Brief summary from the front line on March 19, 2025
The Armed Forces of Ukraine have failed in another attempt to breach our border. Report by Marat Khairullin with illustrations by Mikhail Popov.
The enemy continues attempts to break through the state border in the Krasnoyaruzhsky district of the Belgorod region. During the night/morning of March 18-19, units of the AFU attempted to breach the state border using quad runners as well as on foot. The Russian Armed Forces engaged and eliminated the aggressors.
On the morning of March 19, the enemy deployed reserves from the Sumy direction. An incomplete mechanized battalion, using armored vehicles and supported by MLRS, attempted to breach the border in two directions:
1. From the settlements of Petrushevka (Petrushovka on the map) and Tur'ya (Turiya) towards the settlement of Demidovka (partially hidden under the Russian (Демидовка);
2. From the settlements of Mikhailovskoe and Okop towards the settlement of Priles'ye (Pryles'e).
A total of five attempts were made to enter Russian territory.
The border guard units repelled all attacks. Initially, the destruction of two armored combat vehicles, two tanks, a Grad MRLS, and five quad runners were visually confirmed.
The AFU launched an artillery strike on a school in the settlement of Grefovka (Hrefovka on the map). In response, 30 air and missile strikes were carried out against identified concentrations of personnel and military equipment of AFU reserves within an 8-10 kilometer zone in the Sumy region. Additionally, 13 strikes were conducted by army aviation, one strike by the Iskander missile system, one strike by the Tornado-S MRLS, and two strikes by heavy flamethrower systems were carried out in this zone. A total of 40 UMPC FAB-500 aerial bombs were used.
The enemy suffered significant losses.
Translation Note: When Russian is written by hand, the "г" (when typed) looks like a backwards "S," and the "и" looks like our "u." Also, the typed Russian "т" looks like a western "m" when it is written by hand. Lastly, the "д" turns into something that looks like a "d" in Russian script as well.
Thanks for this. Looking at the map it seems there's only three roads out of Kiev to the East. Top one to Bryansk, middle one to Sumy and bottom one to Kharkiv. Obvious why they use this one. It's an open road generally featureless militarily except perhaps there'd be stretches running through impassable black soil or clay country when wet.
It does have one little interesting bridge though. Between the twin towns of Staryi Bykiv and Novy Bykiv. Old Bykiv and New Bykiv, I think.
Looks to me like take that bridge out and traffic has nowhere to go. There's wetland to the north and what must be swampland to the south judging by the total lack of any building on it right there in the middle of urban centres, just vegetation.
And all eastward traffic would pass through there i think.
A kinda natural bottleneck maybe.
Only 70km east of Kiev. Less than 200km from the border. more than 300 from Bryansk. Anywhere in Kiev Ukraine is reachable by Russia today, we know. I wonder just how reachable - i.e. what kind of munition - that road in that area is?
Evidently the Ukro-Nazis support demilitarization and denazification. Why else would they voluntarily throw themselves into these suicidal attacks on Russia?