MOSCOW, October 12. /TASS/. Ukrainian troops in Annopolye, Kharkov Region, ceased resistance and surrendered after a flamethrower platoon of Russia’s Battlegroup North fired several rounds from a Shmel rocket-propelled anti-personnel flamethrower (RPO), the commander of a flamethrower platoon squad with the call sign Gyugo said in a video released by the Russian Defense Ministry.
"If the enemy keeps firing back until their very last round and our flamethrower platoon fires two or three RPO rounds, commonly known as Shmel, they surrender almost immediately, and the position is taken with virtually no fighting," said Gyugo.
He also shared his thoughts on the work of a flamethrower operator and the role it plays in assault operations. "I like being a flamethrower operator because it’s powerful, and because it offers considerable help and support to the guys, mainly the assault troops. We go in first, return fire, pull back, and then the assault troops follow us in," Gyugo added.
It was announced on October 8 that Russian forces had liberated Annopolye in the Kharkov Region. The Russian Defense Ministry reported that before the assault began, Battlegroup North units cleared the skies of enemy attack drones, while drone crews and artillery units struck Ukrainian troops belonging to a separate motorized infantry brigade. Artillery crews and strike unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) operators destroyed enemy strongpoints, firing positions, and field ammunition depots.
The offensive operations were conducted with the active support of artillery, as well as UAV units. Assault teams, operating in small groups of two to three men, destroyed Ukrainian strongholds under the guidance of reconnaissance drone operators. Thanks to the coordinated actions of all units, the enemy was disorganized and offered no active resistance.