Sorry for not replying sooner, but life gets in the way. The situation in East Ukraine has still not resolved to the point that I am able to determine whether the sudden maneuver by the Ukrainian mechanized group that attacked cross-country on July 27 between the key cross-roads town of Debaltseve in the north towards Shakhtarsk in the south has had its intended impact. By the morning hours of July 28th the separatists were able to pry open the east-west roadway in Shakhtarsk and to push back the Ukrainians to both the southern as well as the northern outskirts of the town. Ukrainian losses in armored vehicles due to fighting in urban terrain against short range anti-tank weapons appear to have been fairly heavy. However, Russian claims to have destroyed upwards to 125 vehicles are unconfirmed. Photographic evidence shows a few burnt out BTRs and BMPs. If claims of a modern day Prokhorovka (WWII Battle of Kursk encounter) are to be true, then one would expect video of a field of destroyed tanks by now, but none have appeared in the internet. Even if the Russians have reopened the road towards Luhansk, the road link to the city of Donetsk through Shakhtarsk is tenuous at best; the Ukrainians have the ability to interdict much of the traffic with artillery. Based on accounts by separatist eyewitnesses, a portion of the Ukrainian armored column bisected the east-west road on July 27th and raced southeast to attack Saur-Mohyla mountain from the north; that is from behind of the defenses facing Ukrainian forces to the south (which are currently trapped along the Russian border). However, many armored vehicles were disabled by dense minefields as the Ukrainians attacked up the reverse slope of the mountain. Then the Russians hit them with artillery. Enough infantry dismounted to reach the top in order to seize the mountain, or at least a portion of it. For the last three days, both sides claim to control Saur-Mohyla and concede that the opposite side is fighting very hard to recapture it. According to Ukrainian reports, the separatists are supported by heavy arty and rocket fire from across the border, no more than 8 kilometers to the south. Fresh Ukrainian airborne troops from the 95th brigade and tank support from a company of tanks from the 30th mech brigade are fighting but partially surrounded at Stepanivka, just east of Saur-Mohyla. It seems that any attempt by one side to outflank the other results in a new encirclement. Reportedly, some but not all of the surrounded brigades along the Russian border have been resupplied and a few units have been rotated out and replaced by fresh troops. In an attempt to maintain the initiative, the Ukrainians started a limited offensive to block the same east-west road to Donetsk at Khartsysk, west of their recent breakthrough towards Shakhtarsk and closer to Donetsk. They made some headway (up to Ilyowsk) but are still some 5 kilometers south of the road. Not to be outdone, the separatists have sent long range raiding parties to attack north-east of Debaltseve, to threaten the line of communications of the armored group that attacked recently towards Shakhtarsk. This is a whirlwind campaign where the Ukrainians constantly seek open country for maneuver while the Russians react by forcing the Ukes into positional warfare, preferably in urban terrain. As stated by me previously, all depends on whether the Russians can maintain the rate of reinforcement and resupply over the border near Luhansk (actually towards Krasnodon). One last comment about Outlaw 09's snippet regarding Lt. General Victor Muzhenko, Ukr. Chief of the General Staff, leading the armored maneuver group in a tank. This report is unconfirmed. In the first days of July, when the Ukrainians began this campaign to clear the Donbas, Muzhenko was not Chief of the General Staff. He was merely the commander of the East Ukrainian theater of operations. Reportedly, he led a battalion of the 79th airmobile brigade in an attack up Saur-Mohyla mountain, as a preliminary attack before the Ukrainians sent troops to seal off the border (these three brigades eventually were surrounded and had to dig in). The attack on July 1 to take Saur-Mohyla failed, despite Muzhenko's personal involvement. Perhaps the earlier incident is now mistakenly attributed to the maneuver on Shakhtarsk two days ago. Either way, Muzhenko is quite the "fighting general." The Ukrainians better hope he survives. Muzhenko may be the closest reincarnation of Heinz Guderian, George Patton and/or Ariel Sharon, anywhere today. Where would they be in this war without him?