The soldiers of the 72nd Brigade crossed the defense line already abandoned by the militia. The tanks and armored vehicles did not rashly enter the building area but stopped a little further outside, and then the infantry began to send in small squads of scouts slowly.
Gao Yang and his group were positioned at the northwestern outskirts of Khartsyzk. Just beyond lay farmland, and although the houses were much more sparse compared to the city center, resembling the standalone houses commonly seen in the countryside, they were still linked together. In such terrain, tanks and armored vehicles would have difficulty exerting their power and would be more vulnerable to attack, so it was more normal for infantry to explore the terrain first rather than for tanks to go in immediately.
