The increased use of advanced drones give Russian forces a better insight into Ukraine’s military rearrangements on the frontlines in the area of Southern Donetsk.
South Donetsk's frontline is a 50 km stretch west of Volnovakha to the border with the Zaporozhye region. This is where Ukrainian forces seized the so-called Vremevsky ledge and occupied several small villages, suffering tremendous losses.
Then they moved to the east. Now battles are being waged in the Novodonetskoye-Novomorskoye-Kermenchik triangle of settlements.
The Kaskad (lit. Cascade) combat tactical unit is engaged in holding the defense here. The unit is part of Donetsk's internal troops and belongs to the DPR’s Ministry of Internal Affairs. They operate alongside the army and torment Ukrainian forces using FPV kamikaze drones and a number of more formidable devices on a daily basis.
Kaskad technicians Nike and Dym prepare the reconnaissance drone Zala for launch
© Sputnik / Andrey Kots
The long-range reconnaissance group’s toolbox includes Zala and Lancet drones. Kaskad soldiers are located within a few kilometers of the triangle. Getting to them on local roads is a nontrivial matter.
There is no asphalt. Roads are nothing but a bunch of pits and bumps… One has to put the helmet on to avoid bumping your head against the roof of the car at every pothole.
After shaking on the road for 30 minutes straight, we reach the first checkpoint. This one is different – three soldiers are wearing Hazmat suits. They spray all the cars with some kind of chemical solution.
The guard explains that the area is infested with African swine fever virus, 20 pigs have been slaughtered and buried nearby. Now the military is taking preventative measures.
'We Are Used to It'
Technicians under code signs Nike and Dym (lit. Smoke) from the Kaskad drone group learned about the “local epidemic” from us. There is no time to catch up with the news – there is too much to do on the frontlines. Today, though, is a brief hiatus. Despite the clear sky, strong squally winds make it non-flying weather.
Hence the 20-year-olds are practicing. They quickly unload two military trunks from the car. One has a pneumatic catapult, the other – a reconnaissance Zala drone, manufactured according to the “Flying wing” pattern [a tailless fixed-wing aircraft with no definite fuselage, and its crew, payload, fuel, and equipment placed inside the main wing structure]. The soldiers assemble both machines, place the drone on the starting device, pump the catapult with pressurized air through the compressor and briefly report: “Ready to go”. It took them ten minutes.
“We are used to it," Dym chuckles. "We work 24/7. For instance, this morning, we found an ammunition depot and adjusted the artillery to shell it. It was a huge bang! Zala is constantly in the air, it only lands to be recharged. When it comes to Lancets, we launch them when there is a worthy target."
"We struck a Leopard back in June, hit it right in the tank turret. The shells did not detonate inside, but the machine was completely immobilized. Then we finished it off with guns."
“They [Ukrainian Armed Forces] will soon receive Abrams tanks. We are looking forward to adding a few American tanks to our track record. The Lancet is equipped with both high explosive and cumulative combat warheads. So we are able to target all types of machinery."
The guys give credit where it is due: Western experts trained Ukrainians. They act in small groups, disguise their equipment, install replicas. But an experienced drone operator can easily tell a real howitzer from a fake one.
Recently, Ukrainians have increased their use of electronic warfare systems, added Dym and Nike. Drone operators try to navigate around the areas with such equipment.
“They are skilled fighters, of course. But not always," notes Nike. "Up there you can see the troops being driven to slaughter in 'cannon fodder' storms. They are reckless for losing such high numbers of troops and machinery."
Ukraine's Level of Training 'Has Clearly Decreased'
Nike and Dym are out in the open air, but the same cannot be said about drone operators who spend up to 15 hours behind their laptop screens down in the basement.
Zala and Lancet drones are run with a keyboard and a mouse, just like a PC simulation game. Most of it is automated, you just need to set an overall program. The machine will do everything on its own.
“I’m in charge of Zala drones, says the fighter with the Corvus code sign. A Lancet operator is usually nearby, but he’s resting now. I only have positive things to say about our drones. They can hang in the air for a long time, there is an excellent camera with a great zoom, and the drones have a decent resistance against electronic warfare. If jammed, the drone automatically returns to its starting point."
Drone operator of the Kaskad unit with the call sign Corvus at work
© Sputnik / Andrey Kots
According to the soldiers, it was in South Donetsk where Ukraine’s counteroffensive efforts fizzled out. Over the whole summer, troops only managed to occupy a few villages that were razed to the ground. They lost three full-fledged brigades over the Russian defense. The other day they carried out a troop rotation. They only sent one unit to replace the three that had been brought down earlier. The new unit already managed to "stand out" by firing at its own people.
“The level of training for their soldiers and officers has clearly decreased," says Max, a Kaskad officer. "We have knocked out the pro fighters, the backbone of the army, and those mobilized have undergone a two-week training at best”.
Max goes on to clarify Ukraine’s simple plan – to level the frontline around Ugledar. But they have no manpower to back it up. They initially counted on reaching Volnovakha, cutting off the Donetsk - Mariupol highway and returning back to the coastline of the Sea of Azov.
Kaskad soldiers, together with other Russian units, derailed this plan. They are still hunkered down in defense, carrying out daily artillery and drone strikes. But they are aware that this cannot go on. So they are waiting to be ordered to advance.