So far, the Ukrainians have not started firing at the pontoon bridge, but it is probably only a matter of time. This will be a big problem for the Russians, because they do not have many PMP-M systems that would be able to provide adequate supply capacity to the fighters and at the same time allow for evacuation.
Floating bridges won’t save the army
PMP-M is an abbreviation of the name of the complex: pontoon and bridge park – modernized. It comes directly from a bridge built shortly before World War II. At that time, the Red Army was one of the best prepared for operations on inland waters. And the modernized PMP is still a very good crossing complex.
The fleet consists of 32 pontoon trucks, four with bridge piers, two with rolling tracks, 16 BMK-150M tugboats and one repair truck. The Russians manage to create seven sets of them with different characteristics and carrying capacities – from 20 to 170 tons and lengths from 13 to 382 meters. The shape of the crossing depends on the depth, width and speed of the river current.
The Sejm River is not the calmest. In this section, the current is 40-60 meters wide and about two meters deep on average. In addition, it has a very wide valley, full of marginal lakes and swamps that make it impossible to move heavy equipment. The Russians must therefore choose the locations to build the crossing very carefully and do not have much choice.. They placed themselves against the wall.
The Russians are taken prisoner
The Russian command noted the maneuver of Ukrainian forces towards Koreniewo and Lubinovka, but concluded that the Ukrainian group attacking from the northwest did not have sufficient strength to achieve its objectives, in particular to reach the Sejm River line. And basically did nothing to support the troops fighting in this direction. Now, about 2-3 thousand people remain in the isolated part of the Kursk Oblast. soldiers and several thousand civilians.
The generals may have been influenced by the assurances of Colonel Mahomed Tushayev, commander of the 141st special motorized regiment. AA Kadyrov. He assured on social media that the Chechen prisoners shown in the Ukrainian media were not Chechens, but actors, and that only three Chechens were caught and taken prisoner. However, in another recording he stated that if someone fell into slavery, he could no longer be called a Chechen, because a Chechen does not surrender to slavery.
This is how he solved the problem of Chechen prisoners. There was still the problem of conscripts who were taken prisoner. This is a big image problem, because the people captured were mainly teenagers who were sent to the army in the fall of last year and in the spring of this year. They were soldiers who were undergoing training as part of their compulsory military service.
This has caused a stir in Russia. These are not protests yet, but there are already unfavorable comments sent to the Ministry of Defense. President Vladimir Putin promised that the boys would not fight against Ukraine, but instead they are enslaved in large numbers.
The Ukrainians officially admitted to capturing a hundred prisoners. Unofficially, there are many more. One of the Russian officials wrote in the Telegram messenger that “2,000 of our people were taken prisoner. The post disappeared soon after along with the account.
The situation is serious because for the first time during a large-scale war, the Kremlin has asked for the possibility of exchanging prisoners and has begun negotiations. This was stated by the chairman of the Council of Reservists of the Ukrainian Ground Forces, Sergeant Iwan Tymoczko, who, as part of his duties, also monitors the movement of prisoners of war.
Will the Ukrainians shut up shop?
For now, the Ukrainians are advancing slowly towards the river. In two days they have gained less than 3 km of ground. This is because they are carrying out another rotation of front-line troops. Mobile groups operate in the depths, setting traps, destroying convoys and capturing prisoners. Greater progress has been made north and east of Suja.
Once the rotation is complete, the pace of the attack may increase. Then the Ukrainians will have two options regarding troops.who got stuck between the Sejm River and the border with Ukraine. Either they will start to eliminate them systematically, step by step, or they will leave them to their own devices, just isolate them from the rear and regularly attack them with drones, so as not to endanger the health and lives of their own soldiers.
