Reporting From Ukraine:https://www.youtube.com/@RFU/videosExcerpts from the video transcript:
Russian “Victory Parade” Assault Turns Into a Brutal Defeat!
Today [ May 14, 8 pm ], there is interesting news from the Toretsk direction. Here, the Russian command was forced to achieve a victory to inspire its troops, so they decided to gamble on another suicidal mission. In a bizarre idea, Russians rode across the fields with Soviet flags, while Ukrainians used them simply as target practice ... Russian forces have increasingly shifted their focus to bypassing Toretsk by advancing through surrounding settlements, such as Shcherbynivka and its adjoining agglomerations. The Russian objective is to flank the town and force a collapse from the sides, after failing to take it head-on over the past year ... For the Russians, gaining control here is not optional. Without it, they cannot hope to isolate Ukrainian forces inside Toretsk, or protect themselves from raids and fire missions, that continue to harass them from the outskirts.
On Toretsk’s northern flank, earlier Russian motorcycle assaults failed miserably, as you might remember from a previous report. Ukrainians responded by re-calibrating minefields and integrating more layered defenses, effectively neutralizing the threat ... Russian commanders turned their attention to the south, hoping this area, not yet targeted with motorcycles, might offer an opportunity for more success. But this time, they wanted something more than a breakthrough, and started a spectacular assault.
What followed was an attempt at psychological warfare, designed to boost the morale of Russian troops before the launch of their summer offensive. Russian soldiers mounted motorcycles, each flying big Russian and Soviet flags as they charged forward ... these flags served only one real purpose: making the assault troops bigger and more visible targets ... Ukrainian artillery opened fire first, followed by FPV drone strikes that chased the motorcycles across the terrain. Other drones hovered above, dropping grenades on the soldiers with pinpoint accuracy. Riders were knocked off their bikes one by one, their flags falling beside them into the dust ... a handful of motorcyclists did manage to escape the first engagement, crawling into the ruins of nearby buildings with the hope of finding cover. Ukrainian forces responded with cluster munitions, saturating the hiding spots with shrapnel ... more drones were deployed, systematically eliminating the surviving Russians. By the end, the only remnants of the attack were burning motorcycles and shredded Russian flags around them.
This failed assault, rather than delivering a morale-boosting spectacle for the Russian soldiers preparing for their renewed offensive effort, became a visual demonstration of Ukrainian dominance on the battlefield ... the attackers left behind nothing but charred wreckage, and more proof of Russia’s inability to make meaningful progress and move away from suicidal tactics ... the operation underscores the desperation within the Russian command. With no territorial success to show, they gambled on an information victory, trying to craft a narrative of momentum with flags and theatrics. But what they received was a disaster captured in real-time: a symbolic assault turned symbolic defeat. With Russian commanders failing to achieve their victory, Russian soldiers and survivors of the previous failed assaults now stand to launch a massive summer offensive with their hopes even further in the gutter.
