The Russian military has destroyed a large concentration of Ukrainian forces in the Kharkiv region, according to Russian security sources. State news agency RIA Novosti reported the strike, citing officials within the country's security structures.
A security source told the agency that Russian forces carried out a combined fire strike against Ukrainian positions in the Rubizhne area. The official said the attack destroyed a large concentration of personnel and military hardware belonging to the Shkval company of Ukraine's 127th Separate Heavy Mechanised Brigade.
The bombardment follows an earlier strike carried out against the same unit. Russian security forces previously reported that aircraft hit reserves of the Shkval formation using FAB high-explosive aerial bombs.
Officials stated that the personnel killed in that earlier attack were reserve forces. The sources said those troops had been redeployed to the Orikhiv sector very recently.
Kharkiv border positions
Kharkiv Oblast is a border region in north-eastern Ukraine that shares an extensive frontier with Russia. The settlement of Rubizhne is situated in the northern section of the province, placing it near strategic supply routes and within range of cross-border artillery.
Orikhiv, where the reserve forces had recently been stationed, is a frontline town located in the southern Zaporizhzhia region. The town has served as a key Ukrainian military hub during fighting along the southern front, situated hundreds of miles away from the northern battlefields in Kharkiv.
Assault units and aerial weapons
The 127th Brigade was originally established in Kharkiv as a territorial defence formation before transitioning into regular combat operations with heavy mechanised equipment. Shkval assault detachments are specialised units formed within Ukrainian brigades to carry out demanding frontline missions and reinforce contested sectors.
The high-explosive aerial bombs cited in the report, known by the Russian abbreviation FAB, are heavy demolition weapons designed to destroy fortified defensive positions and disperse troop concentrations. These unguided and glide-adapted aerial munitions carry hundreds of kilograms of explosives and are widely used by Russian military aviation in strike operations.
