From "The Analyst":
IVANISKE TURNS INTO RUSSIAN FAILURE
The devastated ruined village, long a target for the Russians, became a graveyard. It’s a crucial point in the defence of Chasiv Yar.
Sat in a geographical dip with Ukrainians either side of it on higher ground, the grey zone of the village, so ruined by Russian artillery and aerial glide bombs that its little more than dust, has nowhere to hide. Every time the Russians tried to enter it they were mowed down by Ukrainian defenders on the higher ground.
The Russians had tried the same tactics on the defenders, repeatedly shelling and then storming their positions to no avail.
As a result the Russians, having failed to get around the northern sector of the front, tried to get around the southern one. This would allow them to get behind the forest and trap the defenders.
The Russians poured a lot of forces into this effort, advancing as much as 2km towards the forest, but it was heavy going and they stalled, unable to progress. They over extended their lines and couldn’t maintain the advance, which conversely means they also couldn’t easily sustain a defence when the counterattack came.
The Ukrainian 93rd Mechanised Brigade released a lot of drone video showing their successes taking down dozens upon dozens of groups of soldiers.
The devastation caused the Russians to withdraw as soon as the counterattack came, pushing them all the way back to their start lines, their operation a total failure.
The Russians simply underestimated the ability of the Ukrainian defences and their capacity to counteract their moves - overconfidence and bad generalship once again leading to disaster. Casualties were in the thousands over several days along with substantial equipment losses.
The Russians have run out of steam to attack their main goal of Chasiv Yar. The speed of their attacks has consumed most of their assault and vehicle capabilities, forcing a culmination of their activities for at least the next several weeks.
Spring mud will soon be upon the front, and the Ukrainians will gain time to build and finalise their defence lines.
They have learnt from the Russians that preparing strong defences delays and can even cripple, the most well equipped offensives.
By the time Russian forces try again, the air war will have changed again and defences will be prepared.
Slava Ukraini 🇺🇦!