including Iranian-designed Shahed-type drones located about 70 kilometers northwest of Donetsk remains one of the most fiercely contested sectors of the front where Russia has concentrated its main offensive efforts since March  (Updated:  May 6, 2025 11:41 am)Ukraine's drones target Moscow second night in a row, Russian official claims, ahead of Victory Day parade. Debris from one of the drones reportedly fell on the Kashirskoye Highway The reported attack comes just days before Russia's Victory Day parade and three-day "truce." Vice President Mike Pence said Putin "only understands power." About 800 million euros ($905 million) will be allocated for the acquisition and installation of anti-tank mines to deter potential aggression  (Updated:  May 6, 2025 9:36 am)War analysisFrance is sending Ukraine more AASM Hammer bombs — here's what they can do Polish President Andrzej Duda said the United States has tools that can effectively influence the Kremlin arguing that only President Donald Trump has real leverage over Russian President Vladimir Putin The number includes 1,430 casualties that Russian forces suffered over the past day "To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause: The Many Lives of the Soviet Dissident Movement" by Benjamin Nathans which covers dissent in the Soviet Union and Russia today Reporters Without Borders (RSF) on May 5 announced they had facilitated Russian journalist Ekaterina Barabash's escape from Russia to France after she fled house arrest on April 21 A Russian drone attack on Odesa Oblast on May 5 killed one and caused damage to local infrastructure "We appreciate that Germany plays a pivotal role in supporting Ukraine throughout the years of war Ukraine is also grateful for your personal commitment," President Volodymyr Zelensky said MPs will be able to ask questions and learn more about the details of the agreement in meetings with Economy Minister Yulia Svyrydenko May 6-7 MP Serhii Sobolev told the news outlet Suspilne The ratification vote is scheduled for May 8 Among the casualties were airborne assault groups and drone operators the General Staff claimed.“Exact numbers are still being clarified but the destruction of their shelter and personnel greatly diminishes the ability of the Russian military to operate effectively in the Toretsk axis,” the General Staff wrote in a Telegram message which was accompanied by a video of the strike We are the news team of the Kyiv Independent We are here to make sure our readers get quick essential updates about the events in Ukraine Feel free to contact us via email with feedback and news alerts This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page spokesperson for the Khortytsia Operational and Strategic Group of Forces "The enemy in Toretsk is trying to utilize underground communications to flank our troops on specific streets the Russians are exploiting every opportunity to bypass Ukrainian forces," Trehubov explained stems from the dense street defense maintained by the Ukrainian Armed Forces in Toretsk the Russians aim to breach the outskirts of the city; in Toretsk similar to tactics used during the ATO or in Sudzha such attempts often end poorly for them," Trehubov stressed a recent attempt by Russian forces to break through a gas pipeline near Sudzha in the Kursk region failed due to command errors and the exhaustion of soldiers While citing and using any materials on the Internet links to the website ukrinform.net not lower than the first paragraph are mandatory citing the translated materials of foreign media outlets is possible only if there is a link to the website ukrinform.net and the website of a foreign media outlet Materials marked as "Advertisement" or with a disclaimer reading "The material has been posted in accordance with Part 3 of Article 9 of the Law of Ukraine "On Advertising" No 1996 and the Law of Ukraine "On the Media" No 2023 and on the basis of an agreement/invoice Online media entity; Media identifier - R40-01421 Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Russian forces launched a series of drone strikes against Ukraine on the night of May 3 to 4 The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian forces launched 165 strike and decoy drones from Bryansk Zaporizhia Oblast.[76] The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Ukrainian forces downed 69 Shahed and other drones over eastern and central Ukraine and that 80 decoy drones were "lost," likely due to Ukrainian electronic warfare (EW) interference Ukrainian officials reported that Russian drones struck civilian infrastructure and commercial infrastructure in Kharkiv Ukraine's Main Military Intelligence Directorate (GUR) Head Lieutenant General Kyrylo Budanov provided new details on May 4 about the report that Ukrainian forces shot down a Russian fixed-wing aircraft with a surface-to-air missile (SAM) attached to a naval drone on May 2. Budanov reported that Ukrainian forces shot down two Russian Su-30 fighter jets over the Black Sea with AIM-9 Sidewinder missiles fired from Magura-7 naval drones.[13] Ukrainian Su-27 airstrike with JDAM bombs destroyed a Russian command post and took out drone operators and officers in the city of Novohrodivka Published 04.05.2025 by GermanDronePilot[image or embed] Ukrainian activists protested against the pro-Russian "Immortal Regiment" march in Washington 📷: Marichka Hlyten/Facebook[image or embed] Russian communities are facing a surge in crimes from both returning veterans and criminals using the war to get out of jail. But in Vladimir Putin’s new Russia, soldiers are the new heroes, and tough wartime censorship laws leave little room to criticize them.[image or embed] Not signed up for Daily Kos yet? 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#article-stream-0 .quote-embed .font-size p{font-size: 36px;}Ukrainian troops come under fire in central Toretsk It’s not for no reason that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had the confidence to stand up to U.S President Donald Trump and Vice President J.D Vance during their disastrous Oval Office press conference on Friday during which Trump and Vance falsely accused the wartime leader of being ungrateful for past U.S the Russians had the momentum in their three-year wider war especially in and around the city of Toretsk in eastern Ukraine’s Donetsk Oblast The site of bitter urban fighting for much of last year including the deliberate demolition of towering highrises by both sides Toretsk—or what was left of it—fell to Russian forces in early February A mining city with a pre-war population of 35,000 It straddles high ground overlooking important supply lines threading along the Ukrainian side of the front line But Russian control of the city didn’t last long Two weeks after the Russians fully occupied the ruins of Toretsk the Ukrainians counterattacked—and swiftly advanced back into the city And it was possible a few Russian troops were clinging to an exposed salient jutting into the urban no-man’s-land “Fighting continues in the city center, and the enemy is losing control,” the Estonian analyst WarTranslated noted “There are reports of complete encirclement of Russian occupiers in several areas.” In pushing back the Russians the Ukrainian brigades around Toretsk—including the 92nd Assault Brigade and the 100th Mechanized Brigade—join sister units that recently successfully counterattacked on the eastern edge of the 250-square-mile salient Ukrainian forces occupy in western Russia’s Kursk Oblast But the reinforcements haven’t helped in Toretsk Even bolstered by troops transferred from the Pokrovsk axis the Russian regiments in and around Toretsk are falling back in his combative White House meeting with Zelensky that the Ukrainian president is in a weak position It’s true that Ukraine has struggled to mobilize enough infantry to keep its best brigades fully manned But it’s not true that Ukrainian forces are getting “buried.” In fact in recent weeks they’ve advanced in at least as many sectors as they’ve retreated Brendan Cole is a Newsweek Senior News Reporter based in London He also covers other areas of geopolitics including China Brendan joined Newsweek in 2018 from the International Business Times and well as English You can get in touch with Brendan by emailing b.cole@newsweek.com or follow on him on his X account @brendanmarkcole John Feng is Newsweek's contributing editor for Asia based in Taichung He has covered foreign policy and defense matters especially in relation to U.S.-China ties and cross-strait relations between China and Taiwan John joined Newsweek in 2020 after reporting in Central Europe and the United Kingdom He is a graduate of National Chengchi University in Taipei and SOAS You can get in touch with John by emailing j.feng@newsweek.com either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content Russian military commanders in Ukraine are lying about their successes leaving their troops vulnerable to attacks by Kyiv's forces Pro-Moscow military bloggers have pinned Russian setbacks in the Donetsk regional city of Toretsk on commanders faking successes to curry favor with the military and political leadership and earn bonuses the mistruths have likely resulted in Russian troops attacking defended positions without adequate artillery or air support and have cost thousands of Russian lives The reports follow those of Ukrainian gains in Toretsk where fighting continues in the city center and the complete encirclement of Russian occupiers in several areas Newsweek has contacted the Russian defense ministry for comment there have been a number of reports of low morale among Russian soldiers Russian military bloggers often give a far more honest view of Moscow's battlefield fortunes than state media Their reports that Russian commanders are faking successes could play into Ukraine's hands as they seek to wrest back the battlefield initiative Military analysis X channel ChrisO_wiki noted complaints by pro-Moscow Telegram channels about Russian commanders lying about their successes the account said that recent Russian setbacks in Toretsk are being blamed on this phenomenon which has been a regular occurrence throughout the three-year war This "taking on credit" has likely cost thousands of Russian lives as troops attack defended positions without artillery or air support Russians appear to have prematurely declared victory in Toretsk which they have renamed as Dzerzhinsk after the founder of the Soviet secret police But the Rybar Telegram channel said despite Russian forces' claims to have taken the city in Donetsk in early February commanders were making the report to the top to curry favor with the military and political leadership 1/ Recent Russian setbacks in the Ukrainian city of Toretsk are being blamed by Russian warbloggers on a familiar problem – commanders lying about their successes and taking the city 'on credit' rather than in real life. https://t.co/miaQ48FLDj Ukrainian forces still had the