The minefield ‘kill zone’ tactic that lures invaders to a humiliating rout

‘Greetings from the front line,” says the Russian tank operative hiding in a shell crater on the approach to Vuhledar – “It’s a f---fest.”

With mud splattered across his face, and a wounded colleague lying next to him, the soldier is filming a video to show people back home “first-hand evidence of what’s happening here”.

His grim assessment of the situation appears to be accurate. His team’s tank is on fire over the lip of the crater and the wounded man, who was hit two days ago, lies motionless.

According to Western officials, as well as irate Russia military bloggers, the battle for Vuhledar has been one of the most embarrassing defeats suffered by Moscow in the entire war.

The coal mining town in Donetsk is considered a key target for Russia’s forces as seizing it would give them a gateway between occupied territories in the south and east.

For weeks, Russia has thrown men and machinery towards the town at extraordinary cost, losing 130 armoured vehicles and tanks, according to Kyiv.

One Ukrainian front line officer told The New York Times Vuhledar marked the biggest tank battle since the invasion began. Others have pointed to a humbler weapon being just as – if not more decisive – the mine.

Combined with Russia’s failure to learn the lessons of the first phase of the invasion – when its columns of tanks proved easy pickings for the Ukrainian military – these mudcovered explosives have wrought widespread havoc.

Vuhledar sits on a hill and on a clear day Ukrainian troops can see for miles from their positions in the town.

A series of narrow approach roads lead up to Vuhledar, and Kyiv’s forces decided to leave these unmined – hoping that Moscow’s tanks would be foolish enough to head down them.

It proved a successful gamble. In drone footage recently released by Ukraine, Russian vehicles hurtle towards Vuhledar in familiar armoured columns. What they have failed to appreciate is that the surrounding fields and roadsides were heavily mined, meaning any about-turn was likely to be deadly.

Thanks to Western donations and captured hauls from Moscow’s forces, Ukraine now has an abundance of mines, partly because they can cost as little as £2.50.

In one piece of drone footage, the lead vehicle of Russia’s column is taken out, causing a chaotic pile-up.

A T-72 tank in the rear tries to turn off the road into the nearby field but is promptly blown up by an anti-tank weapon.

Escape is not possible for any of the convoy as the muddy fields are thick with mines. They are stuck in a Ukrainian “kill zone”.

Anti-tank teams hiding in the tree lines then fire Us-made Javelins and Ukrainian Stugna-p missiles at the immobile tanks. Artillery rains in.

Michael Kofman, a war analyst, said: “The battle for Vuhledar is Russian tanks and BMPS [infantry fighting vehicles] running into mines across open terrain. Stopping. Getting hit by ATGMS [anti-tank guided-missiles] and artillery. Then trying to assault again the next day after UAS [units of action] replace mines in the field. “It’s far from smart, but it’s no epic tank battle.”

Tank operators attacking Vuhledar appear to have been overcome by “madness”, according to Justin Crump, a former commander with the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars.

“Given the ever present threat from mines, they may be assuming that using the same route eventually allows them to clear the obstacle – but as Ukraine is using artillery-delivered mines, that rarely seems to be true,” he said.

“Repeating the same thing time after time and hoping for a different outcome is a sign of madness – or deficiency in capability and initiative.”

The repeat Russian attacks on the town, which British intelligence recently described as a “costly offensive” with “extremely high casualties”, appear to be symptomatic of a lack of leadership within Moscow’s forces, Mr Crump added.

Russia’s 155th Naval Infantry Brigade, believed to be an elite unit, has suffered most as a result of the flawed assaults.

Previous reports of out-of-date maps and poor intelligence are also likely to be an issue for Russian forces attempting to make advances.

“We have reached a point though where taking ground at such a slow rate is pretty meaningless if Russia wears itself out doing it. Infinite manpower is a myth and not easy to replace,” Mr Crump said.

‘Repeating the same thing time after time and hoping for a different outcome is a sign of madness’