On Friday, May 27, the Russian Defense Ministry announced new exploits of the Russian military during a special operation to protect the civilian population of Donbass.
The department spoke about the high professionalism of the deputy commander of the artillery brigade, Lieutenant Colonel Dmitry Zharkikh, thanks to which three howitzer self-propelled artillery mounts, two pickup trucks with mortars mounted on them, one armored personnel carrier and about 30 nationalists were destroyed. Zharkikh personally carried out the adjustment of fire on the armed formation of nationalists.
As emphasized in the Russian Defense Ministry, the lieutenant colonel’s skillful leadership of his subordinates made it possible to fulfill all the assigned combat missions of the artillery brigade in a given direction.
The department under the command of Sergeant Viktor Pykhtin, continued in the defense department, carried out the task of reconnaissance of the area near the positions of the Russian group of troops. At night, when the squad was advancing along the forest belt, the sergeant discovered a group of nationalists armed with three grenade launchers, a machine gun, and small arms, and immediately decided to attack the militants.
Pykhtin was one of the first to engage in battle with the nationalists and destroyed the enemy’s machine-gun crew. In total, the squad killed more than 10 militants that night. The surviving nationalists escaped by fleeing the battlefield.
As specified in the Russian Ministry of Defense, with his decisive and professional actions, Sergeant Pykhtin ensured the security of the place of deployment of the grouping of the Russian Armed Forces.
Guards Sergeant Nikolay Romanenko, as part of a battalion-tactical group of the Russian Armed Forces, carried out the task of liberating one of the settlements from armed formations of radical Ukrainian nationalists. The department said that a battle broke out on the outskirts of the city, while Romanenko directed the fire of subordinate marines.
Thanks to high command qualities and excellent knowledge of combat tactics, the guard sergeant competently built a fire system taking into account the terrain and determined the firing sectors, thereby depriving the enemy of the possibility of retreat.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Defense added, the command of the nationalists tried to transport ammunition and weapons to the militants in the village. Noticing an enemy convoy moving to help the defending militants, Romanenko hit an enemy truck with ammunition with accurate fire from the armament of an infantry fighting vehicle, as a result of the explosion, one infantry fighting vehicle and more than five nationalists were destroyed by flying projectiles. The guard sergeant himself, concluded in the ministry, was awarded the Order of Courage.
Earlier, on May 26, the official representative of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Major General Igor Konashenkov, said that over the past day, Russian troops had hit 48 areas of concentration of manpower and military equipment of the Armed Forces of Ukraine with high-precision air-launched missiles. He added that in the area of Nikolaevka, Russian troops destroyed the Ukrainian launcher of the Osa-AKM anti-aircraft missile system. While in the Chuguev region of the Kharkiv region, the radar for illumination and guidance of the Ukrainian S-300 anti-aircraft missile system was destroyed.
The day before, the Izvestia film crew filmed how the residents of Svetlodarsk celebrate the liberation of the city from the armed forces of Ukraine (AFU).
On February 24, Russia announced the start of a special operation to protect Donbass. The operation began against the backdrop of the situation in the Donbass that worsened in mid-February. The authorities of the DPR and LPR reported increased shelling by Ukrainian troops, announced the evacuation of civilians in the Russian Federation and asked for recognition of independence. On February 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a corresponding decree.