A day after advancing Russian forces cut them off north of Prohres village in the Donetsk region, two Ukrainian battalions from the 31st Mechanised Brigade broke out of the encirclement, according to Forbes (Updated 26 July at 03:05 p.m.).
On Thursday, the surrounded Ukrainians fought their way out of the encirclement, with the rest of the 31st Brigade, along with the nearby 47th Mechanised Brigade, presumably aiding the breakthrough.
With the help of coordinated actions of artillery, air reconnaissance and related forces, as well as under the control of officers on the ground, the guys from the 1st and 3rd Battalions were able to break out of the encirclement in full force.
The brave evacuation potentially saved hundreds of Ukrainian soldiers from death or captivity, but it also exposed a fundamental failure of the Ukrainian command. Ukrainian correspondent Yurii Butusov claimed that the leaders of the brigade were to blame for what happened, not regular soldiers.
The main problem is primarily in the management and organisation of our actions. When a poorly managed crew is attacked, it can’t hold.
Attack on Prohres
The Russian offensive on Prohres began last week after Russian warplanes “carried out powerful air strikes on the tactical rear,” according to Ukrainian media. As a result, one of the Ukrainian brigades in the area, possibly the 110th Mechanised Brigade or the 111th Territorial Defence Brigade, collapsed.
As Ukrainian forces retreated, a Russian group of motorised rifle regiments seized the opportunity and marched four miles west for a week, eventually seizing Prohres and encircling two Ukrainian battalions north of the village, Forbes reported, citing Ukrainian sources.
The brigade commander never gave the order to break through, so the personnel who were in that area confronted him with the fact that the boys would break through with a fight. (…) This case should be a reminder to many commanders not to neglect personnel and trust the [non-commissioned officers] and officers who are on the direct line of battle.
Russians forces advance
While two Ukrainian battalions have broken out of encirclement, becoming a prominent case of unsuccessful military command, the larger battle continues, according to Ukrainian media. The breakthrough at Prohres demonstrated the rapid degradation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces (AFU) command on the ground.
After taking control of Prohres, Russian troops also captured the neighbouring village of Vovche. The AFU reportedly redoubled its efforts to deter the Russian advance. Over the past three weeks, the elite 47th Mechanised Brigade, Ukraine’s main operator of US armoured vehicles, has lost two M-1 Abrams tanks at Vovche.
The Russians also advanced in the Kupiansk area. After seizing the village of Pischane, Luhansk region, they began a breakthrough to the west towards the Oskil River.
Command rift
Meanwhile, German publications citing local media reported an incident on the front line. According to Mitteldeutscher Rundfunk, three people were killed as a result of a shootout between Ukrainian soldiers in the frontline area of Kharkiv. Four more were injured.
The wounded were taken to hospital in serious condition, the Khortytsia Operational Strategic Group reported. It cited personal disagreements between the participants as the reason for the shooting. The battalion leadership promised to ensure that such incidents would not happen again. According to military experts, such incidents are evidence of low morale and discipline of the units concerned.
The Russian movement did not stop, although Ukrainian authorities, including President Volodymyr Zelensky, repeatedly stated that the Russian advance had been successfully halted. The fact that two Ukrainian battalions fell into encirclement was a bad sign for the AFU.
At the same time, an adviser to the head of the Ukrainian president’s office, Mykhailo Podolyak, opposed ane peace agreement, as, in his opinion, it might lead to freezing the conflict for a certain period of time. This would give Russia an opportunity to “modernise its army” and boost its armaments.
We are ready for a negotiation process on fair terms. On terms that will really lead to a sustainable, just peace. But that means that Russian Federation will work on its mistakes and modernise its army.
While Ukraine’s top leadership is mired in divisions, the front line is steadily shifting westward, with Ukrainian troops increasingly getting encircled. Many Ukrainians are outraged and waiting with hope that the Ukrainian army will stabilise the situation on the front line by reversing the Russian offensive.
