Russian assault on key Dnipropetrovsk Oblast village repelled, Ukraine says
Russian forces launched an armored assault on Novopavlivka, a front-line village on strategic high ground along the Dnipropetrovsk-Donetsk oblast border that has for months blocked Russian attempts to push deeper into Dnipropetrovsk Oblast. Using poor weather and low visibility, they tried to break through, but Ukrainian forces said they repelled the attack.
On Nov. 14, under cover of thick November fog, Russian forces “established a pontoon crossing between Yalta and Dachnyi and transported about 10 units of equipment,” reported the Ukrainian mapping and analytical group Deep State.
According to DeepState, the Russian soldiers managed to disperse the troops in the central and southern parts of the village, where they then took shelter in basements.
In some areas, Russian forces breached Ukrainian defenses, the 42nd Mechanized Brigade confirmed to the Ukrainian military news site Militarnyi. "The occupiers infiltrated our positions. However, first-person view (FPV) drones, particularly from the 'Perun' drone battalion of the 42nd Mechanized Brigade, responded quickly to activity near the deployment site," the statement said.
The 9th Army Corps also released a video showing the destruction of Russian armored vehicles during an attempted assault by the units of the 42nd Mechanized Brigade and the 46th Airmobile Brigade.
“The assault resulted in significant losses of both equipment and personnel for the enemy. A series of clearing operations are underway. The situation is under the control of the Defense Forces,” they stated.
Currently, whether or not any Russian troops succeeded in digging in inside Novopavlivka is unclear.
Lying on the edge of an area of strategic high ground, the village of Novopavlivka and the fortified area around it have blocked Russian attempts to push deeper into Dnipropetrovsk Oblast along this section of the regional border with Donetsk Oblast for months.
But as the Ukrainian defense of the entire front line has become increasingly strained over the fall fighting season, Russian forces have been pressing forward — helped by favorable weather conditions — especially further south in eastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) noted in its Nov. 15 report that Russian forces are exploiting foggy weather conditions to target vulnerabilities in Ukraine’s drone-based battlefield defenses. This tactic has been observed across the front, particularly in the Pokrovsk, Velykomykhailivske, and Huliaipole areas.
Russian forces have also used the cover of fog are also to advance into Pokrovsk from the southern outskirts, using light equipment and coming from the occupied areas of Selydove and Donetsk.
The 7th Corps reported that over 300 Russian troops are currently in the city, aiming to reach the northern borders of Pokrovsk and encircle the urban area.
