Battlefield Atlas
Russo-Ukrainian War · 2023 Free to explore

Mala Tokmachka and Robotyne, 2023

On 24 February 2022 Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, eight years after seizing Crimea and backing armed groups in Donbas; on 2 March 2022 the UN General Assembly deplored 'the aggression by the Russian Federation against Ukraine' and demanded withdrawal (Resolution ES-11/1, 141-5). Russian forces occupied the area in the first days of the invasion. In June 2023 Ukraine opened its southern counteroffensive to retake its own territory, with the Orikhiv axis toward Tokmak and Melitopol as a main effort. The first armored assault, by the new 47th Mechanized Brigade near Mala Tokmachka on 7-8 June, stalled in dense minefields under missile, artillery and helicopter fire, and its losses of Bradleys and Leopard 2s were filmed and publicized. Ukraine switched to slow dismounted assaults, broke through the first Russian line and took the village of Robotyne in late August, then pushed toward Verbove, where armor crossed the anti-tank ditches in September. The breakthrough was never exploited: Russia reinforced with airborne divisions, and its layered defense, mines and drones held the line short of Tokmak. Loss figures are claims or estimates, attributed in the captions; front lines and unit positions are our own approximate placements, checked against ISW, DeepState and geolocated footage but not copied from them.

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Flag over Robotyne's school
Flag over Robotyne's school — 47th Mechanized Brigade, CC BY 4.0

The battle, stage by stage

  1. Early June 2023

    The Orikhiv front before the attack

    Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022, and Russian forces occupied the area in the first days of the invasion (Militarnyi dates Robotyne's occupation to March 2022). A year later the front south of Orikhiv ran through open farmland between Mala Tokmachka and Robotyne. Over the winter Russia's 58th Combined Arms Army, under Maj. Gen. Ivan Popov, had built a layered defense there: minefields, anti-tank ditches and trench lines, often called the Surovikin line. ISW reported, from Russian sources, that the 42nd Motor Rifle Division's 291st and 70th regiments and the 22nd and 45th Spetsnaz Brigades held the first line; the 71st Regiment was dug in around Robotyne. RUSI found Russian minefields, 120 m deep by doctrine, being deepened toward 500 m, with anti-tank mines stacked in pairs. Opposite them waited the new 47th Mechanized Brigade with U.S. Bradleys, alongside the 33rd (Leopard 2 tanks) and 65th Mechanized Brigades; Leopard 2A6s and 2R mine-clearers went in with the first assault. Orikhiv itself, the base for the attack, had been shelled for more than a year; Ukrainian officials said in May 2023 that it was 80 percent destroyed. (ISW 8 Jun; RUSI 'Stormbreak'; OSW 13 Jun; Forbes; MilitaryLand; Militarnyi; Ukrainska Pravda 2 May 2023.)

  2. Night of 7-8 June 2023

    The minefield south of Mala Tokmachka

    The 47th Brigade's Bradleys left at nightfall on 7 June; the first day's goal, according to the Washington Post, was Robotyne, about nine miles away. South of Mala Tokmachka the column ran into minefields far denser than expected. Lanes cleared on soft ground were hard to steer through, Russian anti-tank missile teams on higher ground opened fire, and vehicles that swerved onto mines blocked the rest. Helicopters and drones struck the pileup; Russia's Defense Ministry released video it said showed Ka-52s firing on the vehicles. ISW, using geolocated footage, judged that limited Ukrainian forces broke through the first line and crossed the N08 Polohy-Voskresenka highway before Russian counterattacks pushed them back by the end of 8 June. Geolocated and Russian-published images showed a Leopard 2A6, several Bradleys and a mine-clearing vehicle abandoned or destroyed. DeepState dated the losses to 7 June and blamed artillery after aerial detection, and judged that most crews survived. (WaPo/Stars and Stripes; ISW 8 Jun; CIT; DeepState via Euromaidan Press; TWZ.)