upper hand in air control thanks to reconnaissance drones with bombs which have allowed Kyiv to cut off Russian communications This meant that Ukrainian forces could not just hold certain points in the city but also conduct occasional troop rotations Yuriy Podalyaka had posted how despite Russia's claims of success in Toretsk it had more troops there and while Moscow has managed to block Kyiv's attacks it may require additional troop backup to be deployed Chris O'Wiki X account: "Recent Russian setbacks in the Ukrainian city of Toretsk are being blamed by Russian warbloggers on a familiar problem—commanders lying about their successes and taking the city 'on credit' rather than in real life." Institute for the Study of War: "Geolocated footage published on March 1 and 2 indicates that Ukrainian forces advanced within northern and central Toretsk." In its assessment on Sunday, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said that Ukrainian forces had made advances within northern and central Toretsk over the weekend while Russian forces continued ground attacks to the west and north of the city The think tank has reported that Russia is transferring elements of the 20th and 150th motorized rifle divisions to the Toretsk direction likely for offensive efforts in Spring-Summer this year bit and some of these Russian forces may have to defend against Ukrainian counteroffensive operations in the city of Toretsk instead Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground Newsweek is committed to journalism that's factual and fair Hold us accountable and submit your rating of this article on the meter. Newsletters in your inbox See all Russia said Friday its forces had seized the mining town of Toretsk in east Ukraine after months of heavy fighting allowing Moscow to push further into the Donbas region Kyiv denied Russia had full control of the industrial hub The Kremlin has been steadily grinding forward on the battlefield for over a year capturing dozens of mostly abandoned towns and villages despite heavy material and human losses would allow Moscow to further obstruct Ukrainian military supply routes paving the way for it to advance in the northern part of the Donetsk region It is the biggest settlement that Moscow claims to have captured since Avdiivka in late February 2024 "As a result of active offensive operations.. the city of Dzerzhinsk in the Donetsk People's Republic was liberated," Moscow's Defense Ministry said using a Russian name for the town and the region But a press officer for Ukraine's 28th brigade which has been fighting for control of Toretsk said Ukrainian forces were holding their positions on the town's outskirts Toretsk has been decimated by fighting which has intensified since last summer It had a population of about 30,000 before Russia's invasion in 2022 but by July last year the number of residents had fallen by 90% Russian military bloggers welcomed the news hailing Toretsk as a major stepping stone towards capturing the rest of the Donetsk region — a stated goal of Russian President Vladimir Putin but do we need negotiations at this rate?" Russian military correspondent Alexander Kots said referring to potential ceasefire talks between Putin and new U.S Putin has made capturing the Donbas region a "priority" since declaring it Russian territory in 2022 Toretsk and the embattled town of Chasiv Yar less than 20 kilometers (12 miles) further north are two of the last remaining urban areas blocking Russia from advancing further into the region Moscow's army is likely to leverage the capture of Toretsk to advance quickly into open fields west of the town the Institute for the Study of War said in a report last month At the time only a fraction of the original population remained — mostly pensioners unable or unwilling to leave despite the daily bombardment and electricity and water being cut off The doors of houses could be seen smashed in trees charred and electricity poles bent by a blast Drone video footage recently published by Ukrainian journalists shot over Toretsk shows the skeletal ruins of a small town subjected to eight months of systematic Russian shelling Smoke can be seen rising from the snow-blanketed remains of Soviet-era buildings that once lined the streets but which have been reduced to piles of rubble Shortly before Russia's announcement on Friday Ukraine's Foreign Ministry posted an image of destroyed buildings on social media platform X It did not comment on whether the town had fallen under Russia's control Fighting in the nearly three-year war has shown no signs of de-escalating despite Trump's promise to end fighting within "24 hours" once in power Russian strikes on the Ukrainian border region of Sumy overnight killed three people who were pulled from the rubble of a two-story residential building The attack ripped a hole dividing two sections of a Soviet-era building local residents have grown increasingly angry with the authorities in Kursk about the fate of hundreds of Russians trapped by a major ground assault Ukraine launched last August Kyiv said Thursday it was ready to open a humanitarian corridor to let Russian citizens in the border area leave Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent." These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help please support us monthly starting from just $2 and every contribution makes a significant impact independent journalism in the face of repression Click here to see ISW’s interactive map of the Russian invasion of Ukraine This map is updated daily alongside the static maps present in this report Click here to see ISW's interactive map of Ukraine's offensive in Kursk Oblast Click here to see ISW’s 3D control of terrain topographic map of Ukraine Use of a computer (not a mobile device) is strongly recommended for using this data-heavy tool Click here to access ISW’s archive of interactive time-lapse maps of the Russian invasion of Ukraine These maps complement the static control-of-terrain map that ISW produces daily by showing a dynamic frontline ISW will update this time-lapse map archive monthly Note: The data cut-off for this product was 12pm ET on January 7 ISW will cover subsequent reports in the January 8 Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment Russian forces recently advanced in northwestern Toretsk following several weeks of higher tempo Russian offensive operations and gains in the area Geolocated footage published on January 6 indicates that Russian forces recently advanced along Kvitkova Street and reached the northwestern administrative boundary of Toretsk.[1] A Russian milblogger claimed that Russian forces advanced along Pyrohova Street in northern Toretsk but ISW has not observed confirmation of this claim.[2] Another Russian milblogger claimed that Russian forces occupy roughly 90 percent of Toretsk but ISW has only observed geolocated footage to assess that Russian forces occupy approximately 71 percent of the settlement as of January 7.[3] Russian forces intensified offensive operations in the Toretsk direction in June 2024 likely to reduce the Ukrainian salient in the area and deny Ukrainian forces the ability to shell rear Russian areas in the Chasiv Yar and Pokrovsk directions both of which were Russian main efforts at the time.[4] Russian forces originally committed limited combat power including elements of the Russian 51st Combined Arms Army (CAA) (formerly 1st Donetsk People's Republic Army Corps [DNR AC]) and some elements of the Central Military District [CMD] to intensified operations near Toretsk in June 2024.[5] Russian forces have made creeping and grinding gains within Toretsk and the nearby settlements since June 2024 but have intensified offensive operations in recent weeks and made tactical gains within northern and northwestern Toretsk.[6] Russian forces appear to be shifting assault tactics in Toretsk in order to overwhelm Ukrainian forces and facilitate tactical gains within the settlement Russian forces likely intend to exploit their advances in northwestern Toretsk to push further west of Toretsk and Shcherbynivka and along the T-05-16 Toretsk-Kostyantnivka highway towards the southernmost point of Ukraine's fortress belt in Kostyantynivka Russian forces may intend to consolidate their positions in northwestern Toretsk and central Shcherbynivka (west of Toretsk) to advance along the T-05-16 highway towards Kostyantynivka through Nelipivka and Ivanopillia and the fields around these settlements in an effort to threaten the southern tip of Ukraine's Kostyantynivka-Druzhkivka-Kramatorsk fortress belt which forms the backbone of Ukraine's Donetsk Oblast defense Russian forces may also attempt to leverage further advances northwest of Toretsk and south of Chasiv Yar towards Bila Hora and Oleksandro-Shultyne to collapse the Ukrainian pocket in this area and level the frontline west and southwest of Kostyantynivka Such advances would complicate Ukraine's ability to counterattack into Russia's near rear southeast of Chasiv Yar and would allow Russian forces to deploy additional artillery systems within range of Kostyantynivka and operate first-person-view (FPV) drones within range of the town Russian forces may also attempt to advance west and northwest of Niu York and Leonidivka towards the H-20 Donetsk City-Kostyantynivka highway and H-32 Pokrovsk-Kostyantynivka highway to pressure Kostyantynivka further from the south and create a more stable southern flank for a push on Kostyantynivka Russian forces will likely be able to accomplish more rapid advances in the fields and small settlements north and west of Toretsk than they have been able to make in their grinding advances in urban Toretsk Russian units in this area may attempt to replicate the short tactically significant mechanized assaults that Russian forces conducted in the Kurakhove and Vuhledar directions in Fall 2024 if they have adequate armored vehicle reserves for this sector.[9] Russian forces may attempt to leverage tactical gains within and near Toretsk and east of Pokrovsk to eliminate the Ukrainian salient southwest of Toretsk Russian forces may attempt to leverage gains within Toretsk and in the Toretsk-Shcherbynivka-Niu York area with recent Russian gains east of Pokrovsk to eliminate the Ukrainian pocket between Vozdvyzhenka (east of Pokrovsk) and Toretsk Russian advances east of Pokrovsk and west of Toretsk may be part of an ongoing effort to make opportunistic gains that seize any territory regardless of that territory’s relative insignificance Russian forces are likely attempting to break out of Toretsk's urban environment and advance into more open and rural areas that are similar to the areas where Russian forces have made significant gains in other sectors of the front in recent months Russian forces achieved their most rapid rates of advance while operating in the fields and small settlements in the Pokrovsk and Vuhledar directions in Fall 2024 but have struggled to make rapid advances in urban areas including Toretsk.