Thread by @SibirPrizrak

24.2.2022 Thread

(1) This will be the first thread in my SVO Thread Series, aiming to document the various tales of heroism that occurred during this war that now spans across 3 whole years and, despite diplomatic efforts, is nowhere near over at the present moment.

(2) We will cover the first 24 hours of the special military operation, what went wrong that day, and what went right and how it dictated everything that came after. After this thread, I will do separate threads covering the battles of Kiev and Kharkov.

(3) The Second Minsk Ceasefire, signed after the Debaltsevo winter offensive, froze the conflict; Ukrainians would use that time to completely restore their army with help from the west and inflict maximum damage and casualties upon the Donbas Republics.

(4) Zelensky, despite the fact that he campaigned on peace gained more and more confidence and prepared a decapitation strike to crush the Donbas Republics with western help in 2022.

(5)A large offensive was planned. A large number of Ukrainian brigades had lined up all over the front line, and shelling exponentially increased. So, 8 years after it all began, the Kremlin had finally been forced to take action.

(6) a large so-called training exercise took place to cover the deployment of forces on the Russo-Ukrainian border starting in early February. Russian forces started entering the territory controlled by the Donbas Republics a joint offensive was prepared.

(7) At 5 am on the 24th of February, Putin held the speech on conducting a special military operation, explaining the geopolitical situation that had forced him to make this decision.

(8) Even before this speech had been televised, convoys of Russian self-propelled guns, trucks full of personnel, tanks, and armored vehicles crossed the border into the Donbas Republics.

(9) Greeted by local residents who had been waiting for this moment for 8 years, one of the conditions that was set by the leadership of the DNR during the talks in Rostov was the capture of Mariupol, which had been prevented due to the intervention of the Kremlin in 2014.

(10) In the early morning of February 24th, both DNR units and regular Russian units, which had already reached the LOC, unleashed a massive bombardment of artillery upon the city and their cruise missile strikes against naval facilities and radar stations.

(11) Russian Recon had collected a long list of infrastructure military warehouses and troop deployment points throughout Ukraine, and a hailstorm of cruise missiles was unleashed against them.

(12) Russian troops cross the border north of Lugansk near the town of Milove, quickly taking control of the entire area, including the town of Starobelsk. Ukrainian border guard units in the area were either eliminated or ended up as POWs.

(13) The Russian plan is to besiege the city of Kiev, attacking from the flanks and putting the city into a pincer, both drawing Ukrainian units from Donbas and achieving a political decapitation strike, forcing the Ukrainian regime to enter negotiations.

(14) the first large grouping to cross into Ukraine from the north was a mechanized convoy of the 35th Motorized Rifle Brigade, which crossed via the Senkovka Checkpoint heading toward the city of Chernigov.

(15) while a separate convoy from the 38th Motorized Rifle Brigade would cross the border near the village of Skytok along with elements of the 36th and 64th Motorized Rifle Brigades who crossed the border into Chernigov Oblast from the east.

(16) the 11th Guards Airborne, the 45th Spetsnaz, and several regiments from the 98th Air Assault Brigade responsible for the Gostomel Landing, the 40th and 155th Naval Infantry, and the 165th and 107th Artillery Regiments.

(17) This made a total of around 30,000 soldiers. Please keep in mind that this includes artillery units; the actual attack elements were much smaller, and Ukrainians later on in the battle would even exceed this number with their own forces.

(18) North of Kiev, near the village of Dniprovske, drones drop grenades and explosives on the positions of Ukrainian border guards. As they quickly realize a Russian border crossing is imminent, they decide to blow up the bridge.

(19) In the Chernigov Region, the Ukrainians deploy the 1st Tank and 58th Motorized Brigades as a reaction to the Russian concentration of forces in Belarus. As part of the training exercise,of Russian forces of the 35th Combined Arms Army.

