In offensive battles for Marinka in the suburbs of Donetsk, Russian artillery delivers targeted fire strikes, next to its infantry, an artillery officer of the 5th Oplot Brigade of the 1st Donetsk Army Corps told Izvestia.
Recently, the brigade has gained extensive experience in offensive battles both in urban areas and in the field. Taking into account the engineering preparation of the enemy’s defense and its saturation with anti-tank weapons, without the most powerful artillery support, advancement becomes impossible.
“Infantry goes to the enemy at a distance of 100–200 m, requests our fire support, and we have to hit targets very accurately,” the gunner explained.
According to him, in close urban battles, when the enemy is across the street or house from the advancing infantry, it is important not to strike at your own. For this, many methods are used. For example, they conduct shooting with a flight. And then, according to the reports of the spotter, the fire is gradually transferred, bringing it to a given point.
The gunners had to use other methods. When advancing near Popasna, they set up a “barrage of fire” in front of the advancing infantry. This is one of the most difficult artillery tasks. When placing a “barrage of fire” in front of the advancing troops, fire is fired at the front edge of the enemy, which moves in depth at the same speed with which the equipment moves forward.
But it is impossible to do this near Donetsk, the speed of “jerks” forward from fortification to fortification, from house to house is too uneven.
Read more in the Izvestia report:
In places “Grad”: how artillerymen support the offensive in Marinka
