Ukraine’s east buckling under improved Russian tactics, superior firepower

The Ukrainian soldiers felt like they had done everything right. After raking the two squads of attacking Russian troops with their automatic grenade launchers, they sent in the attack drones to pick off the survivors.

But what happened next turned the battle into a math problem. More enemy soldiers arrived, some in armored vehicles. Russian support fire with drones and artillery poured down on the outgunned Ukrainians, said Andrii Bilozir, the senior sergeant for the unit’s first battalion. The soldiers of the 33rd Mechanized Brigade had to withdraw.