  3. 9-12 June 2023

    Repeated attempts, then a pause

    The attacks were repeated over the following days with similar results. The War Zone, from Russian video, described a second platoon of four Bradleys driving into the same kill zone; on 13 June Russia's Defense Ministry showed what it called captured Leopards and Bradleys (claim). Oryx's photo-verified count by mid-June was 16 Bradleys lost across the counteroffensive and four Leopard 2s destroyed or abandoned; Forbes later tallied about 25 tanks and fighting vehicles lost near Mala Tokmachka, and many were recovered and repaired. A senior Ukrainian defense official told the Washington Post that about 60 percent of Ukraine's demining equipment was damaged or destroyed in the first days; on day four Gen. Valerii Zaluzhnyi ordered a pause. OSW reported that fighting near Orikhiv had cooled after 10 June. (TWZ; Reuters; CIT/Oryx; Forbes; WaPo; OSW.)

  4. Mid-June - early August 2023

    On foot, one tree line at a time

    Ukraine changed tactics: instead of massed armor, sappers cleared paths at twilight and infantry advanced on foot in groups of about ten, one tree line at a time (Washington Post). It saved vehicles but was slow; the New York Times reported, citing officials, that up to 20 percent of the equipment sent into battle was lost in the first two weeks, falling to about 10 percent later. A Russian map found by Ukrainian troops listed more than 20,000 mines in one sector about four miles square. On 26 July a larger mechanized push reached within about 2.5 km northeast of Robotyne, ISW reported; geolocated footage showed two Bradleys and a T-72 disabled about 2.5 km due east of the village. ISW assessed that the 71st Regiment had defended the area since early June without relief; Russian milbloggers said elements of the 810th Naval Infantry Brigade fought alongside it. On 9 July a guided bomb hit a school in Orikhiv where humanitarian aid was being handed out, killing seven civilians, according to Ukraine's State Emergency Service (Governor Yuriy Malashko called it a war crime). (WaPo; NYT via Meduza; ISW 26 Jul; Al Jazeera 11 Jul.)

  5. 16-28 August 2023

    Robotyne

    In mid-August the 47th Brigade began to gain ground. On 22 August Deputy Defense Minister Hanna Maliar said its soldiers had fought their way into Robotyne and were evacuating civilians in Bradleys; CNN met elderly, malnourished residents who said they had been forced to work under occupation. ISW confirmed advances in southeastern Robotyne from geolocated footage and assessed that Russian forces held at most the southern outskirts. On 23 August the 47th Brigade said it had raised the flag over the ruined school (video not independently verified), and on 28 August Maliar said the village had been taken (Russian milbloggers denied it). To hold the line Russia shifted in the 7th VDV Division's regiments and the 503rd Motor Rifle Regiment, and ISW cited geolocated footage of 76th Guards Air Assault Division units near Robotyne, which it assessed had likely come from the Kreminna area. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said a 31-man group had crawled for 18 hours through minefields to open the way. (Ukrainska Pravda; ISW 22 and 28 Aug; CNN; Militarnyi; Babel; Meduza.)

  6. Late August - September 2023

    Toward Verbove

    From Robotyne the salient widened. DeepState showed Ukrainian forces 1-1.5 km south and southeast of the village by 2 September, putting Novoprokopivka and Verbove under fire. Air-assault brigades of Ukraine's 10th Corps came in; the Conflict Intelligence Team geolocated an 82nd Air Assault Brigade assault group on Verbove's western outskirts at the end of August. In its 21 September assessment ISW reported Ukrainian armored vehicles west of Verbove beyond the anti-tank ditches, 'the first observed instance' of armor past the Russian tri-layer defense, and on 24 September a Ukrainian BMP inside the village's western edge. Russian VDV divisions counterattacked both flanks and the 42nd Division held Novoprokopivka. The breach was never widened into the hoped-for drive on Tokmak. Russia claimed in May 2024 to have retaken Robotyne, which Ukraine denied; on 28 July 2024 ISW assessed from geolocated footage that Russian forces had likely seized the whole village, which Ukraine's Tavria group disputed. Russia's defense minister claimed 66,000 Ukrainian casualties in three months of the counteroffensive (claim). (DeepState via RBC-Ukraine; CIT; ISW 21 Sep via Euromaidan Press, ISW 24 Sep; Kyiv Independent; WaPo; Al Jazeera.)

Forces

Russia's 58th Combined Arms Army held the Orikhiv sector with the 42nd Motor Rifle Division and Spetsnaz brigades, perhaps 10,000 or more troops by one analyst's estimate, later reinforced by two airborne divisions; Ukraine committed the new 47th Mechanized Brigade and other brigades from its counteroffensive reserve. Neither side published its strength.

