Russians Riding In Captured American Vehicles Briefly Broke Through Ukrainian Defenses
The deceptive assault northwest of Pokrovsk ultimately failed
The Russian Center Group of Forces attacked from Pokrovsk in captured, American-made M-113 and M-2 vehicles
A thick winter fog aided the possible deception
Ukrainian drones eventually spotted and repulsed the attack
Vehicular assaults are vanishingly rare as Russia’s wider war on Ukraine grinds into its 48th month. The Russians attack on foot, now—or on motorcycles or even horses—correctly believing that lighter, smaller modes of transport are better for sneaking across the wide, drone-patrolled no-man’s-land.
So it’s notable that the Russian Center Group of Forces organized a small mechanized assault in the ruins of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast under the cover of a thick winter fog in recent days.
Even more notably, the Russians rolled out in several captured Ukrainian vehicles: at least two M-113 armored personnel carriers and at least one M-2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicle.
