During the Saber Junction exercise, Ukrainian paratroopers captured the headquarters of the reconnaissance battalion of the American 173rd brigade and a group of Italian special forces. This information has been officially confirmed in the press service of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Means of communication, weapons, as well as documents with information about the location of enemy units and plans for its subsequent actions fell into the hands of Ukrainian fighters. Because of this, the leadership of the exercises was forced to take a pause in order to correct the further scenario of maneuvers. Also captured was the commander of the American battalion and his officers.
The President of Ukraine Petro Poroshenko has already congratulated the paratroopers on his Facebook page. Saber Junction multinational exercises are held at the Hohenfels Training Center in Germany. Units from the USA, the Czech Republic, Italy and France take part in them - only about 5.5 thousand soldiers from twenty different countries. The official goal of Saber Junction is to test the combat capability of one of the brigades of the US Army. They began on September 4, the Ukrainian fighters have already joined the active phase of the exercise.
"Gentlemen, lay down your arms!"
According to the original legend of the exercise, Ukrainian paratroopers from the 95th brigade (the permanent place of deployment is the city of Zhytomyr) belong to the “enemy” side (OPFOR), against which BLUFOR units operate. These include military personnel from the 173rd Airborne Brigade, as well as paratroopers from France, Italy and the Czech Republic.
According to captain Ivan Fedorenko, who commands the Ukrainian company "Phantom", the headquarters of the American battalion his fighters captured during a reconnaissance mission. The conditional enemy did not expect the appearance of paratroopers in his rear, therefore he could not offer serious resistance. The losses of Americans (conditional, of course) were 32 people and two units of equipment, Ukrainians - two people. Also, weapons and staff documents were captured, in which the further training plan was detailed.
"Gentlemen, lay down your arms!" - a wonderful phrase that started today on the “Saber Junction”. Nine hours wandering through the woods. Good job, raccoons! Details - later ", - this message noted the success of the paratroopers in the Ukrainian General Staff.
Alexey Bobovnikov, a direct participant in the maneuvers, wrote on his Facebook page that "American airborne and Italian special drivers were a little depressed." "Anyone would be sad if he slept and slept, but woke up under the trunks of the Ukrainian landing force. You can even be depressed if you know that this was the headquarters of their battalion. Yes, with giblets. Without a single shot. Excellent beginning of the active phase. with love, "continued the fighter. It should be noted that the 173rd Airborne Brigade is considered one of the main shock forces of the American army in Europe.
Documents that fell into the hands of Ukrainian fighters will definitely influence the further course of the exercises. They noted the location of enemy units and plans for its subsequent actions. For this reason, the command of the maneuvers took a pause, since the operation of the paratroopers seriously changed the balance of forces. Also in the Ukrainian General Staff reported that the Americans are trying to avenge humiliation, but so far they are not doing well.
For the second time this year, the Western military has to change the rules for conducting exercises due to the Ukrainian military. In May, during the Combined Resolved maneuvers that took place in Germany, the Ukrainians held an important height for two days, which forced the organizers to change the rules.