Russian forces

Troops in the sector (estimate)Estimate by David Axe (Forbes) for the June fighting near Mala Tokmachka; Russia published no figure. David Axe, '25 Tanks and Fighting Vehicles, Gone in a Blink', Forbes (27 June 2023)perhaps 10,000 or more
FormationsISW, citing Russian commanders and milbloggers and geolocated footage (8 June, 26 July, 22 and 28 August 2023). Institute for the Study of War, Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, 8 June 2023; Institute for the Study of War, Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, 22 August 202342nd MRD (291st, 70th, 71st regiments), 22nd and 45th Spetsnaz Bdes; from August the 7th and 76th VDV Divisions and 503rd MRR

Ukrainian forces

Counteroffensive reserve (all fronts)As reported by ISW on 8 June 2023; only part of this reserve had been committed at that point. No figure was published for the Orikhiv axis alone. Institute for the Study of War, Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, 8 June 202312 brigades (9 with Western equipment)
FormationsOSW names the 47th and 65th in early June; Forbes the 33rd and 47th; the Washington Post and the Conflict Intelligence Team the 10th Corps and 82nd Brigade. OSW, 'Ukraine's first defeats and successes on the Zaporizhzhia front' (13 June 2023); Conflict Intelligence Team, Dispatch, 30-31 August 202347th, 33rd and 65th Mechanized Brigades; 10th Corps air-assault brigades (82nd) from late August

Casualties

Ukraine's attempt to break the Russian defenses on the Orikhiv axis cost it heavily in June: about 25 tanks and fighting vehicles near Mala Tokmachka by Forbes's count and an estimated 15 percent of two brigades killed or wounded, though many vehicles were recovered. Neither side published casualty totals for the sector; Russian losses are unknown, and the Russian figure of 66,000 Ukrainian casualties across the whole counteroffensive is an unverified claim. Certainty: poor.

Russian forces

Killed and woundedNeither Russia nor independent counters published losses for this sector. Forbes's David Axe described Russian casualties in the June fighting near Mala Tokmachka as light; ISW assessed that the 71st Motor Rifle Regiment had defended near Robotyne since early June without relief, and that by late August Russian forces had no uncommitted regular units left in Zaporizhzhia Oblast. David Axe, '25 Tanks and Fighting Vehicles, Gone in a Blink', Forbes (27 June 2023); Institute for the Study of War, Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, 26 July 2023; Institute for the Study of War, Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, 22 August 2023unknown

Ukrainian forces

Killed and wounded (47th and 33rd Brigades, June)Forbes (David Axe, 27 June 2023) estimated that the 33rd and 47th Mechanized Brigades each lost about 15 percent of their soldiers killed or wounded in the first attacks near Mala Tokmachka. Ukraine published no figures; DeepState judged that most crews of the 7 June column survived, and a 47th Brigade officer told the Kyiv Independent that everyone in one filmed group of eight Bradleys and a Leopard survived. David Axe, '25 Tanks and Fighting Vehicles, Gone in a Blink', Forbes (27 June 2023); Euromaidan Press, 'So how many Leopard tanks did Ukraine lose near Mala Tokmachka?' (DeepState analysis, 10 June 2023); Francis Farrell, 'Overcoming setbacks, NATO-trained brigade breaches Surovikin line in Zaporizhzhia Oblast', Kyiv Independent (26 September 2023)about 15% of each brigade (estimate)
Russian claim (whole counteroffensive)Russia's defense minister Sergei Shoigu claimed on 5 September 2023 that Ukraine had lost more than 66,000 soldiers and 7,600 weapons since the counteroffensive began, on all fronts, calling the Zaporizhzhia front the most tense. Not independently verified. Al Jazeera, 'Russia-Ukraine war: List of key events, day 560' (6 September 2023)more than 66,000 (claim)
Minefield breaching group (Kuleba)Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said a 31-man group that crawled through minefields to open the way to Robotyne had seven wounded; a Ukrainian official account, unit not named. Ukrainska Pravda, 'Ukraine's Foreign Minister on how group of 31 soldiers made offensive on Robotyne possible' (30 August 2023)7 wounded of 31