[10] Russian forces have spent the last six months advancing roughly 12 kilometers through Toretsk and have been fighting through Chasiv Yar since April 2024.[11] Russian forces have advanced roughly 18 kilometers west of Selydove since Russian forces seized the settlement in late October 2024 and roughly 20 kilometers north and northwest of Vuhledar since Russian forces seized the settlement in early October 2024.[12] Russian positions in northwestern Toretsk are currently 12 kilometers from the southeastern outskirts of Kostyantynivka and Russian forces would likely attempt to advance directly along the T-05-16 Toretsk-Kostyantynivka highway Russian forces could possibly be able to threaten significant Ukrainian positions in Kostyantynivka within the coming two or three months but only if they are able to achieve a rate of advance in the open areas northwest of Toretsk similar to the rate at which they have advanced in the Kurakhove and Pokrovsk directions The Russian force grouping in Toretsk is likely smaller than the groupings in the Pokrovsk likely does not have prioritized access to Russian reserves and may not be capable of committing enough troops and materiel to the frontline to accomplish these rates of advance Russian forces are unlikely to pose a significant threat to Kostyantynivka unless the Russian military command reinforced the existing force grouping in the area with troops from other frontline areas Elements of the Russian 51st Combined Arms Army (CAA) (formerly 1st Donetsk People's Republic Army Corps [DNR AC]) including its 132nd and 9th motorized rifle brigades and 80th "Sparta" Separate Reconnaissance Battalion have been the main forces conducting offensive operations in Toretsk.[13] Ukrainian military observer Kostyantyn Mashovets stated in mid-December 2024 that elements of the 55th Motorized Rifle Brigade (41st CAA Central Military District [CMD]) are also operating in Toretsk but ISW has not observed Russian reporting of this brigade operating in the area.[14] The Russian military command may decide to continue offensive operations in the Toretsk direction with the 51st CAA forces that are currently deployed in the area gradual advances as these limited forces are likely degraded after six months of urban combat The Russian military command could choose to redeploy forces from other sectors of the front to the Toretsk direction The Russian military command could redeploy forces from the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove directions to the Toretsk direction in the future The Russian military command has been prioritizing offensive operations in the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove directions recently and would likely not redeploy forces from these areas to the Toretsk direction until Russian forces had achieved their objectives in these areas Russian forces' priority objective in the Pokrovsk direction remains unclear at this time which could be Toretsk if the command chooses to make that a priority The Russian military command may continue to prioritize the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove direction but deprioritize offensive operations in another sector of the front in order to redeploy forces to the Toretsk direction Russian forces have been conducting offensive operations at varying intensities along the entire front as part of efforts to pin down Ukrainian forces and maintain the strategic initiative.[18] The Russian military command may prefer to maintain this continuous pressure on Ukrainian forces throughout the frontline over redeploying forces to the Toretsk direction although the Russian offensive operations towards Kostyantynivka from the Toretsk area may offer Russian forces the opportunity to make the most operationally significant advances along the frontline ISW is not prepared to offer a forecast of how the Russians will weigh the effort near Toretsk at this time The Ukrainian General Staff stated that Ukrainian forces struck a command post of the Russian 810th Naval Infantry Brigade (Black Sea Fleet [BSF] Southern Military District [SMD]) in Belaya Kursk Oblast on January 7.[19] The Ukrainian General Staff did not report if the strike killed or wounded Russian personnel Ukrainian forces previously conducted a strike against a different 810th Naval Infantry Brigade command post near Lgov killing the brigade’s deputy commander and other staff officers.[20] We do not report in detail on Russian war crimes because these activities are well-covered in Western media and do not directly affect the military operations we are assessing and forecasting We will continue to evaluate and report on the effects of these criminal activities on the Ukrainian military and the Ukrainian population and specifically on combat in Ukrainian urban areas We utterly condemn Russian violations of the laws of armed conflict and the Geneva Conventions and crimes against humanity even though we do not describe them in these reports Ukrainian Operations in the Russian Federation Russian forces recently regained positions in the main Ukrainian salient in Kursk Oblast amid continued offensive operations in the area on January 7 Geolocated footage published on January 6 and 7 indicates that Russian forces recently advanced in western Kruglenkoye east of Leonidovo (both northwest of Sudzha) and northwest of Russkoye Porechnoye (both north of Sudzha).[21] Russian milbloggers claimed that Russian forces seized Staraya Sorochina and Makhnovka (southeast of Sudzha).[22] Russian mobloggers claimed that Russian forces advanced east of Sudzha in western Bondarevka; northeast of Sudzha in northern Nikolayevka and southeast of Zelenyi Shlyakh; north of Sudzha in northern Cherkasskoye Porechnoye and in southeastern Novaya Sorochina; northwest of Sudzha northwest of Sverdlikovo; and south of Sudzha in northern and southern Kurilovka and northeast of Kurilovka.[23] ISW has not observed confirmation of these claims A Russian milblogger claimed that Russian forces are conducting an unprecedented number of aviation sorties in the Kursk direction.[24] Elements of the Russian 83rd Airborne (VDV) Brigade and "Burevestnik" Detachment (Russian Volunteer Corps) are reportedly operating in Kursk Oblast; elements of the 34th Motorized Rifle Brigade (49th Combined Arms Army [CAA] Southern Military District [SMD]) and 155th Naval Infantry Brigade (Pacific Fleet Eastern Military District [EMD]) are reportedly operating near Malaya Loknya; elements of the 810th Naval Infantry Brigade (Black Sea Fleet [BSF] SMD) are reportedly operating near Bolshoye Soldatskoye; elements of the 1427th Motorized Rifle Regiment (formed during the 2022 partial reserve call up) and "Volki" Brigade (Russian Volunteer Corps) are reportedly operating near Russkoye Porechnoye; elements of the 30th Motorized Rifle Regiment (72nd Motorized Rifle Division Leningrad Military District [LMD]) and 272nd Motorized Rifle Regiment (47th Tank Division Moscow Military District [MMD]) are reportedly operating near Berdin; and elements of the Chechen Akhmat "Aida" Spetsnaz group and "Kashtan" detachment are reportedly operating near Berdin and Novosotnitsky.[25] Ukrainian forces recently advanced in their main salient in Kursk Oblast amid limited offensive operations in the area on January 7 Geolocated footage published on January 6 indicates that Ukrainian forces recently advanced in northern Pogrebki (northwest of Sudzha).[26] A Russian milblogger claimed that Ukrainian forces hold positions in a contested "gray zone" near Berdin.[27] A Russian source claimed on January 7 that Russian forces pushed Ukrainian forces out of Pogrebki.[28] Russian sources claimed that Ukrainian forces unsuccessfully attacked in the Sudzha-Bolshoye Soldatskoye direction Ukraine's Special Operations Forces (SSO) stated on January 7 that Ukrainian forces killed 13 North Korean soldiers in Kursk Oblast.[30] Russian Subordinate Main Effort #1 – Kharkiv Oblast (Russian objective: Push Ukrainian forces back from the international border with Belgorod Oblast and approach to within tube artillery range of Kharkiv City) Russian forces continued limited ground attacks northeast of Kharkiv City near Vovchansk and Tykhe on January 6 and 7 but did not make any confirmed advances.[31] The spokesperson of a Ukrainian brigade operating in the Kharkiv direction reported on January 7 that Russian forces are conducting up to five assaults each day near Vovchansk and that Russian forces have slightly increased their use of glide bombs in the area.[32] Russian Subordinate Main Effort #2 – Luhansk Oblast (Russian objective: Capture the remainder of Luhansk Oblast and push westward into eastern Kharkiv Oblast and northern Donetsk Oblast) Russian forces continued offensive operations in the Kupyansk direction on January 7 but did not advance Russian forces attacked north of Kupyansk near Holubivka; northeast of Kupyansk near Topoli and Synkivka; and south of Kupyansk near Kupyansk-Vuzlovyi on January 6 and 7.[33] The commander of a Ukrainian battalion operating in the Kupyansk direction stated on January 7 that Ukrainian forces pushed Russian forces out of Novomlynsk (north of Kupyansk) and raised a flag in the settlement.[34] ISW observed geolocated evidence in early December indicating that Ukrainian forces control the settlement.[35] The commander also stated that rain and strong winds are preventing Russian and Ukrainian forces from using drones in the area.[36] The commander added that Ukrainian forces repelled four Russian mechanized assaults of unspecified echelons in the Kupyansk direction from January 1 to January 7 Ukrainian Khortytsia Group of Forces Spokesperson Major Viktor Trehubov stated that small groups of Russian forces are using thermal imaging-blocking cloaks at night to gain a foothold in forested areas and are sometimes trying to reach Ukrainian positions under the cover of fog.[37] Russian forces recently advanced northeast of Borova amid continued offensive operations in the Borova direction on January 7 Geolocated footage published on January 6 shows indicates that Russian forces reportedly including elements of the 27th Motorized Rifle Brigade (1st Guards Tank Army [GTA] and Makiivka on January 6 and 7.[40] A commander of a Ukrainian battalion operating in the Borova direction stated on January 7 that Ukrainian forces repelled Russian assaults near Lozova and Kolisnykivka.[41] Trehubov stated that small groups of Russian personnel are attempting to reach the Oskil River in the Borova direction.[42] The commander of a Ukrainian battalion operating in the Borova direction also stated that Russian forces lost almost 100 armored vehicles and suffered significant casualties during recent attempts to enter Kruhlyakivka (northeast of Borova).[43] Russian forces continued offensive operations in the Lyman direction on January 7 but did not make any confirmed advances Russian milbloggers claimed on January 6 and 7 that Russian forces advanced northwest of Novodsadove and west of Ivanivka (all northeast of Lyman).