Drone footage released by Russian forces shows an armored column of Ukrainian troops driving directly into a pre-planned defensive position near the village of Yakovlevka outside of Bakhmut.

This footage is actually phenomenal when you remove bias and look at it from an objective station. We're watching a professional military advance into the defensive lines of another well prepared and professional military. While for the most part we've seen the Russians flounder time and time again, in this video we're actually seeing some semblance of organization and coordination from Russian forces.

A defense in depth is not a novel or difficult concept to grasp. It's actually a fairly elementary concept that most first year Platoon Commanders are well schooled in. That said, we generally don't see Russian forces finding too much success in the field against Ukrainian forces outside of the occasional lancet drone or artillery strike. The common failings of the Russian military generally stem from poor morale, poor logistics, and a lack of individual action training.

This video shows the Russians actively engaging with Ukrainian forces using a combination of landmines, ATGMs, and coordinated artillery strikes against on-call targets, none of which would be possible unless a Russian commander somewhere put some thought into defending against probable enemy lines of advance. It does not however show much in the form of well-practiced infantry or armor maneuvers, but in some instances a well planned defense does not require it.

This is not indicative of a turning point in the war against Ukrainian forces, nor is it me praising the Russians for being skilled warfighters. It's simply an observation that whichever Ukrainian troops are actively engaging with Russian forces in the Bakhmut region should re-assess their own battle plans. The Russians they are dealing with are clearly a cut above the Russians we're seeing in other parts of the country who instantaneously fold the moment pressure is applied. In order for the Ukrainians to truly break this point of friction, they'll need to utilize more than brute force tactics.