Civilians

Killed in the 9 July strike on an Orikhiv aid pointA guided aerial bomb hit a school in Orikhiv where humanitarian aid was being distributed. Ukraine's State Emergency Service put the toll at seven killed (Al Jazeera, 11 July); Zaporizhzhia governor Yuriy Malashko, who called it a war crime, had earlier given five killed and 11 hospitalized (Ukrainska Pravda, 10 July). Ukrainian official figures. Al Jazeera, 'Russian attack on Ukrainian aid distribution point kills 7' (11 July 2023); Ukrainska Pravda, 'Death toll rises after recent Russian attack on Orikhiv' (10 July 2023)7 killed
Robotyne residentsMilitarnyi gives fewer than 500 official residents; soldiers of the 47th Brigade evacuated the remaining civilians in Bradleys in August 2023 (Ukrainian Defense Ministry), and residents told CNN they had been forced to work under occupation (not independently verified). Militarnyi, 'Ukrainian Armed Forces liberate Robotyne in the Zaporizhzhia region' (28 August 2023); CNN (Melissa Bell et al.), 'How US-made Bradley Fighting Vehicles helped Ukraine win the battle for Robotyne' (5 September 2023)fewer than 500 before the war; a few evacuated in August 2023

Equipment and ships

Ukrainian vehicles near Mala Tokmachka, June (photo-verified)Oryx's photo-verified count (via the Conflict Intelligence Team, 10 June) was three tanks and 11 Bradleys; by 13 June The War Zone cited Oryx at 16 Bradleys and four Leopard 2s destroyed or abandoned across the counteroffensive. Forbes later put the losses near Mala Tokmachka at about 25 tanks and fighting vehicles, including about a fifth of Ukraine's Bradleys and Leopard 2A6s and half its Leopard 2R mine-clearing vehicles; many were later recovered and repaired. Conflict Intelligence Team, Dispatch, 8-10 June 2023; The War Zone, 'Russian Capture Of Ukrainian Leopard Tank, Bradleys Seen In Video' (13 June 2023); David Axe, '25 Tanks and Fighting Vehicles, Gone in a Blink', Forbes (27 June 2023)about 25 tanks and fighting vehicles (Oryx by 9-13 June: 2-4 Leopard 2s and 11-16 Bradleys (all fronts); Forbes 27 June: about 25 near Mala Tokmachka)
Ukrainian demining equipment and overall equipmentA senior Ukrainian defense official told the Washington Post that about 60 percent of demining equipment was damaged or destroyed in the first days; the New York Times, citing officials, reported that up to 20 percent of the equipment sent into battle was lost in the first two weeks of the counteroffensive (all fronts), falling to about 10 percent later. The Washington Post counteroffensive investigation, part 2, via Stars and Stripes (6 December 2023); Meduza, 'New York Times: Ukraine lost up to 20 percent of equipment in counteroffensive's first weeks' (15 July 2023)about 60% of demining equipment; up to 20% of equipment committed
Russian claim of captured vehiclesRussia's Defense Ministry released video on 13 June of what it called captured Leopard tanks and Bradleys; it gave no count. DeepState said Russian channels recirculated the same footage from different angles to inflate the losses. Reuters, 'Russia releases video of captured German tanks, U.S. fighting vehicles in Ukraine' (13 June 2023); Euromaidan Press, 'So how many Leopard tanks did Ukraine lose near Mala Tokmachka?' (10 June 2023)several Leopard 2s and Bradleys (claim)
Russian equipmentNo sector count of Russian equipment losses was found. 47th Brigade commander Oleksandr Sak told the Washington Post his troops destroyed up to 10 Russian anti-tank guided missile systems a day (claim). The Washington Post counteroffensive investigation, part 2, via Stars and Stripes (6 December 2023)not counted for this sector

Then and now: how the ground has changed

The ground is the same open, gently rolling farmland of fields and tree lines, but the villages along the front were largely destroyed, Orikhiv was left in ruins, and the fields remain heavily mined; by ISW's assessment Russian forces had retaken Robotyne by July 2024.

Combat footage on Funker530

Real combat footage, played on Funker530; some clips show violence and casualties. Titles and descriptions are the atlas's own.

Weapons

Russian forces

AK-47 / Type 56

AK-47 / Type 56

Assault rifle · 1949–present

At Mala Tokmachka and Robotyne: Kalashnikov-family rifles armed both sides.

Mikhail Kalashnikov's AK-47 became the world's most widespread military rifle thanks to its simplicity and reliability in mud, heat and rain. North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops carried both Soviet AKs and the Chinese-made copy, the Type 56.

