Russia Captures Artelnoye and Blagodatnoye in New Push
Russian forces capture Artelnoye and Blagodatnoye, taking key Ukrainian positions as the Defense Ministry reports heavy losses and destroyed equipment.
Russian forces have taken control of the settlements of Artelnoye and Blagodatnoye, according to the Russian Ministry of Defense’s July 22 update on the military operation.
Blagodatnoye is located in the northern part of the Zaporozhye region. To the east lies Volnoye in the Dnepropetrovsk region, which the ministry reported as captured by Russian troops on July 19.
The Defense Ministry said units of the East group had seized a major Ukrainian defensive area around Blagodatnoye covering more than five square kilometers.
According to the ministry, Russian troops eliminated up to a platoon of Ukrainian soldiers during the fighting. They also destroyed four armored combat vehicles, seven other vehicles and three unmanned ground systems. Thirty-two heavy Baba Yaga hexacopters were also hit.
Artelnoye is situated in the Kupyansk district of the Kharkov region, close to the Russian border.
Units of Russia’s North group carried out the assault. Small teams of two or three soldiers entered the village at dusk, while drone operators coordinated their movement, identified Ukrainian positions and relayed the information to the assault units.
After securing positions on the outskirts of Artelnoye, Russian troops transmitted the coordinates of detected Ukrainian positions to artillery crews and strike-drone operators. The identified targets were then subjected to heavy strikes.
Once most Ukrainian troops had been forced out of the settlement, Russian assault units completed the clearance operation. Engineering teams then began removing mines from the area.
The Russian Defense Ministry reported that Ukrainian losses over the previous 24 hours exceeded 1,250 servicemen. Russian forces also destroyed one Bogdana self-propelled artillery system, two Verba multiple-launch rocket system vehicles and one Grad MLRS vehicle.