[Military Hotspots]The Russian pilot’s parachute jumping moment after the Russian army’s retreating pontoon was bombed | Russian Army | Kherson | West Bank of the Dnieper River

[The Epoch Times, October 25, 2022]Russian troops are withdrawing from the west bank of the Dnieper in Kherson. Under the constant pressure of the Ukrainian counter-offensive, the positions of the Russian forces have become difficult to hold. The retreating Russian troops need to cross the Dnieper River, which is about one kilometer wide, and bridges are a necessary condition to ensure the retreat. The Antonovsky Bridge, the main route for road transport in the region, has been partially destroyed by Ukrainian long-range fire and is rendered impassable. To get around the bridge, which has become an obstacle to movement, the Russian army built another pontoon next to the badly damaged Antonovsky Bridge. But this does not seem to ensure that the Russian troops in the West Bank can withdraw all their weapons and equipment in a timely and orderly manner.

Ukrainian troops have targeted and attacked temporary Russian pontoon bridges. Late at night on October 20, local time, Ukrainian forces attacked a key crossing on the Dnieper River and may continue to attack the bridges in follow-up operations. Video from the scene showed that a temporary pontoon bridge just built in Russia was one of the targets of the attack. The pontoon, a series of barges lined up together, was completed on October 18 and was seen as a key passage for Russian supply lines and possible retreat routes in Kherson. Because the Antonovsky Bridge next to it acts as a cover, it will cause certain difficulties for the Ukrainian army to attack the pontoon bridge.

Russia’s military used heavy Soviet-era barge bridges in what may be the first time in decades that the Russian military has needed to make use of this type of bridge, Britain’s military intelligence agency said in its latest assessment of the war. Because the Russian army has lost a lot of military bridge equipment and engineering personnel during the invasion. This kind of pontoon built using civilian barges is likely to be a backup means for the Russian army to evacuate heavy equipment.

If the barge bridge is also damaged, it is almost certain that Russia will seek to repair or replace the damaged part quickly, as their troops and the crossing on the Dnieper face increasing pressure in Kherson, the OMI added. pressure.

Ukrainian troops attacked the Antonovsky Bridge near the border crossing, Natalia Humeniuk, spokesman for the Operational Command of Southern Ukraine (OCS), confirmed. The Operational Command of Southern Ukraine said on its Facebook page that Russian forces were trying to use the movement of civilians at the crossing to cover the transfer of their equipment. While transporting large quantities of military equipment, they continued to evacuate local civilians, including those who drove away themselves, knowing that the Ukrainian armed forces would not strike civilians.

The attack came two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin declared martial law, as Moscow’s local government began an all-out effort to evacuate tens of thousands of residents and took the opportunity to prepare for an offensive by Ukrainian forces.

Earlier, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned that Russia had mines the Kakovka hydroelectric dam upstream of Kherson. The American War Institute believes that Russia is planning the move as a cover for their withdrawal from Kherson.

While civilians are being evacuated, Russia is sending 2,000 more recently mobilized troops to the region as reinforcements, the Southern Ukraine Combat Command said.

Ukraine has been cautious about its southern counteroffensive. On October 21, Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the Ukrainian presidential office, said that Ukraine had liberated 88 villages in the counteroffensive in Kherson. Ukrainian forces have disrupted a passage across the Dnieper River Antonovsky Bridge and its upstream dam, making them impassable, with the aim of disrupting Russian supply lines near the crossing. Obviously, the attack of the Ukrainian Haimas rocket has achieved part of its intention.

The destruction of the Antonovsky Bridge prevented the passage of heavy equipment of the Russian army, but personnel and light weapons should not be greatly affected. The purpose of building the pontoon bridge is to leave a way for the evacuation of heavy equipment.

In this war, in addition to heavy casualties, Russia also suffered heavy equipment losses, especially the heavy losses suffered by the Russian Air Force. On the afternoon of October 23, a video was released on social media, showing the moment when a Russian Su-25 frogfoot close air support plane was shot down by the pilot ejecting and escaping, giving us a chance to see from the pilot’s point of view. Incredible picture.

