Ukrainian Scouts Are Inside Robotyne

Liberating the city of Melitopol from its Russian occupiers is one of the top objectives of Ukraine’s long-anticipated southern counteroffensive.

But the Russian garrison in Tokmak stands between the Ukrainian counteroffensive corps and Melitopol. And the garrison in Robotyne stands between the Ukrainians and Tokmak.

A trio of Ukrainian army brigades has been on Robotyne’s proverbial doorstep for weeks now, probing and eroding Russian defenses at high cost to themselves. And on or just before Friday, elements of a reconnaissance battalion working alongside the combat brigades marched a couple of hundred yards down the T0408, the main road running north to south along the west side of Robotyne.

A trooper from the 100-person Skala Battalion snapped a selfie next to a Robotyne city sign just southwest of the cemetery on the municipality’s northern edge. Significantly, the sign lies south of the first major trenchline anchoring Russian positions in Robotyne.

That a Skala team reached the city sign doesn’t mean the main Ukrainian force—the 47th, 65th and 118th Mechanized Brigades with around 6,000 people between them—also have advanced south along the T0408. Skala’s job is to move swiftly in close proximity to enemy forces and scout targets for artillery, both on foot and by air with its fleet of small drones.

“Skala specializes in reconnaissance,” Yuriy Harkaviy, the battalion’s commander, told Kyiv Post. “So we are fighting not just by using weapons, but through shrewdness and the sharpness of our minds.”

The Skala probe is bad news for the Russian garrison in Robotyne, which includes the 291st and 1430th Motor Rifle Regiments, each roughly as powerful as a Ukrainian brigade.

Ukrainian forces for weeks have had Robotyne under artillery fire control. But now they’ve had human spotters on the ground inside the city, meaning the artillery could get a lot more accurate.

Expect Ukrainian operations around Robotyne to escalate in coming days. Maybe the 47th, 65th and 118th Mechanized Brigades drive at the city itself. Maybe they flank, bypass and cut off the city and its garrison.

Either way, the long fight for Robotyne could culminate soon. The possible culmination comes at the same time the Ukrainian marine corps is moving on Urozhaine, a Russian strongpoint in the Mokri Yaly River Valley, 50 miles to the west of Robotyne. That valley is the gateway to Russian-occupied Mariupol, another top objective of Ukraine’s counteroffensive.

If Ukrainian forces can liberate or bypass Robotyne and travel another 15 miles south along the T0408, they’ll reach Tokmak. Travel 30 miles farther, and they’ll arrive at Melitopol.

Those 45 miles are daunting for the Ukrainians, to say the least. But an advance of 45 miles starts with a few hundred yards. And Ukrainian scouts already have taken those first steps.