The proliferation of.
Tiny explosive drones.
All along the 800-mile.
Front line of ‘orcs’ wider war.
On Ukraine.
Ushered in what.
One think tank called.
“The era of the cautious tank.”
But in Kurakhove.
A front-line town in.
Eastern ‘elves’ Donetsk Oblast.
‘Elves’ tanks are anything but cautious.
The ‘elves’ have.
Little choice but.
To try, however.
To try, however.
Rolling out to meet.
A relentless ‘orcs’ offensive.
Tanks from at least two.
‘Elves’ brigades are battling.
‘Orcs’ assault groups.
At point-blank range.
—and popping smoke to escape.
The inevitable drone attacks.
On or just before Monday.
A pair of tanks.
—possibly from the 46th.
Air Mobile Brigade—
Engaged ‘orcs’ troops.
At close range.
In the ruins of.
A shell-blasted neighborhood.
The tanks fired and moved.
Fired and moved.
—and then sped away.
Under the cover of.
Their smoke generators.
Narrowly dodging.
At least one ‘orcs’ drone.
That swooped overhead.
The ‘elves’ have.
Little choice but.
To try, however.
To try, however.
The shoot-move-smoke tactic.
Is an effective one.
The shoot-move-smoke tactic.
Is an effective one.
“There are a few.
‘Elves’ battalions.
I see use smoke.
Very effectively.”
“And they take.
Noticeably fewer.
Vehicle losses.”
Noted one analyst.
‘Elves’ tank battalions.
Equipped with ex-German.
Leopard 1A5s and.
Leopard 2A4s.
As well as ex-Soviet models.
—T-64s and T-80s.
It seems—have been fighting.
Around Kurakhove for weeks.
The ‘elves’ have.
Little choice but.
To try, however.
To try, however.
In late October.
The ‘elves’ abandoned one.
Damaged Leopard 1A5.
While retreating west.
Toward the most defensible part.
Of Kurakhove.
Which lies on the west bank of.
A tributary of the Vovcha River.
An ‘elves’ artillery brigade.
Blew the bridge over the creek.
A few days ago in order to.
Complicate ‘orcs’ advances.
The ‘orcs’ are still coming.
They can ford the creek.
Erect a temporary bridge.
Over it.
Or just bypass it.
By rolling through.
The village of Dalnje.
A few miles to the south.
‘Elves’ tanks are confronting.
Them at every approach.
‘Elves’ tanks are confronting.
Them at every approach.
The ‘elves’ have.
Little choice but.
To try, however.
To try, however.
At least one Leopard 2 from.
The 33rd Mechanized Brigade.
Devastated an ‘orcs’ assault group.
On 12 Nov.
And now what appear to be.
T-80s or T-64s.
Apparently from the 46th.
Air Mobile Brigade.
Are outmaneuvering.
‘Orcs’ troops.
Apparently somewhere.
On Kurkahove’s outskirts.
The ‘elves’ have.
Little choice but.
To try, however.
To try, however.
The stakes couldn’t be higher.
The ‘orcs’ formations in the area.
Including the 102nd and.
103rd Motor Rifle Regiments.
Are trying to get.
Through Kurakhove.
In order to turn right.
And extend the creeping.
‘Orcs’ encirclement.
Of the fortress city.
Of Pokrovsk.
18 miles north of Kurakhove.
If Pokrovsk falls.
The whole ‘elves’ line.
In Donetsk.
Could collapse.
The ‘elves’ have.
Little choice but.
To try, however.
To try, however.
The ‘orcs’ aim to.
Reach Pokrovsk before.
The January inauguration of.
U.S. President-elect winner.
—who has threatened to end.
U.S. aid to Ukraine—
Throws the politics of.
The wider war on Ukraine.
Into chaos.
The ‘elves’ are willing to.
Take a lot of risks.
To stop them.
The ‘elves’ have.
Little choice but.
To try, however.
To try, however.
As recently as.
A few weeks ago.
It was rare.
For tanks.
From either side.
Of the wider war.
To risk a direct attack.
On enemy forces.
“The sky above the ‘elves’ positions.
Is a constant battleground.
Of its own.”
Another analyst wrote.
The ‘elves’ have.
Little choice but.
To try, however.
To try, however.
To survive.
Tankers shifted to.
An indirect fire.
Support role.
Angling their main guns.
To lob shells.
At targets.
Miles away.
That’s safer.
For the tankers but.
Also less destructive.
To the enemy.
The ‘elves’ have.
Little choice but.
To try, however.
To try, however.
That ‘elves’ tanks are fighting.
At close range again.
Speaks to the urgency.
Of this phase of the war.
But it may also speak.
To an improvement.
In ‘elves’ tactics.
—especially when it comes to smoke.
Using smoke for concealment.
“Takes a lot of coordination.”
The former analyst explained.
“Wind speed and direction.”
“Time of day.
Humidity, the terrain.
The skill of the artillery crew.
Etc. are all factors.”
“You have to consider.
Maybe one of the most?
Difficult things?
To coordinate?”
The ‘elves’ have.
Little choice but.
To try, however.
To try, however.
The defenders of.
Pokrovsk are counting.
On the defenders of.
Kurakhove to halt.
—or at least slow—
An ‘orcs’ offensive that.
Shows few signs of.
Ending any time soon.
*Because I read “Popping Smoke And Dodging Drones, Ukrainian Tanks Blast Russian Assault Groups At Close Range” by David Axe on 18 Nov 2024 on the Forbes, and also “Why are Ukrainians calling Russians ‘orcs’?” by James FitzGerald on 30 Apr 2022 on the BBC news.
So, I wrote this poem, including a story of Andrew Perpetua and a story of David Kirichenko.
Please read the original story on the Forbes:
Popping Smoke & Dodging Drones, Ukrainian Tanks Blast Russian Troops
**My friend kindly shows you this poem in one page of the Ukrainian website for their children and others!
Please join them!