[44] Russian forces also continued ground attacks northeast of Lyman near Terny and Yampolivka and east of Lyman near Zarichne on January 6 and 7.[45] Drone operators of the Russian 16th Spetsnaz Brigade (Russian General Staff’s Main Directorate [GRU]) are reportedly operating near the Serebryanske forest area (southeast of Lyman).[46] Russian Subordinate Main Effort #3 – Donetsk Oblast (Russian objective: Capture the entirety of Donetsk Oblast the claimed territory of Russia’s proxies in Donbas) Russian forces continued offensive operations near Bilohorivka (northeast of Siversk) on January 6 and 7 but did not make any confirmed advances.[47] Russian forces continued offensive operations in the Chasiv Yar direction on January 7 but did not make any confirmed advances Russian forces conducted offensive operations within Chasiv Yar itself northeast of Chasiv Yar near Bondarne and Vasyukivka and south of Chasiv Yar near Bila Hora and Stupochky on January 6 and 7.[48] Drone operators of the Russian 98th Airborne (VDV) Division reportedly continue to operate near and within Chasiv Yar.[49] See topline text for reports of Russian activity in the Toretsk direction Russian forces recently advanced in the Pokrovsk direction amid continued offensive operations in the area on January 7 Geolocated footage published on January 6 and 7 indicates that Russian forces recently advanced within eastern Lysivka (southeast of Pokrovsk) and northwest of Vozdvyzhenka (east of Pokrovsk).[50] A Russian milblogger claimed that Russian forces made additional gains northwest of Vovkove but ISW has not observed confirmation of this claim.[51] Russian forces conducted offensive operations near Pokrovsk itself; east of Pokrovsk near Vodyane Druhe and Promin; southeast of Pokrovsk near Lysivka; south of Pokrovsk near Shevchenko and Novyi Trud; and southwest of Pokrovsk near Novoyelyzavetivka and Pishchane on January 6 and 7.[52] Elements of the Russian 35th Motorized Rifle Brigade (41st Combined Arms Army [CAA] Central Military District [CMD]) are reportedly operating near Pokrovsk.[53] Russian forces continued offensive operations in the Kurakhove direction on January 7 but did not make any confirmed advances Ukraine's Khortytsia Group of Forces Spokesperson Major Viktor Trehubov stated that Ukrainian forces are still defending on the western outskirts of Kurakhove and maintain positions in the Kurakhivska Thermal Power Plant (TPP).[54] Trehubov noted that Russian forces are attempting to level Kurakhove to the ground The spokesperson for a Ukrainian brigade operating in the Kurakhove direction stated that Russian forces have concentrated their largest force grouping in the Kurakhove direction and are constantly replenishing frontline units to maintain the tempo of their offensive operations.[55] The spokesperson stated that recently deployed Russian troops often undergo fewer than two weeks of training before deploying to the frontline near Kurakhove The spokesperson stated that Russian forces are using fewer armored vehicles in this direction than they used in late 2024 Russian forces conducted offensive operations near Kurakhove itself; northwest of Kurakhove near Petropavlivka and Slovyanka; west of Kurakhove near Andriivka and Kostyantynopil; and southwest of Kurakhove near Kostyantynopolske and Zelenivka on January 6 and 7.[58] Elements of the Russian 33rd Motorized Rifle Regiment (20th Motorized Rifle Division Southern Military District [SMD]) and drone operators of the 57th Motorized Rifle Regiment (20th Motorized Rifle Division) are reportedly operating in the Kurakhove direction and artillerymen of the 238th Artillery Brigade (8th CAA) are reportedly operating in western Kurakhove.[59] Russian forces continued offensive operations west of Velyka Novosilka near Novosilka and northwest of Velyka Novosilka towards Pryvilne on January 7 but did not make any confirmed advances.[60] Russian Supporting Effort – Southern Axis (Russian objective: Maintain frontline positions and secure rear areas against Ukrainian strikes) Russian forces continued offensive operations in western Zaporizhia Oblast near Novodanylivka (north of Robotyne) on January 7 but did not make any confirmed advances.[61] A Russian milblogger claimed that Ukrainian forces are attempting to advance in small infantry groups toward Vasylivka (west of Robotyne and southeast of Kamyanske).[62] Elements of the Russian 291st Motorized Rifle Regiment (42nd Motorized Rifle Division Southern Military District [SMD]) and BARS-Sarmat Detachment (Russian Combat Reserve) are reportedly operating in the Zaporizhia direction.[63] Russian forces continued limited ground attacks in the Dnipro direction on January 7 but did not make any confirmed advances.[64] Elements of the Russian 81st Artillery Regiment (70th Motorized Rifle Division SMD) and 127th Reconnaissance Brigade (22nd Army Corps [AC] Black Sea Fleet [BSF]) are reportedly operating in the Kherson direction.[65] Ukraine's Southern Defense Force reported on January 7 that Ukrainian forces destroyed two Osa air defense systems in unspecified areas in southern Ukraine.[66] Geolocated footage published by the Ukrainian Navy on January 6 indicates that Ukrainian forces recently destroyed Russian air defense systems and Drone Campaign (Russian Objective: Target Ukrainian military and civilian infrastructure in the rear and on the frontline) Russian forces conducted a series of drone strikes against Ukraine overnight on January 6 to 7 The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian forces launched 38 Shahed drones and other drones from Millerovo Krasnodar Krai; and Kursk Oblast.[68] The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Ukrainian forces downed 28 drones over Poltava and Kirovohrad oblasts; that 10 decoy drones were “lost,” likely due to Ukrainian electronic warfare (EW) interference; and that three drones returned to Russian airspace as of 0900 local time The Ukrainian Air Force reported on January 7 that a Ukrainian F-16 fighter pilot downed six Russian cruise missiles during a single sortie on December 13.[69] Russian Mobilization and Force Generation Efforts (Russian objective: Expand combat power without conducting general mobilization) The Kremlin continues to promote the "Time of Heroes" program which aims to place veterans of the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine in positions in local The Time of Heroes program announced on December 31 that over 15,000 Russian military veterans have applied for the second cohort of the program since November 2024 and that the application window is open until January 25.[70] Russian Technological Adaptations (Russian objective: Introduce technological innovations to optimize systems for use in Ukraine) Activities in Russian-occupied areas (Russian objective: Consolidate administrative control of annexed areas; forcibly integrate Ukrainian citizens into Russian sociocultural ISW is not reporting on activities in Russian-occupied areas today Significant activity in Belarus (Russian efforts to increase its military presence in Belarus and further integrate Belarus into Russian-favorable frameworks) Note: ISW does not receive any classified material from any source and Western reporting and social media as well as commercially available satellite imagery and other geospatial data as the basis for these reports References to all sources used are provided in the endnotes of each update [1] https://t.me/voron1OO/110; https://t.me/creamy_caprice/8043; https://x.com/AudaxonX/status/1876354671654396369; https://x.com/AudaxonX/status/1876530814529544599; https://x.com/AudaxonX/status/1876534219750744347 [4] https://understandingwar.org/backgrounder/ukrainian-defense-pokrovsk-has-compelled-russia-change-its-approach-eastern-ukraine [5] https://understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-june-27-2024 ; https://understandingwar.org/backgrounder/ukrainian-defense-pokrovsk-has-compelled-russia-change-its-approach-eastern-ukraine [6] https://isw.pub/UkrWar010625 ; https://isw.pub/UkrWar122724 ; https://isw.pub/UkrWar122224 ; https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-december-17-2024 [7] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4XONrDJWsc ; https://suspilne dot media/donbas/918133-aku-taktiku-zastosovue-armia-rf-na-toreckomu-napramku/ ; https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-january-5-2025 [9] https://understandingwar.org/backgrounder/ukrainian-defense-pokrovsk-has-compelled-russia-change-its-approach-eastern-ukraine [11] https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-april-4-2024 ; https://understandingwar.org/backgrounder/ukrainian-defense-pokrovsk-has-compelled-russia-change-its-approach-eastern-ukraine [12] https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-october-29-2024 [14] https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-december-15-2024 [18] https://isw.pub/UkrWar100924 ; https://isw.pub/UkrWar100324 ; https://isw.pub/UkrWar123124 [19] https://t.me/GeneralStaffZSU/19846 ; https://suspilne dot media/919907-zsu-vdarili-po-komandnomu-punktu-810-i-brigadi-armii-rf-u-kurskij-oblasti/ ; https://armyinform dot com.ua/2025/01/07/zsu-zavdaly-udaru-po-kurshhyni-urazheno-punkt-upravlinnya-brygady-morskoyi-pihoty-rf/; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02WpPrmg6LE2QkDH8h6arXvUhBT2VyNitPyDWi7oxHqtzBa4tz1oGUJZkXiX21rKdul ; https://t.me/otukharkiv/3448 [20] https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-december-26-2024 [21] https://x.com/giK1893/status/1876670673487294809; https://t.me/simargl_1_22/32; https://t.me/creamy_caprice/8050; https://x.com/klinger66/status/1876561122633118166; https://x.com/budeshta/status/1865843747533234387; https://x.com/klinger66/status/1876569466559254838; https://t.me/ukrainian_militant/28028; https://t.me/creamy_caprice/8042 [22] https://t.me/voenkorKotenok/61267; https://t.me/z_arhiv/30428; https://t.me/RVvoenkor/84049; https://t.me/DnevnikDesantnika/22062; https://t.me/dva_majors/61995 ; https://t.me/boris_rozhin/150424; https://t.me/yurasumy/20374 ; https://t.me/motopatriot78/31169; https://t.me/boris_rozhin/150508; https://t.me/motopatriot78/31194 ; https://t.me/yurasumy/20365 [26] https://x.com/moklasen/status/1876381327647289449; https://t.me/BoogeYmanZ/188 [29] https://t.me/dva_majors/61977; https://t.me/basurin_e/16390; https://t.me/RVvoenkor/84049; https://t.me/wargonzo/24137; https://t.me/rusich_army/19928 [30] https://www.facebook.com/usofcom/posts/pfbid025gmUUfePH1RtebemabLLG7tqVHSV2GU99KXWHNkJeCQzFXMmE1eeeGMmQfMfM64Cl [31]https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid027NcuUFtT6Zpc3AcZnC2cpkqFD1n4rpCKtyJ2ofCoVJLcY9Yrpj3u1xouEcf1mQd8l ; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02b8VAq25L2puAxHwwDDUjkRsRwbdSgFR72zwzBv9vadbJtV4jr1Lyfx9kv6LRkFZAl ; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02ecXPaihHg8qiXQdJUUM1LmnxJnSVjFzQ46QjThXxb3Q1zq71GCgGc8WBWqKN6K2tl ; https://t.me/otukharkiv/3427 [32] https://armyinform dot com.ua/2025/01/07/ruyiny-proty-tankiv-chomu-tehnika-okupantiv-bezsyla-u-vovchansku/ ; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j5TqaWCCdUg [34] https://armyinform.com dot ua/2025/01/07/syly-oborony-znyshhuyut-voroga-na-kupyanshhyni-novomlynsk-pid-syno-zhovtym-praporom/ [35] https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-december-3-2024 [36] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4XONrDJWsc ; https://armyinform.com dot ua/2025/01/07/tanky-tanut-u-tumani-syly-oborony-rozpovily-pro-vtraty-voroga-na-kupyanshhyni/; https://armyinform.com dot ua/2025/01/07/syly-oborony-znyshhuyut-voroga-na-kupyanshhyni-novomlynsk-pid-syno-zhovtym-praporom/ [37] https://armyinform.com dot ua/2025/01/07/unochi-u-teplovizijnyh-plashhah-rosiyany-namagayutsya-zakripytys-v-lisosmugah-ale-yih-likviduyut-ranishe/ [38] https://t.me/osirskiy/1032; https://t.me/creamy_caprice/8039; https://t.me/motopatriot78/31170 [39] https://t.me/DnevnikDesantnika/22058; https://t.me/z_arhiv/30420; https://t.me/boris_rozhin/150501 [40] https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02b8VAq25L2puAxHwwDDUjkRsRwbdSgFR72zwzBv9vadbJtV4jr1Lyfx9kv6LRkFZAl; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02ecXPaihHg8qiXQdJUUM1LmnxJnSVjFzQ46QjThXxb3Q1zq71GCgGc8WBWqKN6K2tl; https://t.me/Khortytsky_wind/3956; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid027NcuUFtT6Zpc3AcZnC2cpkqFD1n4rpCKtyJ2ofCoVJLcY9Yrpj3u1xouEcf1mQd8l [41] https://armyinform.com dot ua/2025/01/07/syly-oborony-znyshhuyut-voroga-na-kupyanshhyni-novomlynsk-pid-syno-zhovtym-praporom/ [42] https://suspilne dot media/kharkiv/919465-u-lozovij-na-kupanskomu-napramku-trivaut-boi-osuv-hortica/ ; https://armyinform.com dot ua/2025/01/07/u-sylah-oborony-sprostuvaly-informacziyu-pro-okupacziyu-lozovoyi-na-harkivshhyni/ [43] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4XONrDJWsc ; https://armyinform.com dot ua/2025/01/07/tanky-tanut-u-tumani-syly-oborony-rozpovily-pro-vtraty-voroga-na-kupyanshhyni/ [44] https://t.me/z_arhiv/30420; https://t.me/z_arhiv/30420 [45] https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid027NcuUFtT6Zpc3AcZnC2cpkqFD1n4rpCKtyJ2ofCoVJLcY9Yrpj3u1xouEcf1mQd8l; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02b8VAq25L2puAxHwwDDUjkRsRwbdSgFR72zwzBv9vadbJtV4jr1Lyfx9kv6LRkFZAl; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02ecXPaihHg8qiXQdJUUM1LmnxJnSVjFzQ46QjThXxb3Q1zq71GCgGc8WBWqKN6K2tl; https://t.me/Khortytsky_wind/3956 [47] https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid027NcuUFtT6Zpc3AcZnC2cpkqFD1n4rpCKtyJ2ofCoVJLcY9Yrpj3u1xouEcf1mQd8l ; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02b8VAq25L2puAxHwwDDUjkRsRwbdSgFR72zwzBv9vadbJtV4jr1Lyfx9kv6LRkFZAl ; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02ecXPaihHg8qiXQdJUUM1LmnxJnSVjFzQ46QjThXxb3Q1zq71GCgGc8WBWqKN6K2tl [48] https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid027NcuUFtT6Zpc3AcZnC2cpkqFD1n4rpCKtyJ2ofCoVJLcY9Yrpj3u1xouEcf1mQd8l ; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02b8VAq25L2puAxHwwDDUjkRsRwbdSgFR72zwzBv9vadbJtV4jr1Lyfx9kv6LRkFZAl ; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02ecXPaihHg8qiXQdJUUM1LmnxJnSVjFzQ46QjThXxb3Q1zq71GCgGc8WBWqKN6K2tl ; https://t.me/Khortytsky_wind/395 ; https://t.me/wargonzo/24137 [49]https://t.me/DnevnikDesantnika/22045 ; https://t.me/boris_rozhin/150421 ; https://t.me/epoddubny/22109 [50] https://t.me/moment_war/262; https://t.me/WarArchive_ua/24403; https://x.com/giK1893/status/1876408447778054569 ; https://t.me/ukrainian_militant/28028; https://t.me/creamy_caprice/8046 ; https://t.me/kyianyn204/2179; https://t.me/creamy_caprice/8047; https://x.com/giK1893/status/1876556780626465117 [52]https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid027NcuUFtT6Zpc3AcZnC2cpkqFD1n4rpCKtyJ2ofCoVJLcY9Yrpj3u1xouEcf1mQd8l ; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02b8VAq25L2puAxHwwDDUjkRsRwbdSgFR72zwzBv9vadbJtV4jr1Lyfx9kv6LRkFZAl ; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02ecXPaihHg8qiXQdJUUM1LmnxJnSVjFzQ46QjThXxb3Q1zq71GCgGc8WBWqKN6K2tl ; https://t.me/Khortytsky_wind/3956 [54] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY8sDvZdWEA ; https://suspilne dot media/donbas/919685-ukrainski-vijskovi-trimaut-oboronu-v-zahidnij-castini-mista-kurahove-tregubov/ ; https://armyinform.com dot ua/2025/01/07/namagayutsya-rozibraty-misto-po-kaminchyku-u-sylah-oborony-rozpovily-pro-varvarstvo-rosiyan-u-kurahovomu/ [55] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDXWlQ2K0dM ; https://armyinform.com dot ua/2025/01/07/povzucha-taktyka-okupantiv-chomu-rosiyany-roblyat-akczent-na-vykorystannya-pihoty/ [56] https://t.me/RVvoenkor/84027 ; https://t.me/z_arhiv/30424 ; https://t.me/motopatriot78/31173 ; https://t.me/boris_rozhin/150475 ; https://t.me/voenkorKotenok/61253 ; https://t.me/yurasumy/20363 [58]https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid027NcuUFtT6Zpc3AcZnC2cpkqFD1n4rpCKtyJ2ofCoVJLcY9Yrpj3u1xouEcf1mQd8l ; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02b8VAq25L2puAxHwwDDUjkRsRwbdSgFR72zwzBv9vadbJtV4jr1Lyfx9kv6LRkFZAl ; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02ecXPaihHg8qiXQdJUUM1LmnxJnSVjFzQ46QjThXxb3Q1zq71GCgGc8WBWqKN6K2tl ; https://t.me/voenkorKotenok/61253 ; [59]https://t.me/dva_majors/62014 ; https://t.me/boris_rozhin/150517 ; https://t.me/motopatriot78/31196 ; https://t.me/belarusian_silovik/47404 ; https://t.me/NeoficialniyBeZsonoV/42835 ; https://t.me/dva_majors/61960 ; https://t.me/belarusian_silovik/47404 ; https://t.me/nm_dnr/13224 ; https://t.me/yurasumy/20363 ; https://t.me/Khortytsky_wind/3956 [60] https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid027NcuUFtT6Zpc3AcZnC2cpkqFD1n4rpCKtyJ2ofCoVJLcY9Yrpj3u1xouEcf1mQd8l; https://t.me/Khortytsky_wind/3956 [61] https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02b8VAq25L2puAxHwwDDUjkRsRwbdSgFR72zwzBv9vadbJtV4jr1Lyfx9kv6LRkFZAl ; https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid02ecXPaihHg8qiXQdJUUM1LmnxJnSVjFzQ46QjThXxb3Q1zq71GCgGc8WBWqKN6K2tl [63] https://t.me/Operativ_luga_channel/103696 ; https://x.com/666_mancer/status/1876592699891241176 ; https://t.me/dva_majors/61996 [64] https://www.facebook.com/GeneralStaff.ua/posts/pfbid027NcuUFtT6Zpc3AcZnC2cpkqFD1n4rpCKtyJ2ofCoVJLcY9Yrpj3u1xouEcf1mQd8l [66] https://www.facebook.com/OperationalCommandSouth/posts/pfbid02wgBnZJ6xZSpmmZruKE6PKHSqc1PEP24sZnwnDv3itrD9Ci1bavnBUeWFHyLw6a8Xl ; https://t.me/SJTF_Odes/11940 [67] https://x.com/ConflictDISP/status/1876320792264221012 ; https://t.me/ukrainian_militant/28024 ; https://t.me/ukrainian_navy/10648 ; https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/russian-offensive-campaign-assessment-january-6-2025 [69] https://www.facebook.com/kpszsu/posts/pfbid0AFiGdZXnw5ZQSbsvdgCGZFJRX5JGfUdhjUuJkyGzPhr1SUJFd1N2RLn9g5pNpRRil ; https://www.facebook.com/yuriy.ignat/posts/pfbid0g2YQ6um6UQtJJyECLcFrBpcNcPw9JHbcFxDtS4v9CzSyuh94TpuyQYfheYekrjFfl ; https://suspilne dot media/919629-ukrainskij-pilot-f-16-za-odin-vilit-znisiv-sist-rosijskih-krilatih-raket/ ; https://t.me/kpszsu/26411 ; According to Ukrinform, this was reported by Commander of the National Guard of Ukraine Oleksandr Pivnenko on Telegram “The enemy is increasing pressure on the defensive line near Toretsk deploying infantry groups during nighttime hours strike UAV crews are working at the limits of their capabilities – day and night,” the message states Pivnenko released a video compilation showing night operations by FPV drone operators from the unmanned systems battalion of the 12th Azov Special Forces Brigade and tanks – everything hostile in the strike zone of our units will be destroyed,” Pivnenko emphasized 75 combat engagements between Ukrainian Defense Forces and Russian troops have been recorded since the beginning of the day Fighting continues along five front-line directions Photo credit: General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine by Kateryna DenisovaUkrainian soldiers fire with mortar on Russian position in Toretsk (Serhii Mykhalchuk/Global Images Ukraine via Getty Images)Russian soldiers tried to enter Ukraine's rear in Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast via underground communications as battles in the city continue a spokesperson for Ukraine's Khortytsia group of forces Toretsk, which lies roughly 20 kilometers (12 miles) southwest of Russian-occupied Bakhmut, has seen fierce fighting in recent months and Ukraine launched a counterattack in late February and early March The city is largely occupied by Russian troops Speaking on national television, Tregubov said that Russian troops are having difficulty moving through the streets of Toretsk so they have resorted to underground communications to attempt to advance in the city "Since this is also a priority sector the Russians are trying to use every chance to bypass Ukrainian troops," the spokesperson said In a similar instance, Russian troops allegedly used a gas pipeline to gain a foothold on the outskirts of Sudzha in Russia's Kursk Oblast earlier this month to conceal their movement Last week, Ukraine's military also said that Russian forces have resumed their attacks in the Pokrovsk sector which had experienced a relative lull in Russian activity until then President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Russia is planning renewed offensives in various parts of the front line Kateryna Denisova works as a News Editor at the Kyiv Independent She previously worked as a news editor at the NV media outlet for four years covering mainly Ukrainian and international politics Kateryna holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from Taras Shevchenko University of Kyiv She also was a fellow at journalism schools in the Czech Republic and Germany ShareSaveCommentBusinessAerospace & DefenseUkraine’s Best New Drone Is Named ‘Seth’The drone loiters and scans for targets.ByDavid Axe #article-stream-0 .headline-embed .font-size{font-size: 54px;} #article-stream-0 .quote-embed.color-accent #article-stream-0 .quote-embed .font-size p{font-size: 36px;} #article-stream-0 .subhead-embed.color-accent #article-stream-0 .subhead3-embed .font-accent{font-family: Euclid,"Noto Sans","Droid Sans","Helvetica Neue",Corbel,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;}Seth drones After eight months of brutal urban fighting characterized by the demolition of entire highrises Russian forces claimed full control of the city of Toretsk in eastern Ukraine in early February A Ukrainian force anchored by the 12th Azov Brigade plus military police units and territorials has pushed the Russian 2nd Combined Arms Army out of much of Toretsk a mining city with a pre-war population of 30,000 the head of Ukraine’s intelligence directorate of course; they’ve lost around 300,000 troops and have fewer to spare But the Ukrainian armed forces have one key advantage in most sectors of the 800-mile front line threading