. The attack involved UAVs of the same design and type as those that hit targets in the Moscow region and Rublevka on May 30. This time, one of the drones hit a house 150 meters from the Russian Defense Ministry building, and another drone hit a business center 6 km from the Kremlin and 5 km from the Russian Defense Ministry. Ukraine's position on these attacks is limited to a message from the Minister of Digital Transformation, Mykhailo Fedorov. He said that whatever is happening there, there will be more of it. We look forward to continuing such effective stories.

About the frontline

First of all, the Ukrainian Armed Forces continue their offensive in the south, in the Tavria sector. On July 24, the spokesperson for this area, Valeriy Shcheren, officially reported that during the day, in the course of an offensive operation in the Berdiansk sector, our units had partial success and advanced 350 to 1.5 km into the enemy's depths. It can be assumed that this refers to the fighting near Staromaiorsk and Pryiutne, where the fighting continues in the northern parts of these settlements. The Russian forces are constantly trying to counterattack. They made an unsuccessful attempt to regain their lost positions on the outskirts of Pryiutne, and were driven out again with significant losses.

The situation is similar in intensity a little further west, near Robotyne. Heavy fighting has been going on for some time on the outskirts of the village. The enemy is resorting to counterattacks. However, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have taken control of certain areas on the high ground near Robotyne, which provides advantages in further actions. By the way, the main enemy defense line begins behind Robotyne. This settlement does not need to be taken head-on, it can be bypassed from the flanks, which is what the Ukrainian Armed Forces are trying to do now.

There are also successes of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the south, near the village of Kamianske, which is located close to the Dnipro River. This is the foothold that the Ukrainian Armed Forces are expanding by moving from Piatykhatky toward Zherebianki and further to Vasylivka. The enemy is extremely afraid of our forces advancing to Vasylivka because it is one of the main enemy strongholds in the Vasylivka-Tokmak-Mariupol triangle. This is a very fortified area, so the advance to Kamianske was a complete surprise for the Russians. It is also a sign that the attacks of the Ukrainian Armed Forces are causing the enemy's defense to strain. Let's recall the story of the commander of the 58th Army of the Russian Federation, Popov, who complained that he did not have the resources for rotation and counter-battery operations. He also complained about heavy losses in manpower.

So, as before, this seemingly slow advance of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in three directions in the south is accompanied by the destruction of enemy manpower, personnel, equipment, and weapons. The Russian troops are forced to move reserves from the depths to the contact zone. This process of depletion and destruction of the enemy can last up to two months, due to the current tactics and technical limitations of the Armed Forces in overcoming enemy obstacles, minefields that are cleared manually either at dawn or dusk, when sappers are difficult to spot even with thermal imagers.

When we talk about a minefield 2 kilometers wide and 1 kilometer deep, it is 1 million mines. That is, 1 million anti-personnel and anti-tank mines with various traps and enemy attempts to place new minefields remotely instead of those removed by our military. Therefore, now sappers are advancing, followed by assault units without armored vehicles or with a limited number of them under the close cover of our artillery. Up until our assault groups enter the enemy's trenches and knock out the enemy. When foreign media reports about the slow pace of advancement, it is strange to read. Our partners were aware that the Ukrainian Armed Forces were not equipped for the offensive, but they relied not on technical equipment but on the strength of the Ukrainian soldier's spirit. It is large, but the lack of aviation, engineering equipment, and air defense systems affects the pace of our military's advance. In these conditions, our soldiers are doing their job quite effectively, as they are advancing in areas that are mined and under enemy fire control.

Oles Maliarevych, junior sergeant of the company of striking unmanned aerial vehicles and artillery reconnaissance of the 92nd Brigade named after Ivan Sirko, said that his brigade is working in two areas, Svatove - Kupiansk and Bakhmut. In Bakhmut, the initiative is entirely with the Armed Forces of Ukraine, and the guys are moving forward step by step.

Speaking of Kupiansk, Svatove and Kreminna, the Ukrainian Armed Forces are actively defending them. We have amassed powerful forces there. The situation is difficult, but everyone understands that we cannot allow the loss of the left bank of the Oskil River.

The Russian forces are conducting assault and attack operations in many areas, and where they are successful, they try to reinforce themselves in that place and move on. The map is exactly where Karmazynivka is. They managed to push through our defense line, so they advanced 4 km, but the situation was stabilized. The enemy is not moving further.

New initiatives of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry

Next, we will talk about new initiatives of the Ukrainian Defense Ministry. Unique ideas designed to strengthen the Armed Forces sometimes get lost in the bureaucracy, so the reality requires changes in the way the Ministry of Defense, suppliers, and other initiative structures interact. For this purpose, the Ministry of Defense created the Accelerator structure, which ensures the acceleration of certain decisions. Pavlo Kyshkar, Head of the Ministry of Defense Accelerator Project Office, will tell us in more detail how this structure works and how it should become an impetus for qualitative changes in the Defense Ministry. 

He said that the Defense Ministry Accelerator has been in existence for less than two months. Its main task is to form a team of professional people who would accelerate the processes in the Ministry of Defense and the AFU General Staff and provide our Armed Forces with quality weapons. Therefore, this organization invites professional people, and a short questionnaire is available on the Accelerator's website.

The head of the Accelerator's project office noted that UAVs are one of the priorities of the Ministry of Defense. Thousands of drones have already been purchased through various instruments, not only through direct procurement by the Ministry of Defense. This is due to the bureaucratic precautions that exist in our country, the regulation of the budget code, and the expenditure part of the special fund of the state budget. The Accelerator closely monitors the development of technologies, tracks the offers available on the market and in the Armed Forces, thanks to volunteer assistance. Accordingly, the best samples are taken into account and offered to the Armed Forces. There are problems with the speed of forming the needs of the Armed Forces, but in cooperation with colleagues and the military, this process should quickly be established, Kyshkar believes. The best models should be continuously delivered to the front line.

Kyshkar believes that the Accelerator's systematic approach will lead to driving changes in the work of the Defense Ministry and the General Staff.

Summarizing Mr. Kyshkar’s words, I would like to note that both Espreso TV and Defense Express will support this initiative, as it is extremely important for the Ukrainian Armed Forces to receive modern models of equipment as soon as possible. We will be covering the initiatives taken by the Defense Ministry to create new models in cooperation with our enterprises, both public and private.