Ukraine Still Fighting in South Robotyne, Possibly Mopping Up

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Drone footage appears to show units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (AFU) still fighting and possibly engaged in close-range mopping up operations, in the tactically-important village of Robotyne, on the morning of Monday, Aug. 21.

The images show a Ukrainian tank firing its co-axial machine gun against a Russian position, less than a hundred meters away. The tank is supported by an AFU infantry fighting vehicle firing its own weapon, either a heavy machine gun or an automatic cannon.

The response of Moscow’s ground forces appears to be limited to small arms fire with neither Russian troop nor vehicle movement being visible during the 4 minute 20 second combat video. The launch of a Russian anti-aircraft missile and artillery fire against the Ukrainian vehicles occurs towards the end of the video.

The video culminates with the Ukrainian combat vehicles deploying anti-missile self-protection grenades as one withdraws at high speed.

Hanna Maliar, the Deputy Minister of Defense of Ukraine, said on Monday afternoon that fighting was continuing in Robotyne with AFU units proceeding with “planned combat operations” while Russian forces “were unsuccessfully attempting to recover their positions.”

Robotyne is at the southern-most tip of an offensive push launched by the AFU from near the town of Orihiv, in early June, in an attempt to punch through Russian defensive lines along the T0408 highway, towards its objective in the city of Tokmak.

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AFU progress has been slow and painful. One of the bloodiest battles along the T0408 took place on June 8 near the village Mala Tokmachka, where AFU forces reportedly lost three German Leopard 2 tanks and between 8 - 11 US-made Bradley infantry fighting vehicles in a few hours, after being ambushed in a minefield by Russian special forces infantry supported by helicopter gunships.

Following the Mala Tokmachka encounter, the AFU leadership has shifted its tactics away from front-on attempts to break through Russian fortifications towards slower, attritional attacks intended to grind down Russian defenses. Robotyne is some 11 kilometers south of Mala Tokmachka.