through southern and eastern Ukraine into western Russia’s Kursk Oblast: their drones A Seth drone strikes a Russian truck in Toretsk that flies lazy circles over the battlefield scanning for the distinctive shapes of Russian vehicles The propeller-driven Seth automatically homes in striking with a warhead weighing around 10 pounds A Seth apparently can beam video back to its operators It keeps station by way of a multi-channel GPS receiver that’s resistant to jamming Its autonomy makes it hard to defeat—short of simply shooting it down According to Ukrinform, the Azov Brigade reported this on Telegram and shared a video "Repelling the enemy assault in 'bukhankas,' 'Nivas,' and 'UAZiks' This time the occupiers converted their civilian cars into assault vehicles and headed towards the positions of the Ukrainian Defense Forces in the Toretsk sector," the report reads The brigade noted that the result was predictable: a lot of killed and unaccounted-for enemy soldiers who were hunted down by the drone operators of the 12th Azov Brigade The brigade emphasized that the lack of armored vehicles affects the Russian Armed Forces' assault actions but the invaders still have enough manpower to continue their relentless attacks on the Ukrainian positions Ukraine's Defense Forces repelled another Russian attack destroying two tanks and damaging two infantry fighting vehicles Ukrainian forces have advanced against Russian troops close the two major eastern cities of Pokrovsk and Toretsk despite continued gains for Moscow elsewhere along the front line Fierce clashes have continued despite U.S. President Donald Trump entering negotiations with Russia for a ceasefire deal, cutting out Kyiv from talks in Saudi Arabia. Officials in Ukraine and Europe had feared the Republican's pledge to end the war would come at Kyiv's expense Reports have also suggested Ukraine and the U.S. have agreed the outlines of a major minerals deal. Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to visit Washington later this week Moscow has been steadily advancing toward the Ukrainian hubs of Pokrovsk and Toretsk for months part of the Donbas region that Moscow has claimed it has annexed from Kyiv but does not fully control a city key to Ukrainian defenses in the east rather than fighting inside the settlement fighting has blazed on for months in and around Toretsk a city providing a vital link for Ukraine to logistics bases at Kostiantynivka Russia claimed to have seized Toretsk earlier this month reported on Tuesday that Ukrainian forces had advanced in Uspenivka One of Russia's prominent Russian military bloggers—accounts often used as sources of information in lieu of official commentary from the Kremlin—also reported that Russian troops had been pushed out of Uspenivka Another pro-Kremlin account reported Moscow had lost the center of the settlement Ukraine's air assault forces separately said on Wednesday that paratroopers had seized control of Kotlyne Russian control of Kotlyne would have allowed Moscow to take control of a key highway running from Pokrovsk west Newsweek could not independently verify this report one Russian military blogger reported that Ukraine had launched counteroffensive in Toretsk on Sunday using U.S.-donated armored vehicles in a fresh assault Several pro-Kremlin accounts said Ukrainian forces had attacked in northern Toretsk The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) think tank which tracks daily changes to the front line said on Tuesday that Russia had attacked near Toretsk and east of the settlement in recent days the think tank said in its daily analysis that Moscow had advanced in the western Russian Kursk region including in the center of the village of Pogrebki Several Russian accounts reported that the village had been captured with fighting continuing immediately south of Pogrebki Russia has been trying to end Ukrainian control of a chunk of territory in its Kursk region after Kyiv launched a surprise incursion in the late summer Moscow has managed to peel back some of Ukraine's grip but Kyiv has retained its hold over a chunk of territory The Ukrainian DeepState tracker said on Tuesday that the Kremlin had captured Novoocheretuvate a Donetsk village close to Russian-controlled Velyka Novosilka Russian troops advanced just east of the border with the Dnipropetrovsk region The Institute for the Study of War said on Tuesday: "Russian forces continued offensive operations in the Pokrovsk direction on February 25 but did not advance." Ukraine's military said on Wednesday that Russia had attacked seven times around Toretsk in the past day It remains to be seen whether a ceasefire deal brokered by the U.S. will be agreed in coming weeks, and whether Ukraine will sign such an agreement. French President Emmanuel Macron said that an agreement could be "feasible" within weeks Russian forces in the embattled eastern Ukraine city of Toretsk are bringing about "total destruction" in the settlement Moscow "uses the tactic of total destruction of all residential and non-residential buildings," also known as "scorched-earth" warfare the acting commander of Kyiv's "Tsunami" special operations unit fighting in Toretsk Ukraine has previously accused Russia of employing "scorched-earth" tactics in battles in the east of the country Newsweek has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment via email Russia has been moving through Toretsk for many months claiming more of the Donetsk city that has been a Ukrainian stronghold and the gateway to the logistics hub of Kostiantynivka The acting Ukrainian commander said Russian forces operating in Toretsk are burning down all buildings in the city taking out defensive positions and forcing Kyiv's fighters to "retreat to some nearest shelter then return to the basement to hold the defense further." Russia inflicts "great damage" with first person-view (FPV) and other types of strike drones as well as artillery fire "The enemy is constantly carrying out assault operations constantly working from different directions: from the north adding that Russia was mainly attacking with all-terrain vehicles and motorbikes "The fighting is going on in the city itself the front line runs somewhere in the center of the city," he said said on Saturday that the "situation in Toretsk is very tense and chaotic." "Positions can literally be next to each other and firefights can take place between the rooms of a house," the blog wrote saying Russian forces were "actively advancing deep into the city which makes it difficult to defeat them." The blog reported that Moscow was also targeting Shcherbynivka The U.S.-based think tank, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said on Saturday that geolocated footage showed Russia had "marginally advanced" along a street in northwestern Toretsk "Mansur," the acting commander of Ukraine's "Tsunami" special operations unit fighting in Toretsk: "The enemy uses the tactic of total destruction of all residential and non-residential buildings." The Institute for the Study of War on Saturday: "Russian forces recently marginally advanced in Toretsk amid continued offensive operations in the area on January 4 Geolocated footage published on January 4 indicates that Russian forces recently marginally advanced along 1-Hirskyi Street in northwestern Toretsk." in a post to messaging app Telegram on Sunday said its fighters had attacked Ukrainian brigades along the front line close to Toretsk the Kremlin will likely continue its slow but steady advance in eastern Ukraine focused on Toretsk and the Ukrainian strategic city of Pokrovsk to the southwest made this statement on television in response to a question about whether there are signs of Russian exhaustion in the Toretsk sector The Russians can rotate troops fairly frequently in that direction As it [ Toretsk] is logistically close to their strongholds This allows them to replace personnel as needed," he explained Trehubov noted that while he does not anticipate Russian forces becoming exhausted there is limited use of equipment," he added Trehubov further reported increased Russian activity in Kupiansk where enemy forces are attempting to exert pressure from three directions They are working to establish a crossing over the Oskil River and advance toward Kupiansk itself near the border of multiple operational directions they are attempting to advance on Borova via the Chornyi Zherebets River a total of 127 combat engagements occurred along the frontline with the highest concentration of clashes taking place in the Pokrovsk sector According to Ukrinform, the press service of the Khyzhak (Predator) Combined Brigade under the Ukrainian Patrol Police Department reported this on Facebook "A dozen motorcycles with paratroopers — another enemy attempt to break through FPV drones and Khyzhak’s aerial munitions are also in action," the statement reads The military noted that they first destroyed the motorcycles and then their "passengers" Those who managed to reach the nearby tree lines are not expected to last long there there were 96 combat clashes between Ukrainian defenders and Russian forces with the heaviest fighting occurring in the Pokrovsk sector Russia's government said on Sunday its forces had captured another village in the eastern Ukrainian Donetsk region shortly after it claimed to have seized the city of Toretsk While fighting has blazed for nearly three years along hundreds of miles of front lines Russia has focused its efforts on capturing as much of Ukraine's industrial Donetsk region as possible Kyiv has often reported the fiercest clashes taking place in the oblast Russia has set its sights on capturing several cities and Toretsk—to the northeast—as well as on Chasiv Yar The Kremlin has been trying to capture Chasiv Yar since its forces seized the destroyed city of Bakhmut in May 2023 but have made slow progress despite many months of bitter shows much of the settlement now under Russian control with the northwestern edge of Orikhovo-Vasylivka as undetermined The statement from the Russian government came two days after Moscow said Toretsk had fallen to its troops Ukrainian officials have repeatedly denied that the Kremlin now controls Toretsk Ukraine's Khortytsia group of troops operating in Donetsk said on Sunday that Russian forces had attempted to raise the country's tricolor flag in Toretsk but had "failed." Ukraine's General Staff said on Sunday that fighting was taking place around Chasiv Yar and Toretsk Russia said on Friday that Toretsk had become a "powerful fortified area," and its control of the city "opens the way" for Russian forces to take control of the nearby settlement of Kostiantynivka Kostiantynivka is linked to Toretsk and the southern outskirts of Chasiv Yar by major highways and is one of the settlements dubbed a "fortress city," which are crucial to Ukraine's belt of defenses in the east said on Saturday that Ukrainian forces had "recently marginally advanced" along the highway