Frontline report: Ukrainian forces repel three-wave Russian mechanized assault near Kurakhove

Day 1139

On 7 April, there is interesting news from the Kurakhove direction.

Here, the Russians broke the stalemate and conducted a massive surprise assault to break through the Ukrainian defense line. Despite the previous less intense tempo of fighting in the area, Ukrainian troops were well prepared for any scenario and dealt a deadly blow to the enemy armored column.

Following the stalled Russian advance shortly after their capture of Kurakhove, Russian forces launched a massive mechanized assault from the village of Andriivka to gain back momentum after weeks of attritional fighting. With the talk of a possible ceasefire or negotiated freeze of the frontline, this offensive was particularly significant for Russian commanders, who are under immense pressure from Russian high command to seize as much territory as possible while they still can. This also aligns with one of Russia’s long-standing objectives: to fully capture Donetsk Oblast, as they are already extremely close to the regional border in this sector.

The plan was to punch through Ukrainian lines by launching a large-scale, surprise mechanized assault through Andriivka and toward Oleksiivka. Russian commanders believed that a sudden, overwhelming show of force would catch Ukrainian defenders off guard and trigger a mass withdrawal. This was a stark departure from their recent pattern of small infantry group assaults, which had yielded limited gains due to precise and well-coordinated Ukrainian drone operations.

Additionally, by punching through quickly, Russians hoped that they would be able to overrun and eliminate the Ukrainian drone operators stationed in and around Oleksiivka to ensure they could not halt the Russian momentum once again.

However, the Ukrainian defenders had anticipated such a move. Surveillance drones, both day and night, constantly monitored Russian positions and movement. Despite the decline in Russian mechanized assaults due to past losses, Ukrainian forces continued to extensively mine potential Russian attack routes and established strong new defenses in the area while also fortifying existing positions.

The assault began around six thirty in the morning. A Russian column composed of approximately 12 armored vehicles, including tanks, infantry fighting vehicles, and a Kamaz truck, advanced through Andriivka and tried to bypass forward Ukrainian positions. However, due to the extensive drone reconnaissance, they were already spotted on the approaches, allowing Ukrainians to prepare to open fire. Once the column exited the village, they drove right into a Ukrainian minefield, immobilizing the lead tank and halting the convoy.

Ukrainian artillery and drone operators immediately unleashed a precise barrage. Cluster munitions covered the area, striking infantry attempting to dismount and flee the blocked-in vehicles, while drones dropped grenades directly into crew compartments and dugouts. This led to a chaotic scene as Ukrainian forces sent in kamikaze drones to finish off survivors hiding in nearby bushes and already destroyed houses. Within thirty minutes, the entire first wave had been shattered, with seven vehicles destroyed and five more damaged, and with around 40 Russian soldiers either killed or wounded.

Ignoring the devastating failure of the first wave, Russian commanders pressed on and launched a second assault around eight in the morning, an hour after the first was destroyed, which involved two armored vehicles and approximately a dozen soldiers. However, Ukrainian forces were fully prepared, and once the enemy entered the kill zone, they were immediately struck with precision fire and destroyed, as the accompanying infantry was left exposed and quickly neutralized.

The third wave came around ten in the morning, consisting of 3 armored vehicles that were engaged by Ukrainian drones on the western outskirts of Andriivka and promptly eliminated.

Notably, after the Russian spearhead was defeated, the Russian air force conducted intense glide-bomb strikes on suspected positions of Ukrainian drone operators in the rear.

However, as Ukrainian soldiers on the ground reported, all Ukrainian drone teams successfully survived the Russian revenge barrage.

Overall, Russia’s obsession with achieving a breakthrough by brute force has only handed Ukraine another victory. Despite suffering countless losses from similar armored column attacks throughout the war, Russian commanders continue to believe that sheer weight could crack Ukrainian defenses, demonstrating once again their inability to adequately adapt to the modern battlefield.

Instead, this assault offered a textbook example of how not to conduct mechanized warfare against a modern, well-prepared opponent, as the Ukrainians decimated the first and largest wave already in under thirty minutes.

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.