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Battle of Mala Tokmachka

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Battle of Mala Tokmachka
Part of the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive during the Russian invasion of Ukraine
Date7–9 June 2023
(2 days)
Location
Near Mala Tokmachka,[citation needed] Zaporizhia Oblast, Ukraine
Result Russian victory
Belligerents
 Russia  Ukraine
Commanders and leaders
Russia Roman Demurchiyev[1] Ukraine Oleksandr Sak[2]
Units involved

 Russian Armed Forces

 Armed Forces of Ukraine

Strength
10,000+ 4,000[not verified in body]
Casualties and losses
Per David Axe
Light		 Per David Axe
30% of Ukrainian soldiers killed or wounded
25 tanks, IFVs and APCs destroyed
2 Leopard 2 captured[3]
Per Russia[a]
350 killed
30 tanks
40 IFVs and APCs destroyed
2 Leopard 2 captured[4][5]

In June 2023, a battle took place around the village of Mala Tokmachka as part of the 2023 Ukrainian counteroffensive and during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Background

At the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Mala Tokmachka quickly became a frontline settlement. The population would drop to only around 200 people by May 2023 due to the proximity of the fighting to the village and consistent Russian shelling which destroyed much of the local infrastructure and utilities.[6] On 13 June 2023, French researcher Philippe Gros referred to the Ukrainian counteroffensive operations south of Mala Tokmachka as a "major axis", with the intention of advancing in the direction of the occupied city of Melitopol, which had been captured by Russian forces early into the invasion.[7] David Axe of Forbes wrote that "perhaps 10,000 or more" Russian soldiers from the 70th, 291st, 429th, and 503rd Motor Rifle Regiments from the 58th Combined Arms Army's 42nd Guards Motor Rifle Division were stationed on the front lines near Tokmak.[8] The 22nd and 45th Guards Spetsnaz Brigades were also reported by Axe to be in reserve.[9]

Battle

On 7 June 2023, Ukrainian forces would first attempt to push the fighting away from the settlement while the Ukrainian 47th Mechanized Brigade and 33rd Mechanized Brigade totaling 4,000 soldiers,[failed verification] would launch a mechanized assault on[failed verification] the village.[10][11] Despite being armed with new western equipment, the initial attack went poorly. Russian scouts from the 70th and 291st motor rifle regiments spotted the Ukrainian armored column and called in Ka 52 attack helicopters.[12] The Ukrainian tank column came under anti-tank missile and small arms fire while attempting to cross a minefield outside of the village.[13][14] Trapped under fire and taking losses, the column retreated. Crews bailed out of their disabled vehicles and dragged dead and wounded with them out of the battlefield.[3] Forbes reported that Ukrainian equipment loses were one IMR-2, a one Leopard 2A6 and as many as nine Bradleys with the some of their crews surviving.[9] The ISW reported that the Russian Ministry of Defense responded to the Ukrainian attack with an uncharacteristic degree of coherency and praised the 42nd Guards Motor Rifle Division, 70th Guards Motor Rifle Regiment and 291st Motor Rifle Regiment for repelling the Ukrainian attack and regaining lost positions.[10]

On 8 June, the 47th Mechanized Brigade attempted to use 6 Finnish donated Leopard 2R mine cleaning tanks, a German Wisent and an ex-Soviet BMR-2 to breach the Russian minefield but were forced to abandon 3 of the Leopard 2Rs and both the Wisent and the BMR-2 after one of the Leopard 2Rs struck a TM-62 anti tank mine and Russian helicopters and artillery hit the others vehicles.[15] 50% of the 47th Brigade’s engineer battalion became casualties, however Forbes reported that the unit was still intact citing a video that the battalion posted after the engagement showing a Leopard 2R, two Soviet-style armored tractors fitted with UR-77 rocket-propelled mine clearing charges and a German Wisent.[16]

On 9 June, Ukrainian forces launched a second mechanized assault capturing one height near the village. The assault group later came under artillery fire after being spotted by Russian drone operators and were forced to retreat.[17]

