THE 425th Assault Battalion East one of the six Ukrainian battalions will receive American-made M-2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, including 31 if the battalion adheres to the standard Ukrainian force structure.

The 400-strong battalion puts the 33-ton, 10-man IFVs to good use as part of the Ukrainians’ dynamic defense of Pokrovsk, the city in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast, which is the site of the Russian offensive in the east which lasted a year.

In a furious infantry action somewhere on the outskirts of Pokrovsk on Monday or shortly before, a team of soldiers from the 425th Assault Battalion, supported by mortars and drones – and a single quick-reaction Bradley – defeated a Russian force five times more numerous.

The two-part firefight began when three soldiers from the 425th Assault Battalion, who had apparently been dropped off by an M-2 fulfilling its primary role as a “combat taxi”, spotted three Russian soldiers approaching along ‘a road.

The Ukrainians saw the Russians. The Russians doesn’t see the Ukrainians. “These three suspect nothing,” a soldier from the 425th assault battalion tell in a video translates usefully by Estonian analyst WarTranslated.

The Ukrainians “came out and controlled the situation with a grenade,” the narrator joked. A few well-aimed rifle shots put an end to the ambush. Two Russians were lying dead. A third “decided he’d had enough” and crawled toward the Ukrainians to surrender.

That’s when a three-on-three fight turned sour for the 425th Assault Battalion. A dozen more Russians took the same route, constantly monitored by a Ukrainian drone.

Nearby Ukrainian mortar teams opened fire. Drone operators joined in the bombardment. The Russian assault group “ceased to exist,” according to the narrator.

Just to be sure, an M-2 – perhaps the same one that allegedly dropped off the first three Ukrainian soldiers – arrived on the scene “and added more fire.” Firing its rapid-firing 25-millimeter automatic cannon, the Bradley transformed the destruction zone into a slaughterhouse.

There were no additional Russian prisoners.

The skirmish ended when engineers blew up a bridge that the two Russian assault groups had used to approach Pokrovsk. Finally, the 425th Assault Battalion dropped off a new group of infantry and went to pick up the three soldiers who had just defeated 15 Russians.

This was a classic combined arms engagement for the Ukrainians: a coordinated mix of infantry and mechanized actions supported by reconnaissance, artillery, air fire and engineers.

And it underscored the extreme value of the nearly 300 M-2s the United States gave to Ukraine, most of which remain in action despite participating in almost all of the toughest battles in Ukraine and western Ukraine. Russia since the beginning of 2023.

If there’s anything the Ukrainians should lament, it’s that they may no longer have a Bradley. The new administration of US President-elect Donald Trump has indicated that it will, at best, reduce US aid to Ukraine. At worst, it could put an end to it.

In the latter case, these 300 M-2s will have to be sufficient, potentially for the entire duration of the war.