Day 257: November 07Today the Russian army faced massive problems. In the aftermath of their disastrous offensive operation in the southern part of the Donetsk region, the Russian marines of the 155th marine brigade suffered extremely high losses and refused to continue this suicide operation.The operation was started on 28 October with massive artillery preparation. On 29 October, the Russians launched a ground attack on Pavlivka. The Russians managed to exploit the element of surprise and took away from the unprepared Ukrainians approximately half of the village. From here, they immediately received reinforcement and tried to develop their offensive further.But the Ukrainians weren’t surprised and unprepared because they couldn’t decipher from the artillery preparation that something big was coming. They were surprised because it was stupid.Pavlivka is located at a lower altitude than Vuhledar. On top of that, there are many tall buildings that the Ukrainians use to control every move inside Pavlivka, where all the houses and other obstacles are relatively sparsely located. The eastern part of Pavlivla was simply untenable because the streets faced Vuhledar, and everything was in direct fire control. The northern part of the village is also untenable because it is too close to Vulhedar. So, the Russians got stuck in the southeastern part of the village and quickly realized that this was a mistake.To circumvent the problem, the Russian command quickly launched a supporting attack in the direction of Vodiane. This was a desperate move rather than a planned attack. There was no artillery preparation, they just launched into the fields but quickly got stuck and lost even more men.The Russian commanders tried to pivot once again and, leveraging these meager gains, shifted focus to Novomykhailivka. They tried to enter Novomykhailivka from several sides, but all their attempts failed. Nonetheless, they published a report saying that everything was going according to the plan and that they had already established total fire control over the village. Everything went sideways when the Ukrainians launched a counterattack and pushed the Russians back to their initial positions. And no wonder. These are some of the most fortified and powerful positions that the Russians couldn’t penetrate since the beginning of the war. It was reckless to assume that this defense line could be breached casually.In the meantime, Russian marines in Pavlivka were waiting for the developments in the north. They expected a successful attack from the north to fix Ukrainian troops in Vuhledar and give them room for maneuver. The tension among the marines increased when they saw that the second group had failed. Then the Russian Ministry of Defense reported that they destroyed a Ukrainian reinforcement in Vuhledar, preventing a future counterattack. But when on the next day, the Ukrainians launched a counterattack nonetheless, and the Russians were completely defeated, the tension reached a tipping point.The marines wrote a letter to the governor asking to persecute the generals who were responsible for planning this suicide operation. In their letter, they mention that in 4 days, they lost about 300 troops. 300 troops is a half of a tactical battalion group. They also said that they lost half of their equipment. They accused their commanders of hiding the real losses for fear of responsibility, and they said they want an independent operation inspector because they do not trust the Russian Ministry of Defense.Since this case got leaked and exposed, it gathered a lot of media attention and discussion. Many Russian soldiers are catching the wave and openly turning against their generals. The tension inside the Russian army reaches all-time highs. If Russian commanders consider professional marines as cannon fodder, then what does it mean for the newly mobilized personnel? This situation can backfire in the most unexpected ways possible. If you are against the invasion of Ukraine and want to support the work that I am doing, consider making a purchase in the online store UA Supporter. Here you can find a lot of products with Ukrainian symbols, to not only show your support for this channel, but also for Ukraine.