(20) Russians cross the border and capture the towns of Chornobyl and Prypyat. Around 70 Ukrainian National Guard soldiers surrender to the Russians. Cruise missiles target the airports around Kiev, crippling both the Ukrainian AD and the Ukrainian Air Force.

(21) Ukrainians deploy the 80th Air Assault Brigade to the town of Ivankiv after blowing up bridges over the Uzh River, attempting to stall the Russian advance, but Russians on the same day via pontoon crossings advance past the river.

(22) 30 KA 52 Carrying paratroopers of the 217th Guard Airborne Regiment and 45th Spetsnaz Brigade flying low over the Dnipro River, they head to Gostomel Airfield.

(23) Only 3 of the over 200 helicopters participating in the operation are shot down by manpads or crash; the vast majority safely land on the airfield and dismount paratroopers.

(23) 250 paratroopers land at the airport and move from the runways to the airport buildings, clearing them out and setting up firing positions. Ukrainians, despite Propaganda , are not able to muster a counterattack and only shell it with mortars and MLRS.

(24) The town of Chernigov, located in the east, is vital to envelop Kiev entirely, so Russian forces were forced to either bypass or capture the city. 4 Russian brigades from 3 directions head toward the city.

(25) Russian convoys were moving slowly with no artillery support, not expecting any resistance, so they were easy targets for hit-and-run attacks, so a convoy of the 79th Motorized Rifle Brigade was ambushed and wiped out near Rivnopilya by the 1st Tank BDE.

(26) Russian troops of the 4th Guards Tank Division crossed the border into Sumy Oblast from Grayvoron, pushing toward the town of Okhtyrka. Russian artillery heavily bombarded the town, targeting the bases of Ukrainian border guards.

(27) Meanwhile, forces of the 47th Tank Division cross the border at Hrabovske, capturing the town of Krasnopilya at Myropilya and Yunakivka. The 2nd Motor Rifle Division and 27th Motor Rifle Brigade head towards Sumy.

(28) Russians not only attack in the vicinity of Sumy itself but also into the northern part of the region to link up with Kiev with forces of the 90th Tank Division, 30th, 21st, 55th, and 15th Motorized Rifle Brigades closing in on Glukhov and Shostka.

(29) Border guards are captured en masse by the rapidly advancing Russians. They enter Khotin, closing in on the Sumy Bilopilya Highway. Ukrainian forces make first attempts to resist the rapidly advancing Russians and deploy 16th Motorized Battalion/58th Motorized Brigade

(30)They arrive in Glukhov and attempt to set up an ambush of a Russian convoy.They position BMPs on both sides of the road and open fire on Russian BTRs. but the ambush fails. Russians quickly stop and return fire, drawing the Ukrainians out of their concealed positions.

(31) They attempted to flee using a truck, which got destroyed by a Russian BTR. Ukrainians lost 22 KIA and 6 armored vehicles. Hit-and-run ambushes were very effective against Russian forces in this early stage of the war, but this is one of the rare examples where it failed.

(32) In Sumy and all over Ukraine, they formed volunteer units of patriotic locals, arming them with so-called territorial defense brigades; in the case of Sumy, the 117th was formed to defend the city. Also, elements of the 81st Air Assault Brigade were deployed.

(33) The 90th Tank Division reaches the town of Buryn and starts moving towards Konotop, enveloping Sumy from the West.
Meanwhile, without resistance. Russian tanks and armored vehicles flood the streets of Sumy, quickly clearing the city during the day.

(34) Ukrainians attempted to hold Russians at the line of Okhtykra, Lebedyn, and Konotop and concentrated forces at Okhtyrka elements of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade, but Russian forces had already entered the town.

(35)in Okhtyrka, the 93rd ombr sets up firing positions in high-rise buildings, attempting to ambush the 423rd Moto Rifle Brigade, drawing retaliatory tank fire on themselves.

(36) But chaos erupts among Russian units. They assumed they had already cleared the time, and suddenly they were surrounded by enemies. So they start retreating; parts of the convoy are ambushed while pulling back, and Russians face their first significant casualties.

