Day 635: Nov 20
Today, there are a lot of updates from the Kherson region.
Here, Ukrainian forces focused on developing their success in Krynky even further, and according to Russian sources, they recently deployed additional units and launched a series of powerful attacks.
If you still remember, last time, I told you that Russians gathered their forces to squash the Ukrainian foothold and unsuccessfully tried to attack them with tanks from the northeast and with infantry from the south. Today, more information has become available about how Ukrainians managed to get the upper hand and regain the initiative despite having less heavy equipment than Russians.
The initial setting was extremely tough because Russians shelled the Ukrainian bridgehead non-stop and frequently used the devastating power of thermobaric artillery systems to make the area untenable for Ukrainians. This was the first and the main problem that Ukrainians prioritized solving. Ukrainians knew the biggest weakness of the Russian thermobaric artillery and it was its short range of around 5 kilometers. Ukrainians understood that they did not need to look far to find it and gave the order to drone operators to hunt them down. Given the general direction of fire and the local roads, it was quite obvious that Russians quickly drove up, made a salvo, and escaped. Unfortunately for Russians, Ukrainians deployed heavy assault octocopters Baba Yaga in the region.
Recently released footage shows that TOS-1 was helpless in the face of the drone attack, the octocopter dropped all mines precisely on the target and destroyed it. Later, Russian soldiers released a picture showing the aftermath.
Once the short-range artillery was suppressed, as Russians were discouraged from getting these valuable assets close to the region, Ukrainians started suppressing long-range artillery. Ukrainians anticipated the Russian attack to be launched any time, so the counterbattery fire needed to be provided quickly and needed to be precise. Ukrainian special forces operating reconnaissance drones and HIMARS took the task and started destroying Russian “Grads”.
In the meantime, Ukrainian soldiers were attacked from multiple sides. In order to undermine the Russian offensive capabilities, the Ukrainian special force also conducted a series of HIMARS strikes on the outskirts of Krynky, where the Russian infantry was waiting to join the armored units. Ukrainian drone operators unveiled hidden equipment and destroyed several tanks that were hidden under garbage.
Later, some Russian sources also released a video showing the remnants of the armored fighting vehicles participating in the mechanized assault.
Even though the attack was rebuffed, some Russian sources claimed that it was partially successful because Ukrainians were pushed out of the forest. Some analysts claimed that by recapturing positions on the outer edge of the forest, Russians established total fire control over the central part of the village, further pushing Ukrainians back into the islands.
Ukrainian soldiers rebuffed these claims by posting a video showing how they were walking inside the settlement.
Russian sources started backtracking and claimed that Ukrainians conducted a counterattack and recaptured Russian positions in the forest, however, the Ukrainian side claimed that they are present in the forest because they never left it. In fact, according to the latest updates, Ukrainians have reinforced the region and amplified the offensive operation in the forest, successfully establishing control over several more Russian strongpoints.
The president of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky praised the efforts of the marines and gave some encouragement. Russian sources reported that despite continuous Russian attempts to undermine Ukrainian logistics, Ukrainians somehow managed to improve it even more by creating at least two more pontoon bridges near Krynky.
Russian analysts said that under the cover of artillery fire, Ukrainians are effectively conducting rotation and replenishing the supplies. The analysts concluded that Ukrainians will definitely increase the pressure in the near future.
In our daily frontline report, we pair up with the military blogger Reporting from Ukraine to keep you informed about what is happening on the battlefield in the Russo-Ukrainian war.