Caliber
7.62×39mm
Rate of fire
about 600 rounds/min
Magazine
30-round box
Effective range
about 350 m
Photo: U.S. Department of Defense · Public domain
RPG-7

RPG-7

Shoulder-fired rocket-propelled grenade launcher · 1961–present

At Mala Tokmachka and Robotyne: Standard infantry anti-armor weapon on both sides; Russian defenses relied mainly on mines and guided anti-tank missiles (RUSI).

The most widespread anti-armor weapon in the world: cheap, simple and effective against light vehicles and buildings. Iraqi soldiers, Fedayeen and later insurgents and militias fired it in volleys from rooftops and alleys in every battle here.

Caliber
40 mm tube, 85 mm warhead (PG-7V)
Effective range
about 200–300 m
Crew
1–2
Photo: U.S. military photo · public domain

Ukrainian forces

M2/M3 Bradley

M2/M3 Bradley

Infantry / cavalry fighting vehicle · 1981–present

At Mala Tokmachka and Robotyne: The 47th Mechanized Brigade's U.S.-supplied Bradleys led the 7-8 June assault, and later carried troops and evacuated civilians at Robotyne (WaPo, CNN).

The Army's tracked fighting vehicle, carrying infantry (M2) or cavalry scouts (M3). In 1991 its 25 mm gun shredded Iraqi personnel carriers and its TOW missiles killed tanks; in Iraq after 2003 it fought alongside the Abrams in Baghdad, Baqubah and Sadr City.

Armament
25 mm Bushmaster chain gun, TOW missile launcher
Crew
3 + 6 infantry (M3: 2 scouts)
Weight
about 25–30 t
Photo: Matt Zalewski · CC BY-SA 4.0
T-72

T-72

Main battle tank · 1973–present (Iraqi Asad Babil and imported Soviet versions)

At Mala Tokmachka and Robotyne: ISW cited geolocated footage of a T-72 disabled with two Bradleys east of Robotyne on 26 July.

The best tank in the Iraqi army in 1991, issued mainly to Republican Guard divisions such as the Tawakalna and Medina. Its older night sights and ammunition left crews unable to see or hit American tanks firing from beyond 2,000 m, and its ammunition stored around the turret ring tended to blow the turret off when penetrated.

Gun
125 mm smoothbore with autoloader
Crew
3
Weight
about 41 t
Photo: Unknown author · public domain
AK-47 / Type 56

AK-47 / Type 56

Assault rifle · 1949–present

At Mala Tokmachka and Robotyne: Kalashnikov-family rifles armed both sides.

Mikhail Kalashnikov's AK-47 became the world's most widespread military rifle thanks to its simplicity and reliability in mud, heat and rain. North Vietnamese and Viet Cong troops carried both Soviet AKs and the Chinese-made copy, the Type 56.

Caliber
7.62×39mm
Rate of fire
about 600 rounds/min
Magazine
30-round box
Effective range
about 350 m
Photo: U.S. Department of Defense · Public domain

Paintings and photographs

Flag over Robotyne's school
Flag over Robotyne's school The 47th Mechanized Brigade's image of the Ukrainian flag raised over the ruined school, 23 August 2023 (as the brigade stated). 47th Mechanized Brigade, CC BY 4.0 · source
Robotyne from the air, 2024
Robotyne from the air, 2024 Drone view of the destroyed village in April 2024, from the 65th Mechanized Brigade. Defense Forces of the South of Ukraine / 65th Mechanized Brigade, CC BY 4.0 · source

Free for everyone every year on its anniversary: June 7 – September 24.

Accuracy score: 56/100 (limited)

How the accuracy score works

Sources and method

Mala Tokmachka and Robotyne, June - September 2023. Villages from published gazetteer coordinates; front lines, the 7-8 June loss site and Height 136.7 are approximate placements from ISW distances, DeepState descriptions and geolocated footage. DeepStateMap.live and ISW were used as checks only; nothing was traced from their maps. UA Control Map was not consulted. No U.S. Army staff ride handbook covers this battle. Unit blocks show ground held, not strength.Statements by Russia's Defense Ministry and commanders, Russian milbloggers, and Ukrainian officials are given as claims.

Where the positions come from

Further reading