A mechanized Russian assault collapsed near Volodymyrivka in Donetsk Oblast on 25 October 2025 when six armored vehicles sank in the Kazennyi Torets River, Militarnyi reports. Ukrainian units, including the 33rd Separate Mechanized Brigade, repelled the attack with combined artillery, HIMARS, and drone strikes. The sight of Russian equipment stuck in the river recalls the notorious 2022 Donets crossing near Bilohorivka in Luhansk Oblast, where Russian troops lost dozens of tanks and infantry fighting vehicles.
Morning assault drowned in mud and fire. Ukrainians hit retreating Russians
The 33rd Brigade shared the video of the attack and said said five armored vehicles advanced from the Novotoretske side early Saturday but stalled in swampy ground. Three vehicles got stuck so badly that troops had to climb out into the water. Ukrainian artillery immediately targeted concentrations of personnel, while a HIMARS salvo and FPV drones destroyed remaining vehicles.
“The weather conditions, on which the occupiers obviously relied, did not play in their favor,” the brigade wrote.
As the assault unraveled, adjacent Ukrainian formations engaged retreating Russian troops. Drone bombers and FPV operators finished off abandoned equipment. According to the Brigade, three armored units drowned in the river and two more were destroyed together with neighboring forces. Confirmed Russian equipment losses include one MT-LB and a motorcycle. The defenders reported at least four enemy soldiers killed and two wounded.
Larger attack repelled near Pokrovsk
Ukrainian soldier and OSINT researcher Kriegsforscher wrote on X that the failed crossing was part of a larger Russian mechanized push near Pokrovsk. According to him, the 33rd, 93rd, 95th, and other brigades destroyed at least sixteen infantry fighting vehicles during heavy fog that limited visibility.
OSINT analyst Moklasen, reviewing the brigade’s footage, identified at least six pieces of armored equipment stuck in the Kazennyi Torets riverbed.
Echo of Bilohorivka
In May 2022, Russian troops suffered catastrophic losses while trying to cross the Siverskyi Donets River near Bilohorivka in Luhansk Oblast. Over eight days, they lost more than eighty armored vehicles, many of which drowned during the crossing or the chaotic retreat.
