The aftermath of the Trudivs'ke raid.
Via social media
Russian regiments and brigades have a bad habit of massing their troops outdoors in broad daylight, just 10 or 20 miles from the front line of Russia's two-year all-out war against Ukraine. Either for training or for inspection by a senior officer.
Ten or 20 miles is well within the range of Ukraine's U.S.-made M30/31 rockets: the primary munition of the High-Mobility Artillery Rocket System's wheeled launcher.
It should therefore come as no surprise that the Ukrainians discovered and bombed these gatherings twice within two days – apparently by drone. Many Russians reportedly died.
The first blowOn Tuesday, soldiers of the Russian army's 39th Separate Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade were attacked in Trudivs'ke in eastern Ukraine. Two infantry companies had lined up with their commander, Colonel G. Musaev, so that Major General Oleg Lvovich Moiseev, commander of the 29th Combined Arms Army, could deliver a speech.
Moiseev was reportedly traveling when a Ukrainian drone came overhead and a HIMARS opened fire. The front line is just 20 miles west, around Vuhledar. A HIMARS can fire GPS-guided M30/31 missiles, each loaded with 182,000 tungsten balls, up to 57 miles.
Videos and photos taken by survivors show tons of dead Russians. 65 soldiers reportedly died, including Musaev. “They lined them up in an open field,” complained one survivor as he recorded the carnage. “Damn commanders.”
Never accuse the Russian military of learning from its mistakes. At least not quickly. The very next day, Wednesday, two groups of Russian troops again gathered outdoors for training and inspection.
The two separate formations of the 328th Air Assault Regiment, the 810th Guards Marine Brigade and the 81st Self-Propelled Artillery Regiment assembled at the Oleshky Sands National Nature Park, just 20 miles south of the Ukrainian Marine Corps bridgehead at Krynky, on the left bank of the Dnipro River .
A Ukrainian drone located them. Ukrainian artillery – possibly HIMARS – took aim. According to reports, around 60 more Russians died.
Given the blood and bodies, there is good reason for Russians to hope for relief. The United States is the main supplier of M30/31 missiles to Ukraine's roughly three dozen HIMARS missiles, and Russian-allied Republicans in the U.S. Congress have been blocking further U.S. aid to Ukraine since October.
At some point the rockets will run out. From this point on, it will be much safer for Russian troops to remain outdoors within drone and missile range of the front line during the day.
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