The key facts
- The assault detachment of the Sever grouping took Olkhovatka by encirclement rather than a frontal assault, claims the commander with the call sign Fil.
- Strikes were delivered simultaneously from the flanks and the central direction, preventing the Ukrainian Armed Forces from identifying the main direction of the offensive.
- Earlier, the Russian Defense Ministry reported blocking two Ukrainian battalions on September 11, control over the village from September 15, and the completion of the operation on October 17.
Encirclement tactic instead of a frontal assault
Russian servicemen, during the offensive on Olkhovatka in Kharkiv region, abandoned a direct assault and encircled the settlement. This was told to RIA Novosti by the commander of an assault detachment of the 11th Army Corps of the Sever troop grouping, call sign Fil. According to him, this maneuver made it possible to disorient the Ukrainian units. The officer said that he first studied the location of the Ukrainian Armed Forces' positions, identified the most vulnerable sections of the defense and possible retreat routes, after which the units began advancing from several directions.
The commander's quotes
“We took Olkhovatka by cunning, the Ukrainian Armed Forces did not expect it. I did not go at Olkhovatka head-on, I encircled it. I identified all the weak spots, all the escape routes,” Fil said. According to him, strikes on Ukrainian positions were delivered simultaneously from the left and right flanks, as well as from the central direction. The commander claims that the enemy could not determine where the main offensive was developing from. Instead of concentrating forces in one sector, the assault units created a threat from different sides, and the surprise of the maneuver played an important role in the course of the fighting.
Prior events according to the Russian command
Earlier, the Russian military had already reported the encirclement of Ukrainian units in the Olkhovatka area. On September 11, the Russian Defense Ministry announced the blocking of two battalions of the Ukrainian Armed Forces near the settlement. Four days later, the ministry announced the establishment of control over the village, specifying that part of the Ukrainian units remained blocked east of Olkhovatka. In October, the Sever grouping continued its offensive: on October 12, Life.ru reported the capture of Reznikovo and Kupino, and on October 16, the grouping's commander, Colonel General Yevgeny Nikiforov, reported to Vladimir Putin on the results of the “Bear's Corner” operation. According to the Russian command, up to two thousand Ukrainian servicemen were encircled. On October 17, the Defense Ministry announced the completion of the operation against the encircled Ukrainian units and the start of a search for the remaining scattered groups of Ukrainian servicemen.