Aftermath

Vehicle and personnel losses

David Axe, a Forbes journalist, opined that the Ukrainian defeat near Mala Tokmachka was a military disaster, with both the 33rd and 47th losing 15% of their soldiers killed or wounded, and losing a fifth of Ukraine's M2 Bradleys, a fifth of its Leopard 2A6s and half its Leopard 2Rs with Russian forces in return only suffering light casualties.[3] Photographic evidence showed that at least 4 Leopard 2A6 tanks, 3 Leopard 2R demining tanks, 17 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, and 1 Wisent were destroyed.[18] The battle was also the first documented loss of a Leopard 2 during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[19][20] Some of the damaged vehicles were later recovered and repaired by Ukrainian forces.[21][22] Ukrainian sources claimed that Russian forces were inflating Ukrainian equipment losses at Mala Tokmachka.[23][24] Russian forces would later publish a video on 13 June showing 2 captured Leopard 2 tanks and multiple M2 Bradleys.[25]

Changes to strategy

The defeat at Mala Tokmachka resulted in Ukrainian commanders switching to dismounted infantry attacks rather than mechanized assaults in order to not risk more armored vehicles.[26][27] This would result in lowered armor losses but higher infantry casualties.[28] On 30 June 2023, the Institute for the Study of War opined that the lack of a major breakthrough by Ukrainian forces around Mala Tokmachka would lead to less attacks and the beginning of positional fighting.[29]

It was later reported that Russian forces quadrupled the depth of their defensive minefields, from 120 meters to 500 meters and also increased the density of mines within the expanded fields.[30]

Further combat near Mala Tokmachka

On 12 June, Russian military reporters said that Russian forces counterattacked Ukrainian positions south of Orikhiv.[5]

On 15 June, Ukrainian Brigadier-General Oleksii Hromov told a media briefing that Ukrainian forces had advanced by up to 3 km (1.8 miles) near Mala Tokmachka.[31]

On 21 June, Ukrainian General Staff spokesperson Andriy Kovalev claimed that Ukrainian forces had made several gains around Mala Tokmachka.[32]

On 28 June, Markus posted a video on Facebook about how he and soldiers under his command captured a Russian trench after 24 hours of assaults and were exhausted.[33]

47th Brigade leadership

On 30 June 2023 headmaster Sergeant Major Valerii Markus of the 47th Mechanized Brigade met with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy and complained about the decisions of the unit's command regarding lack of interest in soldiers morale and officers incompetence during the battle. Markus was later voluntarily demoted to private after calling the brigade's commander, Lt. Col. Oleksandr Sak an "immoral degenerate".[34] Sak would later be sacked on 16 September 2023 and replaced by Colonel Oleksandr Pavlii.[35] A Ukrainian veteran of the 47th Mechanized Brigade who lost his leg during the battle named Mykola Melnyk, criticized the leadership of the battle but praised the American donated M2 Bradleys during an interview saying: "The Bradley withstood everything".[36][37]

