Russian forces wearing down near Kupyansk: Oskil bridgehead has cost thousands of casualties, analyst says
Russia’s push to secure a foothold on the Oskil River near Kupiansk has come at a steep cost, according to military observer Alexander Kovalenko. After initially deploying elements of the 68th Motor Rifle Division, Russian command was forced to send reinforcements amid heavy losses, redeploying the 27th Motor Rifle Brigade to the area.
“In the Dvorichna area, the Russian occupiers’ ‘bridgehead’ on the Oskil’s right bank has turned into a corpse dump. Forest paths are strewn with the bodies of Russian occupation troops, some of which have lain there since last winter and no one is evacuating them. The occupiers live among the rotting bodies of their ‘colleagues,’” Kovalenko wrote.
He said the 6th Combined Arms Army assigned forces from the 68th Motor Rifle Division to establish the bridgehead, but they soon needed backup, prompting the transfer of the 27th Motor Rifle Brigade from the 1st Tank Army.
“That is, one can only imagine the real losses suffered by Russian occupation forces on this stretch of the front, given that the 68th MRD failed to complete its task and had to be reinforced by an additional brigade,” the analyst added.
Kovalenko published video purportedly showing numerous bodies of Russian soldiers near the Oskil River.
On July 17, reports said Russian forces were building pontoon crossings over the Oskil in the Kharkiv region, aiming to set conditions for an encirclement or an assault on the city. To do so, they need to move equipment, which can only be transported via pontoon crossings.
Russian forces have also been trying to establish a stable bridgehead on the Oskil’s right bank, repeatedly attempting to cross with small assault groups in several locations. However, they have not been able to build pontoon crossings.