Tank ambush leaves experts baffled by Russia’s inept tactics
Drone footage shows column coming under heavy fire from Ukrainian artillery, forcing vehicles to turn around and retreat
‘This was yet another example of the surprisingly poor tactics Russia has stubbornly clung to since the start of the war’
‘This is not the Russian army we trained to fight’
THE fear could be heard on the radio, despite the poor connection.
“Commander, the commander’s dead!” the voice said.
The operative receiving the message either could not hear properly or didn’t believe the news that the commander of Russia’s 6th Tank Regiment, reported to be Colonel Andrei Zakharov, a man personally decorated by Vladimir Putin, had been killed.
The second voice asked for the message to be repeated.
“He’s dead,” a shout this time, “the commander’s dead!”
The footage, filmed by a drone and released online by the Ukrainian military’s official channels, showed about 30 Russian tanks and armoured vehicles caught in artillery fire as they attempted to push into Kyiv from the east. The armoured column had reached the district of Brovary, about six miles from the capital, when it was forced to retreat yesterday morning as it was pushed back by a devastating strike from Ukrainian forces.
At least two vehicles were destroyed – a personnel carrier and T-72 tank – with the others turning around to get out of the contact zone.
The dual carriageway was left blackened by scorch marks and tracks showing the U-turns many of the vehicles had to perform as the high explosive shells rained down.
Thick smoke hung over the houses lining the road which, by some miracle, had escaped relatively unscathed from the attack. Defence experts have criticised the Russian column for displaying poor military tactics.
The entire group of vehicles is caught on a main road, possibly as commanders have decided cross-country movement is too risky.
Clustered in an area about 160 yards long, the road is easily within range of Ukrainian artillery batteries positioned around the city.
It was yet another example of the surprisingly poor tactics Russia has clung to since it started the war.
The once mighty Russian army seems to have stumbled, and is now held up by mud, a lack of fuel and poor planning.
One former British tank commander told The Daily Telegraph: “This is not the Russian army we trained to fight.” Much has been said of the boggy conditions off-road which may explain why the armoured column preferred to proceed on the sturdy roadway.
However, being channelled in this way was a grave mistake and the Russians were lucky Ukrainian forces either could not coordinate further strikes or did not have enough artillery batteries within range.
The incident also exposes the paucity of Ukrainian assets. Such an inviting target should have been easy to deal with if the drone operator watching the advance could have spoken directly to artillery units within range.
As it was, the 6th Tank Regiment escaped with minimal casualties in terms of men and equipment. Losing
their leader will still be a bitter blow. Pictures from 2016 show Col Zakharov being awarded the Order of Courage by president Putin.
If verified, he is the third senior Russian commander killed in the war so far.
Most recently Major General Vitaly Gerasimov, 45, the first deputy commander of Russia’s 41st army was killed near Kharkiv on Monday.
Western officials said senior commanders were having to go further forward than they normally do in order to “impose their personality” and get Russia’s stalled advance moving again.
On the 15th day of the invasion, Russian forces were encircling at least four large cities and inching closer towards Kyiv. Fears are mounting that the capital will soon be encircled, with Russian tanks just a few miles north east of the city.
Vitali Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, says half the capital’s population has fled. But he warns that the city is now “a fortress as every street, every building, every checkpoint has been fortified”.
Russian troops have advanced in the south but have yet to capture a city in the north or east.
Western countries have said they believe that after a planned lightning strike on Kyiv failed in the early days of the war, Moscow has turned to tactics involving far more destructive assaults. Britain said a Russian column north west of Kyiv had made little progress in more than a week and was suffering losses.
Yesterday at a hospital on the outskirts of Kyiv, a 14-year-old girl named Katya was recovering after her family was ambushed as they tried to flee the area. She was shot in the hand when their car was raked with gunfire from a roadside forest, said her mother, who identified herself only as Nina.
The girl’s father, who drove frantically away from the ambush on blownout tyres, was having surgery at the Brovary Central District Hospital.
His wife said he had been shot in the head and had two fingers blown off.
Temporary ceasefires to allow evacuations and humanitarian aid have repeatedly faltered, with Ukraine accusing Russia of continuing its bombardments.
Last night, the Russian defence ministry said it would declare a ceasefire today and open humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of Ukranians from five cities. The RIA and Interfax news agencies quoted Mikhail Mizintsev, of the Russian National Defence Control Centre, as saying people could travel to Russia or other cities in Ukraine.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky, a former comedian, said 35,000 people managed to flee several besieged towns on Wednesday and more efforts were under way across the east and south of the country, including Mariupol, as well as in the Kyiv suburbs.