Ukrainian Soldiers Break Through Russian Defences in Swativ Direction

Christian Baghai
2 min readNov 27, 2023

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The war between Ukraine and Russia has entered a new phase as Ukrainian forces launched a counter-offensive in several directions, aiming to liberate the occupied territories and restore the country’s sovereignty. One of the most significant breakthroughs occurred in the Swativ direction, where the border guards of the “Steel Border” Offensive Guard Brigade managed to capture the advanced positions of the enemy and inflict heavy losses on them.

The Swativ direction is a strategic area that connects the Luhansk and Donetsk regions, where the Russian-backed separatists have been holding out for years. By advancing in this direction, the Ukrainian forces hope to cut off the supply lines of the enemy and isolate them from their main base in Crimea, the peninsula that Russia illegally annexed in 2014.

The border guards of the “Steel Border” Brigade are part of the Offensive Guard, a collective name for the assault brigades recruited from among the National Guard, the National Police and the State Border Guard of Ukraine. These units are specially trained and equipped to conduct offensive operations in urban and rural areas, using drones, armored vehicles, artillery and mortars.

The footage released by the border guards shows the intensity of the fighting, as the Ukrainian soldiers storm the enemy positions, exchange fire, throw grenades and clear the trenches. The video also shows the aftermath of the assault, with several Russian soldiers lying dead or wounded on the ground, and their equipment and weapons destroyed or captured.

According to the Ukrainian military, the border guards killed at least 15 Russian soldiers and wounded 20 more, while suffering only one casualty and four injuries on their side. They also seized a large amount of ammunition, grenades, anti-tank rockets, machine guns and sniper rifles from the enemy.

The border guards also captured a Russian contract soldier, who revealed that he was a resident of Moscow and that he decided to join the war for the sake of a salary of 200,000 rubles (about $2,100) per month. He also confirmed that the Russian forces often use prisoners from the Storm and Black Mamba units, which are notorious for their brutality and human rights violations, as cannon fodder in their assault operations.

The Ukrainian authorities praised the border guards for their courage and professionalism, and said that their success was a sign of the changing tide of the war. They also vowed to continue the counter-offensive until the entire territory of Ukraine is freed from the Russian occupation and aggression.

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