connecting Bakhmut and Kostiantynivka One of Russia's prominent military bloggers said Moscow would target Kostiantynivka and settlements around Kramatorsk and Sloviansk Moscow said on Friday that since the start of February Russian troops had seized three other settlements in Donetsk including the village of Druzhba on Toretsk's northeastern edge Russia's government also said its forces had captured a village in the northeastern Kharkiv region since February 1 Russia's Defense Ministry in a post to messaging app Telegram on Friday: "During five months of fighting for Dzerzhinsk our troops inflicted significant losses on the enemy The Armed Forces of Ukraine lost over 70 percent of the personnel of their group—this is more than 26,000 servicemen." Dzerzhinsk is how Russia refers to Toretsk Newsweek is committed to journalism that is factual and fair We value your input and encourage you to rate this article This was reported by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook sharing operational information as of 22:00 on Thursday The Russian invaders launched 68 airstrikes the Russians deployed 946 kamikaze drones and conducted over 4,000 shelling attacks on the positions of Ukrainian forces and settlements Ukrainian forces repelled three enemy attacks near Vovchansk the enemy conducted five assaults on Ukrainian defensive positions near Zahryzove All Russian attacks were repelled by the Ukrainian defenders Russian invaders attacked Ukrainian positions 15 times near Ivanivka the enemy made one attempt to advance on Ukrainian positions near Bilohorivka 14 combat clashes have been recorded near Chasiv Yar and towards Stupochky the Russians attacked 32 times the positions of the Ukrainian defense forces The main offensive efforts were concentrated near Dyliivka 17 attempts were made by the enemy to break through Ukrainian defenses near the settlements of Promin The enemy has suffered significant losses in this sector of the frontline Ukrainian soldiers neutralized 286 invaders and five satellite communication terminals were destroyed and one armored vehicle of the enemy were damaged the enemy attacked five times near Kostiantynopil the enemy attacked five times in the areas of Pryvilne and Novosilka the Ukrainian defenders repelled ten assaults by the invaders in the areas of Mala Tokmachka the enemy did not conduct any offensive actions Ukrainian forces repelled 29 Russian attacks dropping 31 guided bombs on Ukrainian positions and settlements The situation on other fronts has not changed significantly Russian unsuccessfully attempted to regain control of Pishchane said this on Ukrainian television commenting on data from the DeepState analytical project "They [the Russians] are trying [to intensify pressure on the Toretsk front] It's obvious that if they face difficulties in one area a standard method of warfare," Trehubov said Trehubov recalled that according to Russia's Ministry of Defense Russian forces had officially "taken" Toretsk in early February fighting in the area continues to this day -- and has been ongoing for a year now The situation remains tough because this is urban combat A single street can change hands multiple times in a week Russian forces have still been unable to establish full control over the city," he said Trehubov noted that the situation in Chasiv Yar is similar to Toretsk but with some differences and the Russians are trying to maneuver around it these vehicles are being effectively targeted," he said When asked about the situation on the Pokrovsk front and the extent of Russian troop activity Trehubov said that after a sharp decline in attacks in early September Russian forces have now resumed their offensive this renewed push has not yielded any significant success After suffering heavy losses in previous assaults they have been unable to effectively restore their offensive pressure This isn't just my assessment – it's what I hear directly from my friends on the ground in Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad They say there are simply far fewer Russian troops in the area now because a significant number of them have been eliminated in these failed assaults," Trehubov concluded the Ukrainian Air Force of the Armed Forces of Ukraine executed a precision strike on significant russian military accumulation in Toretsk which housed forces of the 1st Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade and the 103rd Motorized Rifle Regiment was hit in both its main shelter and the shelter’s basement according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine leading to the elimination of key enemy personnel including specialized assault groups and UAV operators While the exact numbers of those affected are still under review the strike has notably undermined the operational capability of the russian military along the Toretsk axis This decisive action underscores the commitment of Ukrainian forces to safeguard national security and disrupt the enemy’s operational plans Ukraine continues to take necessary measures to prevent any further threats to its people spokesperson for Ukraine's Khortytsia Operational and Strategic Group of Forces The Russians are simply exhausted from trying to capture the city they supposedly took it nearly two months ago they have been unable to establish control -- and most likely never will Now they are attempting to bypass the city from the flanks," Trehubov said He stressed that Ukrainian forces are currently operating effectively in the Toretsk sector having failed for months to seize the city are now attempting to outflank it from the north "But they are being destroyed in open fields The 24th Brigade and other Ukrainian defenders are operating effectively The Russians are deploying large amounts of armored vehicles there -- one of the few sectors where they are using them in significant numbers -- but those vehicles are also being destroyed in large numbers," he added Earlier reports said that Ukrainian forces had eliminated a Russian position in Toretsk damage to the city and its buildings can be seen after heavy artillery and guided bomb attacks by Russia in Toretsk Residents of Toretsk have fled the town in recent weeks as Russia has escalated its attacks in the area by Asami TerajimaRussia’s invading army is racing against the weather clock trying to seize yet more towns in Ukraine’s eastern Donbas region before the ground gets muddy this autumn and temperatures later plunge The coal mining town of Toretsk is on the verge of falling to Moscow’s forces an outcome which would make it the latest in a handful of towns and villages falling in recent months to Russia’s grinding Donbas offensive launched a year ago “I don’t think the town will hold out for long,” said Ukrainian artilleryman Oleksandr with the 109th Territorial Defense Brigade deployed in the area stressing that there is a “serious shortage of people.” and if our command doesn't send reserves there in the nearest future if not catastrophic,” Ukrainian military expert Mykhailo Zhyrokhov told the Kyiv Independent and the Russians understand that when the weather changes and it becomes impossible to organize logistics they are trying to capture as much as possible,” he added The Ukrainian military has admitted that the situation in Toretsk, where some 1,200 civilians remain, is deteriorating. Russian troops have entered Toretsk’s eastern outskirts and are trying to move toward the central mine in the western part of the town, military spokeswoman Anastasia Bobovnikova reported on Oct Evacuation of the civilian population from the city of Toretsk Donetsk Oblast on July 30 (Vlada Liberova/Libkos/Getty Images)An elderly woman sits in a car loaded with items of luggage after she and her relatives fled from Toretsk by car in the town of Kostyantynivka in eastern Donetsk Oblast on June 22 (Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images)According to Oleksandr and military analysts interviewed the fate of Toretsk depends on whether Ukraine can allocate reserve units and scarce artillery shells to prevent a further Russian advance Ukraine is often forced to prioritize some sectors of the front line more than others due to a severe shortage of resources — from ammunition to equipment and manpower Earlier this month, Ukraine lost Vuhledar another mining town located 80 kilometers southwest of Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast The deepening Russian advance comes as Ukraine scrambles to secure as many resources and weapons as possible for its troops before the uncertain U.S. presidential election The regular Ukrainian Defense Contact Group meeting meant to gather leaders of 50-plus countries to discuss further Ukraine aid this weekend at Ramstein airbase in Germany, was postponed due to outgoing U.S President Joe Biden’s cancellation of his Europe trip this week Biden put off the visit due to a hurricane hammering the southern state of Florida we need support," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told his French counterpart Emmanuel Macron on Oct taking the opportunity of the Ramstein meeting being canceled to travel to European capitals to rally support for boosting weaponry supplies to his country Earlier in the day, Zelensky held talks in London with U.K Prime Minister Keir Starmer and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte Some Ukrainian soldiers expressed their concerns that the instability of Western military aid makes it extremely difficult for Kyiv to plan on the battlefield “There is no possibility of good planning .. because we are very dependent on our allies,” said Anton an acting commander of a reconnaissance platoon with the 112th Territorial Defense Force Brigade deployed in southeastern Zaporizhzhia Oblast these positions will be lost very quickly.” Ukrainian military servicemen look on towards the town of Toretsk in eastern Donetsk Oblast on June 25 (Roman Pilipey/AFP via Getty Images)For Oleksandr who is defending the Ukrainian-controlled parts of Toretsk the ammunition shortage in his unit has worsened since April leaving insufficient amounts to target all Russian positions which operates on four different weapon systems only receives enough shells to shoot five to ten times daily And compared to a few months ago when Russian troops were only trying to advance where they saw the opportunities “they are heavily trying to assault” Ukrainian defense positions in the area The Russian military has increasingly become better at exploiting weak spots to overwhelm Ukrainian defenses with a massive quantity of troops and firepower Moscow accelerated its push on Toretsk after capturing Vuhledar earlier in October advancing deeper into the central part of Donetsk Oblast nearly five months after it took advantage of a poorly organized Ukrainian rotation of units to penetrate through the 2014 defense in May Besides Toretsk, the current hottest spots of the war are the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove sectors