The analysist

 

FRONTLINE UPDATE  5-6 FEBRUARY 

AVDIVKA CITY

The town has been the scene of some dramatic combat - Russia penetrated deep into the northern area after days of pushing in groups of 2-4 soldiers until they built up a strong enough force. They had given up deploying armor because of the drone strikes.

Ukraine was unprepared for the number of Russians due to a new technology the Russians deployed, recently revealed in a video. The Russians moved in mostly at night wearing ‘invisibility cloaks’. These are so effective that when worn they obscure someone wearing them from night vision equipment. The video is striking, with an uncloaked man visible as the cloaked man opens and closes the cloak dramatically demonstrating its effectiveness. It renders night vision equipment useless. Having moved into the area they launched their attack on the area southeast of the coking plant and west of the water-filled quarry. 

They made considerable gains before being forced back out by the defenders, but it created a tense couple of days and came all too close to cutting off the only main road supply line, without which the city is doomed.

The situation in the south remains with the Russians trapped and encircled between the restaurant fortifications and the area they tried to take. Russia is still supplying them through the tunnel and in small amounts using drones. It seems unlikely they can hold out for an extensive period but the Russians will drag it out to cause a problem for as long as possible.

NORTH  FRONT

The Russians attempted to send yet another raid over the international border but were quickly engaged by Border Forces and eliminated.

Russian artillery fire along the whole northern front has doubled in the past month as the weather has improved. They tend to just fire at what they think is there but rendering the entire environment more difficult.

Fierce battles continue along much of the front with little change as Ukraine holds the line.The Russians are pushing towards the Yerovets River and are now just 1.5km from Yampolivka. Every day they make small but progressive gains.

EASTERN

Russia has made very small gains north of Klieshievka as they continue to try and push over and around the Ukrainians who still hold most of the hilltop trenches. Continuing battles everywhere along the front continue at various levels of intensity with small pockets changing hands back and forth, though the Russians have the edge in advances, it’s mostly insignificant. Little has changed in the south as the Russians have placed their emphasis on Avdivka and the northern front around Kupiansk. One accidental clip by a foreign news agency showed an M1 Abrams pair in action near Stepove, but it was clearly an accidental piece of coverage they just happened to pass by and it’s a couple of seconds long.

In other news, the Dutch government has stopped the sale of 6 F-16s to the American Draken group. These are the same people who purchased Australia’s F-18A’s for scrap. Draken refurbishes or scraps the aircraft, often turning them into training aircraft for foreign governments. The Netherlands decided to send the six aircraft to Ukraine instead after they had been refurbished. These almost certainly need a year's worth of work to be made operational. Even so, it’s still good news for Ukraine.