A Ukrainian company fell into a Russian ambush with far superior numbers, suffering heavy casualties, in an attack on the village of Ivanovka near Kupyansk due to incorrect information.
Ukrainian media recently revealed a military blunder near Kupyansk in the Kharkiv region. The incident caused significant losses to the Ukrainian military, with many soldiers killed in action and several bodies left behind.
According to officials, the failure of the battle was primarily due to command errors, including reckless actions, lack of accuracy in planning and reconnaissance, underestimation of the strength and weaponry of the Russian forces.
The Ukrainian website Vіyskova Analytika reported that a company of the Ukrainian Army, under the command of a battalion commander, initially planned to conduct a raid on the village of Ivanovka, 30 km east of Kupyansk.
Intelligence provided by Ukrainian military intelligence before the operation indicated that the village was only garrisoned by 10 to 15 Russian soldiers and that they were not equipped with armored vehicles.
Based on this intelligence, the commander of the Kupyansk front of the Kiev forces confidently promised to use electronic warfare means to suppress Russian drones, ensuring a smooth battle.
However, the reality was significantly different from the reconnaissance information provided to the unit by their superiors. When Ukrainian soldiers entered Ivanovka, they were surprised to find around 100 to 150 Russian soldiers waiting in ambush, far exceeding the previous estimate.
To their further surprise, the Russians also had two infantry fighting vehicles and a tank in Ivanovka for support. Additionally, the electronic warfare suppression as initially promised did not materialize as expected. Russian UAVs took absolute dominance and launched a fierce attack.
In the ensuing firefight, the Ukrainian forces suffered heavy casualties. According to statistics, a total of 5 soldiers were killed and 11 others were wounded in the battle.
Faced with the overwhelming firepower and tanks of the Russians, the Ukrainian soldiers tried to resist without any fortifications. Eventually, under continuous artillery fire, the survivors had difficulty recovering the bodies of their comrades and could only evacuate the battlefield on the fourth day after calling their superiors to report the situation.
After the failed battle, Oleg Tkachenko, an officer of the counterattack unit, made a public statement in which he not only informed the Ukrainian media about the heavy casualties caused by the “stupid” attack near Kupyansk but also accused his commanders of “rash attacks, inaccurate planning and reporting of operational information, underestimation of the enemy’s forces and weapons.”
Several Ukrainian media outlets immediately published angry articles about the Ivanovka attack based on Oleg Tkachenko’s information, causing heavy casualties to the Ukrainian forces and stirring up public opinion in Ukraine.
Vіyskova Analytika wrote: “The commander of the counterattack planned the battle extremely carelessly, the intelligence was inaccurate and there was no electronic warfare support, the Russian UAVs were not blocked and they completely dominated the sky. As a result, the attack failed.”
A Ukrainian military analyst – who previously served as an officer and instructor at the Yavorov Training Center – harshly criticized the unit commander in the Ivanovka attack, highlighting the problems faced by the Kiev forces when attacking Russian defensive positions.
According to him, the narrative about the widespread use of Ukrainian drones, as a key factor in the Ukrainian army’s ability to repel Russian attacks, is not in line with reality.
However, according to some independent experts, in the aforementioned unsuccessful attack, the Ukrainian Army did use electronic warfare, but it was immediately destroyed by the Russians with precise firepower.
The lack of accurate intelligence was due to the fact that the Russians in Ivanovka were so well disguised and feinted that Ukrainian reconnaissance vehicles and forces could not pinpoint their exact location.
This incident, although not causing too many casualties, was certainly a blow to the Kiev forces. It not only exposed the shortcomings of the Ukrainian military in gathering and analyzing intelligence but also reflected the mistakes of the commanders in planning operations and making decisions.
