Advanced high
tech weapons,
battle tanks, armored vehicles,
even long range missiles
have been flowing into Ukraine ahead
of a major counter-offensive.
But many Ukrainians fighters
on the front line
have little more than an odd,
mismatched collection of both old
and new weapons.
As CNN's Nic Robertson reports,
the necessity of war
has been some remarkable innovation
Everything about this attack
is unconventional.
A 1950s anti-aircraft gun fired flat
and the drone operator next to it
guiding the shots
old and new Fuzed as one.
The target, a Russian base
a mile away beneath two white towers.
Easy for the drone to see.
Becoming an easy a shot
for the gun to leap.
We learned how to fire this ancient
cast-Iron gun from hidden positions.
Callsign Al says they broadcast the video
on our tablet
and we can see where we hit.
It allows us to aim very fast
and precisely
it's real shoot and scoot stuff.
They've been on the position
less than 5 minutes.
They're getting out
before the Russians
can get a bearing on them and fire back
nearby.
A smaller gun.
More improvization.
More shoot and scoot.
For much of Ukraine's long front lines,
hits and run
is how troops probe
for Russian weaknesses
and an opening
for the long expected counteroffensive.
It's not like just like hey, we're going.
No.
It's got to be a specific time
when all the situation is good
and we have advantage for it.
Do you feel that's close Yeah.
Yeah, definitely.
How close?
It's pretty close.
It's what commanders have been saying
for a while. Reality.
Right now, it's
cat and mouse hiding, waiting, watching
Russians
understands
that we will concentrate our forces.
They try to hit us march so we,
you know, not together,
not to accumulate the forces,
but on a daily basis.
We have a new formation of changes
in the tactics, changes
and operations, changes in the situation.
The lessons of Ukraine's recent
small gains around back
put Russia regroups, fast steps
up, shelling
rapidly reinforces with troops
from other front lines,
meaning smaller
attacks can create opportunity.
When the big counteroffensive comes,
the Ukrainians will need to muster
as much firepower as they can.
Even old equipment like this
to pull down the Russians
before they can send their own troops in.
Only smartly used
sustained
and overwhelming force will win.
And even then, there is no guarantee.
Nic Robertson, CNN, Eastern Ukraine.
The head of the Russian
mercenary group
Volga
is reacting to the cross-border attack
by anti-Putin.
Russian groups
saying he doesn't believe Russian defense forces
are ready to resist those fighters
even on Russian soil.
If Unification says
while he believes
his army is the best in the world,
he acknowledged
the Ukrainian army
has put up a fierce fight
and is one of the strongest around.
CNN's Salma Abdel-Aziz
joins us now here in London.
Some of this reminds me
almost of Machiavellian principles
of exaggerating the enemy
or bringing them up,
if you will, struggling against them.
But what can we learn from
the latest we've heard from Prigozhin?
I guess you could say he's
picking them up,
but in a way,
you could also look
at the facts on the ground, which is that
Russia has fought
for the city of Bermuda,
for the area of Bermuda,
this very tiny,
insignificant, at least strategic
wise place for months now.
And yes, they're claiming
that they have control of it,
but Ukrainian forces
are still very much on the ground
and not being able to claim
that win
for the Russian military is significant.
And Prigozhin has time and time again,
this is not unique, as we know,
pointed to the Russian defense ministry,
criticize them
accuse them
of not providing ammunition
on the ground, calling
senior officials
in Russia fat cats
who are sitting in their luxury offices.
And yet again, he's
using this opportunity
and Belgorod
to point out weaknesses
he sees in the Russian military.
He sort of asks
this question
that I think we're all asking,
how was the Russian border breached?
How was this
incursion allowed to take place?
Our forces stretched
so thin that Russia's border
and a very important border
remember, Belgorod is right
on that border with Ukraine.
It's being used in military operations.
How is that allowed to happen?
That just a small handful
of these two Russian national groups.
Yes.
Backed by his defense forces,
again, we're talking about
two small groups
were able to enter this territory
and cause what Moscow called deep concern
launched an anti terror operation
for civilians out.
I mean, it's extraordinary.
And the question really is here,
he has distanced themselves
from from this attack,
saying that these Russian
nationals acted independently.
The question is,
is this one message and it has been sent
or are we going to see more
of these brazen ground assaults
Sam, thank you.