Engineers were the main driver of the AFU's success at Robotyne: clearing the way to enemy positions and storming them - The Times

The main driving force behind the liberation of Robobtyne in Zaporizhzhya was not Western armored vehicles, but sappers who, on their knees or lying down, cleared the way for these vehicles and infantry. They have to face large-scale minefields of the occupants up to half a kilometer wide - the enemy combines different mines and traps and makes "hamburgers" of three anti-tank mines at once.

About this writes the British newspaper The Times. According to the article, Robotyne became one of the main achievements of Ukraine after three months of active counteroffensive in the south.

Artur, a 25-year-old sapper of the 47th brigade of the AFU, said that near Robotyne the sappers worked like never before. As soon as their Bradley IFV stopped near the village and the attackers rushed to the first houses, the enemy opened heavy fire from hidden positions.

The sappers ran to the first house together with the stormtroopers. Despite the constant shelling, they checked it for mines and booby traps. The shells hit the house where the sappers were working. In that battle, Arthur was contused for the third time - he was thrown twice by a shock wave. His partner Serhiy was killed by the debris.

The surviving sappers joined the stormtroopers and together attacked the enemy trenches, said Bradley, a 41-year-old rifleman with the call sign "Morok". Almost all of their equipment was destroyed - one Bradley hit a mine, and an UR-77 demining vehicle was destroyed by artillery.

"The sappers were desperate - they ran forward with us, throwing homemade grenades into the Russian trenches, made from energy drinks bottles and explosives. Today we are nowhere without sappers," said Morok.

To the south of Orikhiv, the occupants have set up large minefields, which the enemy is hitting with artillery and which are significantly hampering the advance of the Ukrainian forces. The width of these fields can reach 500 meters instead of the standard 120. They are based on Soviet anti-personnel mines, booby traps and TM-62 anti-tank mines.

Sometimes the Russian military lays three TM-62s in one pit at once to increase their destructive power and stop Western Leopard and Challenger 2 tanks. AFU engineers call such traps "hamburgers."

"We all wanted the offensive to go faster. But we didn't realize how big the minefields would be, how densely covered with mines. Everything is mined. Fields, forests, vehicle wrecks, trenches - everything. So we became the main soldiers of the war, (working. - Ed.) on call, like pizza delivery men," jokes 49-year-old sapper of the 47th brigade "Grandfather".

The sappers are demining literally flat on their backs, says The Times. They make a path for the infantrymen right up to the enemy trenches. And then they themselves jump into the trenches and join the battle. Sometimes the occupants even mine their own trenches.

In the battle for Rabotino one of the storm troopers panicked and ran into a minefield, where his leg was torn off. "Grandfather" had to mine a wide strip of land under fire so that others could get the wounded man.

"When I'm working, I'm fine, I'm focused. But between tasks, sometimes you think about it, fear comes in and it gets hard. It's still very hard to accept that I might not survive. Despite the fact that I believe in my job," admits sapper Arthur.

As reported OBOZREVATEL:

- In the morning summary of the General Staff of the AFU said that the Ukrainian military in the Melitopol direction have partial success in the area Robotyne, forcing the enemy to withdraw from positions.

- According to British intelligence, Russia has moved parts of its new 25th All-Russian Army to the frontline in Ukraine in an attempt to cope with overstretched forces. At the same time, Ukraine is conducting a counter-offensive on three different fronts.

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