The Russian command post was located in a hotel in the city of Krasnyi Luch, the Ukrainska Pravda website reported on Monday.
According to Ukraine’s military, 100 Russian soldiers were killed in the strike early on Sunday and “this number might rise due to the injuries sustained by the surviving Russian soldiers.”
Krasnyi Luch has been part of the Russian-backed self-proclaimed Luhansk “People’s Republic” since 2014.
Ukraine destroys bridges to Kherson City
Meanwhile, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has reported that “Ukrainian strikes have damaged all three Russian-controlled bridges leading into Kherson City within the past week.”
In its latest analysis of the war in Ukraine, published on Sunday night, the US-based think tank wrote: “Ukrainian forces struck the bridge over the dam at the Nova Kakhova Hydroelectric Power Plant on July 24, damaging the road but still allowing passenger vehicles to cross the bridge.”
The ISW added: “Russian sources claimed that Ukraine used HIMARS to strike the bridge and reported that repairs to the bridge are already underway.”
Moreover, "footage from July 23 shows passenger vehicles navigating around holes left on the Antonivskyi Bridge, suggesting that the damage to the free-standing Antonivskyi Bridge may be more complex to repair than the Nova Kakhova bridge,” the US experts said.
They added that “Ukrainian officials are increasingly acknowledging Ukrainian counteroffensive operations in Kherson Oblast.”
For instance, “Ukraine’s Southern Operational Command reported on July 24 that Ukrainian forces are firing on Russian transport facilities in Kherson Oblast to impede manoeuvrability and logistics support,” the ISW said.
'HIMARS changed everything'
Meanwhile, Russia’s nationalist circles are increasingly alarmed at the success of Ukraine’s precision strikes using the HIMARS advanced rocket systems, the US think tank reported.
According to the ISW, “Moscow Calling, a medium-sized Russian Telegram channel with 31,000 subscribers … defined the arrival of HIMARS as a distinct turning point in the war and stated that previously provided Western weapons systems (such as NLAWs, Javelins, Stingers, and Bayraktars) did very little against Russian artillery bombardment (they are not designed or intended to counter artillery attack), but that HIMARS changed everything for Russian capabilities in Ukraine.”
The US analysts added: “Moscow Calling strongly insinuated that recent Ukrainian strikes on Russian warehouses, communication hubs, and rear bases are having a devastating and potentially irreversible impact on the development of future Russian offensives.”
The ISW further noted that “Russian troops are being forced to engage in various HIMARS mitigation tactics on the battlefield, including camouflage measures and constantly changing the location of equipment groupings,” adding that "these mitigation tactics are impeding Russian forces from conducting the massive artillery barrages that they have widely employed over the course of the war.”
Anti-war dissent among Russia’s ethnic minorities
At the same time, the Kremlin "is likely facing mounting (if still very limited) domestic dissent from within ethnic minority enclaves, which are disproportionately bearing the brunt of the Kremlin’s force generation efforts,” the US experts wrote.
They added: “Protest groups in ethnic minority enclaves have already formed in Tuva and Buryatia, and these communities will likely continue to protest the Kremlin’s reliance on drawing combat power from peripheral groups of Russian society.”
Russia attempts 'limited ground assaults' in Donetsk, Kherson
Meanwhile on the front, Russian forces on Sunday attempted limited ground assaults northwest of Slovyansk, east of Siversk and south of Bakhmut in the Donetsk Oblast as well as in the southern Kherson Oblast, the ISW said.
The think tank added: “Russian occupation authorities continued setting conditions for annexation referenda in occupied territories and are recruiting Russian civilians for reconstruction efforts.”
'Inconclusive' fighting in Donbas, Kherson
The UK Ministry of Defence on Monday said that fighting in the eastern Donbas region and the southern Kherson Oblast was “inconclusive.”
In their latest intelligence update, posted on Twitter, the British analysts wrote: “Russian commanders continue to face a dilemma; whether to resource the offensive in the east, or to bolster the defence in the west.”
Russia struggles to repair damaged combat vehicles
The UK defence ministry also said: “On 18 July 2022, intelligence identified a Russian military vehicle refit and refurbishment facility near Barvinok, in Russia’s Belgorod Oblast, 10km from the Ukrainian border.”
It added: “At least 300 damaged vehicles were present, including main battle tanks, armoured personnel carriers, and general support trucks.”
According to the British analysts, “in addition to its well documented personnel problems, Russia likely continues to struggle to extract and repair the thousands of combat vehicles which have been damaged in action in Ukraine.”
Monday is day 152 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: PAP, pravda.com.ua, understandingwar.org