(37) The Russians were not at all prepared for organized resistance. Poor communication between units and poor organization made quickly responding to something like this impossible.

(38) 423rd enters Trostyanets, aiming to bypass Okhtyrka in northern Sumy; the 90th Tank Division captures Konotop.

(39)Despite the fall of Sumy, the 81st Airmobile Brigade sets up a hit-and-run ambush on a Russian supply convoy heading to Sumy airport to set up a base there in the evening. Both sides face casualties, and the Ukrainians retreat.

(40) On the early morning of 24 February, at the same time as combat is going on in Sumy, Chernigov, and Kievalarge, a grouping of Russian forces is crossing the border from Crimea at Kalanchak.

(41) Ukrainian marine of the 137th Marine Battalion Vitaliy Vladimirovich Skakun drives onto the Chongar bridge in a car filled with explosives, failing to destroy the bridge completely and sacrificing his own life.

(42) A large number of Russian forces cross into Ukraine via Crimea from Kalanchik and Chongar, cruise missiles target the port of Ochakov, killing Ukrainian Navy commander and personnel.

(43) Russian forces capture the town of Henichesk and move towards Melitopol while a separate convoy moves towards the Dnepr River and Novo Kakhovka.

(44) Novo Kakhovka and Melitopol are captured, and dozens of Russian helicopters entered the Kherson region from Crimea. Russian forces with a huge mechanized convoy crossed over the Antonovsky Bridge.having few equipment losses from Ukrainian Artillery fire

(44) Russian forces circled around and bypassed the town of Kherson. Some Russian unit that got lost ended up in Nikolaev city and roamed around there without any resistance at first, but later they were taken POW. It goes to show how disorganized Russian units were at this point

(45) Kharkov, a city with a population of one 1 Million, in conveniently close proximity to the Russian border, an attack here was as obvious as it was useless in the great scheme of things. 3 Russian Combined Arms Armies with 15,000 troops in total are deployed in Belgorod.

(46) Near Kharkov, the 93rd Mechanized Brigade has elements deployed in the town of Chuguev, which becomes a target for Russian cruise missiles, who also target the local airport where the unit stores Bayraktar TB 2 drones.

(47) The first 2 Russian convoys cross the border, occupying the town of Vovchansk and Lyptsi. With them, they bring artillery, quickly forcing the AFU to retreat into the city, unleashing a massive bombardment.

(48) Ukrainians manage to pull off some hit-and-run ambushes outside of Kharkov, destroying several Russian BMPs and Tigr IMVs, but are quickly forced to retreat due to overwhelming enemy firepower.

(49) As Russians have completely cleared the villages around and outside of Kharkov, they start moving from Tsyrkuny into Kharkov but are ambushed by several BMPs of the 93rd Mechanized Brigade at the intersection, facing several casualties and vehicle losses.

50) Despite this, Russians continue to move further into the Northern Residential of Kharkov, where they gain a foothold and engage in close combat with retreating Ukrainians.

(51) Russian forces manage to envelop the city from the west and enter it, encountering no Ukrainian resistance and gaining a foothold. Despite heavy losses, Russians manage to capture parts of the city, but this success would not last long.

(52)Russian success in Kharkov is only a byproduct of the unorganized and weak Ukrainian resistance at this point, and even that managed to inflict significant losses and would only grow stronger and more determined as time went on.

(53) The failure to capture the entire city in 24 hours, taking advantage of the element of surprise and singling out and targeting Ukrainian centers of resistance, led to the ultimate long-term failure of this operation, which we will discuss in another thread.

(54)Within 24 hours of the war, Russian forces accomplished an amazing feat. Almost no modern army in today's age would be capable of Despite everything, the Ukrainians are greatly underestimated.Most Ukrainian soldiers had far more combat experience than the average Russian.

(55) and that lack of combat experience, bad organization, and communication and straight-up incompetence led to many unnecessary casualties.

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