Russia is changing its assault tactics in the Southern Slobozhanshchyna sector
Russian troops in the Southern Slobozhanshchyna sector have begun reducing their assault teams to a single person. According to Viktor Tregubov, a spokesperson for the Joint Forces Operation, this tactic is part of attempts to breach the defensive perimeter and reach cover. From there, additional fighters can join the Russian troops.
Russian troops are changing their assault tactics in the Southern Slobozhanshchyna sector. Instead of small groups of several people, they are increasingly attempting to advance toward Ukrainian positions one by one. Viktor Tregubov, a spokesperson for the Joint Forces Operation, spoke about this during a televised marathon. According to him, Russian troops are attempting to use this method to pass through a dangerous section of the front line, which soldiers refer to as the “kill zone.”
Tregubov explained that a year ago, the Russians typically operated in groups of four to five people. Subsequently, the size of these groups decreased to two or three soldiers. Now, however, there are instances where only a single person sets out on an assault. “There are constant attacks by small groups, but while a year ago we were talking about groups of four or five people, then two or three, now there are groups that can’t even be called groups, because a group consists of several people, but sometimes there’s just one person,” the spokesperson said.
How the Russians Are Trying to Penetrate the Buffer Zone
According to Tregubov, moving in isolation allows Russian soldiers to attempt to cross specific sections of the exclusion zone and reach cover. After that, the next soldier can follow the same route and also take cover. As a result, several Russian soldiers gradually gather in one place. “Of course, they move this way only to cross a certain section of the no-go zone, then hide in some hole, and then the next soldier follows the same route in short bursts to reach that same hole,” Tregubov explained.
He noted that after that, the soldiers can coordinate their actions from their cover. “There, in that hole, they coordinate somehow, and from there they’ll move forward in a more organized manner,” the spokesperson added.
Russian troops operate individually
Tregubov also described how Ukrainian troops are currently observing this tactic on the battlefield. According to him, instead of the usual assault groups, Ukrainian defenders are increasingly encountering individual Russian soldiers attempting to reach their target on their own. “Ukrainian soldiers are increasingly encountering these isolated ‘trees’ of Russian origin,” Tregubov said.
He added that, in fact, the Russians are trying to operate according to the principle of “a lone warrior in the field.” However, this does not necessarily mean a completely solo assault. As Tregubov explained, soldiers may move one at a time specifically through dangerous open terrain. If a soldier manages to reach cover, other fighters can follow him there later.
This approach allows Russian troops to spread out while moving and attempt to pass through dangerous sections in stages. At the same time, the spokesperson did not specify the exact extent to which such tactics are being used across the entire front.
On the night of September 20, the Ukrainian military struck the Moscow Oil Refinery in the Kapotnya area. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the strike and announced that one of Russia’s key oil industry facilities had been hit. The General Staff reported that a massive fire broke out on the refinery’s grounds following the attack.
The head of state also stated that Russia must end the war against Ukraine. “Moscow must stop building echeloned air defense rings at the expense of other regions and instead end its brutal war and choose peace,” Zelenskyy said. According to him, there are already possible steps toward de-escalation, particularly in the energy sector and food security. At the same time, the president emphasized the need for political will. Currently, Ukraine continues to develop long-range weapons and strike Russian military and industrial facilities that, according to Ukraine, are involved in supplying the Russian army. The head of state reported this on Facebook.
On the night of September 20, Moscow and the Moscow region came under a massive drone attack. One of the strikes hit the Gazpromneft-MNPZ oil refinery in the Kapotnya district of Moscow, after which a fire broke out at the facility.
