“Hunting the beast” is a military technique for luring the enemy to take shelter in a conveniently targeted spot by firing on them with lighter shells first, and then firing heavier munitions once they are there. This effective combat method is currently being used against Ukrainian forces near Kleshcheyevka located near Artemovsk (Bakhmut), a soldier under the call sign “Chaly” told Sputnik.
"We are doing our best to defend Kleshcheyevka so that the enemy cannot come an inch closer to the village. 80 mm and 120 mm mortar shells are what we are working with. We normally use the two together, sometimes one at a time,” the fighter added.
Chaly said that these particular tactics are effectively used against Ukrainian infantry. Once Russian troops identify an enemy unit, they shell it using 80 mm mortar rounds, driving the enemy into trenches, hideouts and dugouts.
“That is when pre-targeted 120 mm shells come into play. Their exits are generally very predictable, there are no escape options. We have memorized their [Ukrainian] deployment areas. We use our data to push them to certain locations with 80 mm mortars first, and then we finish them off with 120 mm shells,” Chaly clarified.
On Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that over the past day, Battlegroup Yug had repelled a Ukrainian attack in the Donetsk direction. Ukrainian forces lost up to 295 soldiers and 11 pieces of military equipment, including a Czech-made DANA howitzer (152 mm self-propelled howitzer, developed in the former Czechoslovakia).