10th Mountain Brigade Reveals Insights Into Oskil River Operation

3 December, 2024 The assault on Novomlynsk by the 8th Battalion of the 10th Brigade and the 3rd Separate Tank Brigade, December 1, 2014. Photo credits: DeepState Soldiers of the 10th Mountain Assault Brigade "Edelweiss" shared additional details about the operation to dismantle the Russian bridgehead on the right bank of the Oskil River in the Kharkiv region.

The new footage of the battles and the soldiers' stories were published by the DeepState project. After Russian units crossed the river by boat in late November and landed near the village of Novomlynsk, gaining a foothold there, the Ukrainian 8th Battalion of the 10th Separate Mechanized Brigade began planning an operation to drive the invaders to the opposite bank. The operation was carried out by the Battalion's 1st and 2nd Companies, as well as the attached forces of the 3rd Tank Brigade.

The assault on the Russian positions began in the morning with a column of vehicles advancing. Troops were transported on M113s and BMP-1s of the 1st Brigade, led by the attached crew of a T-72AMT tank from the 2nd Tank Battalion of the 3rd Tank Brigade. The assault tanks pushed into the enemy's central positions, prompting the column to split at a designated point, with each vehicle targeting a specific enemy position. After suppressing the enemy with fire and forcing them into shelters, the assault groups disembarked and advanced toward the enemy trenches.

"From the first attack, we managed to partially break through to the enemy's positions, but not completely, because some of the Russians resisted. The second attack with equipment reinforced the assault groups and managed to capture all the designated positions," the military stated. In response, the enemy launched a counterattack on the key position that controlled the village of Novomlynsk, weakening two of their strongholds on the left flank.

They withdrew infantry from these positions and deployed reserves from the village's cellars, sending 24 soldiers to storm the position. The 1st Company of the Edelweiss, supported by artillery, pinned the invaders to the ground, enabling the 2nd Company to clear and occupy the positions weakened by the enemy. "When the Muscovites realized that they were squeezed from two sides and were being dismantled by all possible means, they began a panicked flight across the river.

Some of them were on boats, others were simply crossing the river on their own," the stormtroopers noted. Aerial reconnaissance and artillery units of the Defense Forces destroyed the crossings and tried to inflict the greatest damage on the retreating enemy.

Russian bridgehead on Oskil

For the Russian invaders, the bridgehead near Novomlynsk has significant advantages: a high slope on the right bank, more than 40 meters high, protects the landing from direct fire from Ukrainian forces.

At the same time, the holding of Novomlynsk by Ukrainian troops is complicated by geographical conditions that force them to go around the settlement and move along the bank, which is under enemy fire. The hill itself is important for the Defense Forces, as it allows them to keep a large part of the left bank under fire control.

The village of Novomlynsk on the right bank of the Oskol River.

Photo credits: Google Earth

Recently, the DeepState project reported that the Russian military had crossed Oskil River in another place south of the village of Masiutivka.

In the future, these footholds could give the enemy the opportunity to develop an offensive, expand the wedge towards Kupiansk and cover it from the north.