07 Feb: Ukrainian Special Ops invade & burn to ashes a Russian base - Reporting from Ukraine

Day 714: Feb 07

Today, there are a lot of updates from the Avdiivka direction.

But first of all, there are a lot of updates from Crimea. Today, Ukrainian Special Operations Forces units conducted a successful operation on the Russian oil rigs. Ukrainian special operators reported that Russian forces deployed a ”Neva-B” object detection radar system on the rig, which allowed Russian forces to better surveil the northwestern part of the Black Sea. Russians also used the object to stage attacks with Iranian-provided Mohajer-6 reconnaissance drones and guide Shahed drone strikes. Moreover, the mining platform was also used as a radar station to monitor surface vessels in the northwestern part of the Black Sea. Ukrainians seized the valuable equipment, mined the oil rig, and successfully detonated explosives from a safe distance.

Today, Russian sources also leaked a video filmed by the Russian air defense operators during the recent Ukrainian missile strike on Crimea. The video shows how Storm Shadow and SCALP missiles, one by one, fly right in front of the Russian air defense systems, causing a huge wave of criticism of the effectiveness of Russian air defense. Some Russian analysts claimed that the missiles were flying at a too close range to be shot down, while others presumed that Ukrainian drone strikes indeed destroyed a Russian radar station, rendering these missile launchers useless.

When it comes to the front lines, as expected, Russian forces did not slow down after a huge group of Russian soldiers that reached Sapronova Street at night got encircled and taken captive by the Ukrainians. Instead, the Russian command was emboldened by the fact that the so-called Death Valley between Avdiivka and Ivushka was crossed and decided to double down.

The situation is extremely tough. Ukrainian soldiers report that Russians conduct major assaults every twenty minutes. Moreover, Russian aviation is extremely active, and over the last eight hours, Russian dropped thirty-seven FAB-500 air-dropped bombs. On top of that, Russians started to actively engage heavy thermobaric artillery systems. As you can see, all this fire is concentrated right in the center of Avdiivka, where Russians are planning to advance. Such fire basically wipes everything out. Nonetheless, Ukrainian fighters reported that they stand their ground. Some say that withdrawing to the positions behind is useless anyway, as, under such pressure, new positions become exactly the same in a matter of minutes.

It seems like the fighting is so intense that neither party has the time to release geolocated combat footage. In fact, Ukrainian soldiers reported that they engaged all drone operators to counter this massive wave of attacks. Ukrainian drone operators are working with little to no sleep to rebuff Russian attacks and also help the infantry by communicating what they see from the sky.

A Ukrainian brigade spokesperson also stated that Russian forces started equipping some of their armored vehicles with electronic warfare systems to protect against Ukrainian drones. Even though such practices are still very rare due to the shortages of electronic warfare systems, this poses a significant threat. It would not be a big problem if Ukrainians had ample supplies of shells, however, as Ukrainian forces are increasingly rationing shells and trying to target masses of advancing Russian forces.

According to prominent Russian sources, Russians only managed to fully capture the first block of Independence Street. Prominent Ukrainian sources claim that the fights recently reached the bridge. The claims of the progress of other sources vary between these two benchmarks. However, all sources agree that the main direction of the Russian advancement is south-east. Russian sources claim that Ukrainians are frequently counterattacking, not allowing Russians to establish their positions, and achieved success on Kotsiubynskogo Street, which Ukrainian sources still mark under Russian control.

Avdiivka Military Administration Head Vitaly Barabash stated that the situation in the area is expected to continue being very difficult because Russian forces are trying to capture the town for political and informational reasons before the Russian presidential elections in March.