Notes

  1. ^ Between June 8th and June 9th

References

  1. ^ ""Наступали двумя волнами": командир рассказал об атаках на позиции 42-й дивизии на Ореховском направлении". МОО «Союз ветеранов спецназа ГРУ имени Героя Российской Федерации Шектаева Д.А.» (in Russian). 2023-07-11. Retrieved 2023-07-14.
  2. ^ "Неважливо, ким ти був — ідеш і виконуєш обов’язки, які потрібні для перемоги" — поет Матюша про службу у війську, Суспільне Новини, 15.05.2023.
  3. ^ a b c Axe, David. "25 Tanks and Fighting Vehicles, Gone in a Blink: The Ukrainian Defeat Near Mala Tokmachka Was Worse Than We Thought". Forbes.
  4. ^ Korshak, Stefan (15 June 2023). "June 14 — Day 476 — Mala Tokmachka, Velika Vasylkivka, POWs and Putin's numbers". Medium.
  5. ^ a b Psaropoulos, John T. "Ukraine attacks the front line; Russia says big losses inflicted". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  6. ^ Nick Paton Walsh; Gallón, Natalie; Gak, Kosta; Rudden, Peter (8 May 2023). "Russian forces lash out indiscriminately as Ukraine increases military pressure on frontline towns". CNN.
  7. ^ Mounier, Jean-Luc (13 June 2023). "'A large part of the Ukrainian counteroffensive hasn't been put into action yet'".
  8. ^ Axe, David. "The Ukrainians Are Risking Their Best Leopard 2 And M-2 Vehicles Because The Prize—A Tokmak Breakthrough—Is Worth It". Forbes.
  9. ^ a b Axe, David. "The Ukrainian Army Lost Bradley Fighting Vehicles And A Leopard 2 Tank Trying And Failing To Breach Russian Defenses In Southern Ukraine". Forbes.
  10. ^ a b Hird, Karolina; Barros, George; Mappes, Grace; Wolkov, Nicole; Clark, Mason; Frederick W. Kagan. "Institute for the Study of War".
  11. ^ Axe, David. "One of Ukraine's Meanest Mechanized Brigades Just Joined the Southern Counteroffensive". Forbes.
  12. ^ "Russia says it hits Leopard tanks, U.S. Bradley vehicles in Ukraine | Reuters". Reuters.
  13. ^ Roblin, Sébastian (2023-06-09). "Ukraine's Western Armor Suffered Enormous Losses While Breaching a Minefield". Popular Mechanics. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  14. ^ Beaumont, Peter; Wintour, Patrick (14 June 2023). "Ukraine's failed Mala Tokmachka assault lays bare counteroffensive challenges". The Guardian.
  15. ^ Axe, David. "Ukraine's Combat Engineers Are Riding Special Mineclearing Tanks Into Battle". Forbes.
  16. ^ Axe, David. "The Ukrainian Battalion That Lost Half Its Leopard 2R Mineclearing Vehicles In A Russian Minefield? It's Still In The Fight". Forbes.
  17. ^ "Frontline report: Ukrainians storm Russian positions in Zaporizhzhia direction, face resistance". Euromaidan Press. 9 June 2023.
  18. ^ "Counteroffensive of the Armed Forces: Battle near Mala Tokmachka | Censor.NET".
  19. ^ Axe, David. "The Russians Just Destroyed Their First Ukrainian Leopard 2 Tank". Forbes.
  20. ^ Dangwal, Ashish (9 June 2023). "1st Documented Loss! Ukraine's Leopard-2 Battle Tank Destroyed as Russian Military Bombs Its Position".
  21. ^ Axe, David. "Ukrainian Tank Losses Diminish as Polish Technicians Save More and More Damaged Leopard 2s". Forbes.
  22. ^ Axe, David. "Ukrainian Engineers Are Recovering The 25 Vehicles Ukraine Lost In A Russian Minefield, Starting With An American-Made M-2". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  23. ^ Shandra, Alya (2023-06-10). "So how many Leopard tanks did Ukraine lose near Mala Tokmachka?". Euromaidan Press. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  24. ^ "✙DeepState✙🇺🇦".
  25. ^ "Russia releases video of captured German tanks, U.S. fighting vehicles in Ukraine | Reuters". Reuters. 13 June 2023.
  26. ^ "Why Ukraine's counteroffensive failed: WP analysis in 7 minutes". Euromaidan Press. 6 December 2023.
  27. ^ Axe, David. "Disastrous Armored Assaults Taught The Ukrainian Army To Flank Russian Defenses Instead". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  28. ^ Shandra, Alya (10 February 2024). "Syrskyi in, Zaluzhnyi out: What to expect from Ukraine's army reshuffle". Euromaidan Press.
  29. ^ Bailey, Riley; Mappes, Grace; Evans, Angelica; Barros, George; Frederick W. Kagan. "Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, June 30, 2023". Institute for the Study of War.
  30. ^ Axe, David. "To Slow The Ukrainian Counteroffensive, the Russian Army Quadrupled The Size Of Its Minefields". Forbes. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  31. ^ "Ukraine reports advances in early stages of counterattack". Reuters.
  32. ^ Cook, Ellie (2023-06-21). "Ukraine inches towards Russian stronghold as counteroffensive pushes on". Newsweek. Retrieved 2024-05-17.
  33. ^ ""We've advanced a long way": soldier describes assaults on Facebook and Zaluzhnyi leaves a comment". Ukrainska Pravda.
  34. ^ "Sergeant Major meets with Zelenskyy and speaks up about disagreements with his commanders". Pravda.ua.
  35. ^ "Ukraine's 47th Separate Brigade, one of first to launch counteroffensive in Zaporizhzhia, has new commander". Ukrainska Pravda.
  36. ^ Axe, David. "After Losing a Leg, One Ukrainian Army Officer Is Mad At His Commanders. But He's Not Mad at His American-Made M-2 Fighting Vehicle". Forbes.
  37. ^ Кіртока, Віолетта. "Мельник Микола: Командир роти 47-ї бригади Микола Мельник: "Росіяни знали наші шляхи висування, і туди летіло все - і 152-ті, 120-ті, і "Гради"… | Цензор.НЕТ".

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