The moment the Su-25 was hit, the pilot’s helmet camera recorded a dramatic picture of his ejection and escape. The plane was allegedly shot down by Ukraine’s ground-based anti-aircraft fire this summer. This video comes from the Russian Fighter Telegram channel.

The frogfoot pilot was just a few hundred feet away from the plane when the plane was hit. In the video, the plane dives violently after losing control, before launching the ejection sequence. We saw the rear of the plane as the pilot exited the plane in a Zvezda K-36 ejection seat. Its vertical stabilizer nearly disappeared, its horizontal stabilizer was damaged, and its engines caught fire. You can also see the canopy of the plane that came off.

Before the parachute landed, the Su-25 could be seen from the pilot’s perspective exploding over a field in the distance. Against the background of the blue sky, the originally unbelievable violent scene instantly transitioned to an indescribable calm. You can even hear the sound of an aircraft somewhere nearby, possibly his wingman, and you can see in the video billowing plumes of smoke rising from where the Su-25 was flying in the distance. The entire video looks like a game screen, but it’s a real event happening in the real world. From the pilot realizing the danger, to the landing of the parachute and the explosion of the plane, the whole process only took a dozen seconds.

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion, the frogman attack aircraft has been the main force used by both sides for ground attacks. Due to the performance and mission characteristics of these aircraft, their mission flight is limited to low-altitude, low-speed high-risk areas, so the Su-25 is also the aircraft with the highest rate of battle damage in this conflict. Another problem is the quality of the pilots. The qualifications, capabilities and experience of Russian pilots on a relatively low-performance combat aircraft such as the Su-25 are also very questionable. In fact, this type of aircraft also suffered a lot of non-combat losses. An independent analysis by the Oryx website shows that 26 Su-25s were among the only visually confirmed losses of Russian equipment during the conflict. So far, the Su-25 is the jet fixed-wing aircraft with the highest rate of damage in the Russian army.

The Ukrainian Ministry of Defense’s battle report as of October 23 shows that about 67,470 Russian troops were killed (about three times the number of wounded), 270 fighters, attack and transport aircraft, 245 attack and transport helicopters, 2,584 tanks. , 1,667 artillery pieces, 5,284 armoured personnel carriers and infantry fighting vehicles, 374 multiple rocket systems (MLRS), 16 warships, 4,039 cars and tankers, 189 anti-aircraft batteries, 1,361 tactical unmanned aerial systems, 148 special equipment platforms and 4 mobile Iskander ballistic missile systems were destroyed; 350 cruise missiles were also shot down by Ukrainian air defense forces.

There have been many reports of Iranian military aid to Russia. Iranian drones have been deployed across Ukraine over the past few days after the Russian military used Iranian drones, particularly the Shahed-136 loitering munition drone, to attack Ukrainian population centers and critical infrastructure. Its existence is no longer known.

Cooperation with Tehran shows that Moscow is being marginalized by the international community. White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the fact that Iran was supplying Moscow with weapons systems showed that both Russia and Iran were isolated and had to rely on each other. They continue to lie to the world, but the truth is clear. Kirby added that the supreme leader should answer why he had Iran directly involved in the war in Ukraine and by providing weapons to help Russia kill civilians and destroy civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. This is just another example of Iran’s desire to export violence, for which both Iran and Russia are responsible.

Russian Defense Minister Shoigu spoke with several NATO defense ministers on October 23, claiming that Ukraine was preparing to use a dirty bomb (a conventional explosive laced with radioactive material, not a nuclear weapon) for a fake attack, and then blamed Russia for using mass destruction. sexual weapons.

Representatives of the United States, Britain and Ukraine have all denied and condemned Shoigu’s false allegations. An analysis by the Institute for War Studies believes that Russia may try to suspend or delay Western military aid to Ukraine, thereby dividing and weakening the NATO alliance.

Written by:Mount Charlotte(A reporter from The Epoch Times, who has lived in the military for more than ten years, mainly engaged in military teaching and some technical management work)
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