west and southwest of Toretsk there are signs that Russia may begin a new push elsewhere to further stretch Ukrainian troops according to Western and Ukrainian military experts A map capturing the situation unfolding around the town of Toretsk in eastern Donetsk Oblast as of October 2024 (Nizar al-Rifai/The Kyiv Independent)Emil Kastehelmi an analyst at the Finland-based Black Bird Group which has provided detailed coverage of the war from open sources said Ukraine faces a difficult balancing act between its ability to replace casualties with fresh troops while trading “as little ground as possible in order to inflict heavy casualties to the Russians.” “It’s always about trading land for (Russian) casualties in this situation,” Kastehelmi said “Ukrainian commanders need to carefully always consider what position to leave in order to spare some of their own troops but not to let the Russians into too favorable positions.” Russia’s Donbas offensive, which has cost them hundreds to more than a thousand troops per day over the past year really expensive and a long process,” Kastehelmi said “If all places take this long and cost this much the Russians won’t be able to achieve any of their goals in the war,” Kastehelmi added referring to the Russian army’s two-year-long attempts to capture Vuhledar Since Russia began a large-scale offensive on Avdiivka one year ago relying on a seemingly endless wave of battalion-sized mechanized assaults it has held the initiative across most of the battlefield albeit at a massive cost in terms of losses When Ukraine launched a surprise cross-border incursion into Russia’s Kursk Oblast in August Moscow took advantage of Kyiv’s attention shift to the northeast by intensifying attacks on Pokrovsk Russian troops are now less than 10 kilometers from the key logistic hub that connects the last Ukrainian-held eastern strongholds with the cities westward Despite Russia’s proximity to Pokrovsk compared to the 15 kilometers-distance it was at before the Kursk incursion military analysts told the Kyiv Independent that Ukraine appears to have stabilized the front line for now About 30 kilometers southward, another worrying situation is developing around Kurakhove Russian troops are less than five kilometers from the town trying to further solidify the northern and southern flanks to threaten encirclement a far more serious full encirclement threat is unfolding to the northeast of Kurakhove Russian troops surround a Ukrainian pocket along both banks of the Vovcha River from three sides The pocket is only roughly eight kilometers from being completely encircled experts are confident that Ukraine could withdraw on time when the situation becomes critical Further south, Russia appears to be preparing for a further push upwards after capturing Vuhledar earlier in October. Vuhledar was important as it served as an intersection between the front lines of Donetsk and southeastern Zaporizhzhia oblasts director of the Ukrainian information and consulting company Defense Express Ukrainian soldiers fire D-30 artillery in the direction of Toretsk in eastern Donetsk Oblast on July 30, 2024. (Diego Herrera Carcedo/Anadolu via Getty Images)The Ukrainian military has reported since late September that Russia may begin a push in Zaporizhzhia Oblast and has begun limited assault operations to pressure Ukrainian defenses there “(Russian troops) are now trying to activate actions in the southern direction to again create conditions to stretch our reserves (in an area of the front line that was calmer),” Zgurets said Ukrainian troops used artillery to threaten Moscow’s logistics on parts of Highway H20 in Russian-occupied territories that lead up to cities further south like Volnovakha and Mariupol The town is also important to Moscow as it is located at a height allowing Moscow to form a “reliable transport corridor” for its troops in Zaporizhzhia Oblast Kastehelmi from the Black Bird Group said there are signs that Russia may be intensifying its push in areas like near Siversk in the northern part of Donetsk Oblast The Russian Defense Ministry said on Oct. 4 that it captured the village of Verkhnokamianske, a claim neither confirmed nor refuted by Ukraine. There may have been “possible developments” in the Siversk area it is unclear whether they are small Russian reconnaissance groups or whether Russian forces have been able to secure gains there “When a country is fighting an attritional war develop into rather sudden developments,” Kastehelmi said it's possible that the defenses can start crumbling more quickly “If the Russians are able to replenish their own losses at a quick pace and if the Ukrainians are still burdened by the current problems regarding equipment then the situation can become such that there the Russians may be able to advance more quickly in some sectors.” Maps capturing the battlefield situation in Donetsk Oblast and in Ukraine as of October 2024 (Lisa Kukharska/The Kyiv Independent)Maps capturing the battlefield situation in Donetsk Oblast and in Ukraine as of October 2024 (Lisa Kukharska/The Kyiv Independent)But for now all eyes remain on Toretsk as the Russians advance deeper into the town “It is clear that we would lose (Toretsk) in the nearest days,” and it is extremely difficult to hold the defense with the current quantity of troops and resources as the Russian troops advance along its Central Street including the Black Bird Group's Kastehelmi are more skeptical of Moscow's offensive capability Kastehelmi said that the battle of Toretsk could carry on into Winter at the current pace and finds it "unlikely that the Russians will be able to capture the whole city during the next couple of autumn months." The Kyiv Independent’s News Editor Chris York contributed to this report Asami Terajima is a reporter at the Kyiv Independent covering Ukrainian military issues She is the co-author of the weekly War Notes newsletter She previously worked as a business reporter for the Kyiv Post focusing on international trade Terajima moved to Ukraine during childhood and completed her bachelor’s degree in Business Administration in the U.S She is the winner of the Thomson Reuters Foundation's Kurt Schork Award in International Journalism 2023 (Local Reporter category) and the George Weidenfeld Prize awarded as part of Germany's Axel Springer Prize 2023 She was also featured in the Media Development Foundation’s “25 under 25: Young and Bold” 2023 list of emerging media makers in Ukraine The National Police reported this on Facebook It is noted that Ukrainian defenders managed to destroy four enemy ATVs with one drone As Ukrinform reported earlier, Ukrainian defenders have already repelled seven Russian assaults in the Toretsk sector today. Feb 7 (EFE).- The Russian forces have captured the strategically vital city of Toretsk in eastern Ukraine The Russian Defense Ministry reported that over 26,000 Ukrainian troops lost their lives in the five-month battle marking a significant win for Moscow as it presses forward in the region The ministry referred to the city by its Soviet-era name which saw intense fighting over several months which had a population of over 30,000 before the war Ukrainian sources reported that Russia deployed around 10,000 troops in the offensive although Russian forces did not enter the city until early September According to the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) only the dumps of three mines north of the city remained unoccupied by the time the Russians advanced where Ukrainian defenders had built a complex underground network of tunnels The fall of Toretsk opens the door for Russia to advance towards Kostiantinivka a key Ukrainian stronghold with nearly 70,000 residents as of February 2022 “Control of this important defensive point paves the way for the liberation of Kostiantinivka and provides access to the enemy’s flank in Kramatorsk,” the defense ministry said the ministry reported the capture of the small Ukrainian town of Druzhba Russian forces are nearing complete control of southern Donetsk Moscow now aims to capture Kostiantinivka and Pokrovsk where Russian troops are already positioned on the outskirts remain beyond Russia’s current reach The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces said this in a war update published on Facebook Russian forces launched three missile strikes using four missiles and conducted 85 airstrikes dropping 121 guided aerial bombs they carried out over 4,000 shelling attacks including 144 strikes from multiple rocket launchers Enemy airstrikes targeted multiple settlements including Kolodiazhne and Hoptivka (Kharkiv region); Zelene Pole Ukrainian forces repelled six attacks near Vovchansk and towards Petro-Ivanivka three Russian assaults were stopped near Holubivka and Zahryzove the enemy attacked Ukrainian positions ten times trying to advance near Novomykhailivka and Nove nine clashes were recorded near Chasiv Yar 21 enemy attacks were recorded near Toretsk Ukrainian defenders repelled 18 assaults near Yelyzavetivka Ukrainian forces stopped eight Russian attacks near Kostiantynopil one Russian assault was repelled near Vilne Pole Ukrainian defenders successfully stopped four attacks near Kamianske Ukrainian forces repelled 27 Russian assaults within the past day The enemy also carried out 35 airstrikes using 46 guided bombs along with 380 artillery strikes on Ukrainian positions and settlements No signs of enemy offensive group formations were recorded in the Volyn and Polissia sectors and artillery struck 16 areas of enemy troop and equipment concentration and one Russian electronic warfare station #article-stream-0 .headline-embed .font-base{font-family: Schnyder,"Noto Sans","Droid Sans","Helvetica Neue",Corbel,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;} #article-stream-0 .headline-embed.font-size #article-stream-0 .subhead3-embed .font-accent{font-family: Euclid,"Noto Sans","Droid Sans","Helvetica Neue",Corbel,Helvetica,Arial,sans-serif;}Explosives demolish a Russian-held building in Toretsk blowing up the bridges over the nearby Vovcha River and regrouping behind the rubble But there’s one sector where the Russians aren’t advancing Ukrainian forces are the ones advancing—albeit not very quickly and not very far How the Ukrainians have managed to claw back a few blocks in Toretsk a city with a pre-war population of 35,000 says a lot about the battlefield conditions in Russia’s 32-month wider war on Ukraine drone feeds and videos posted online by front-line forces noticed something unusual happening in central Toretsk where Ukrainian brigades and Russian regiments had been locked in brutal urban combat for weeks One of the open-source intelligence analysts noted a pattern of Ukrainian strikes on Russian positions in Toretsk’s central highrise district there were signs of close combat—evidence the Ukrainians were following up their bombardment with infantry assaults possibly indicating the Ukrainians had evicted local Russian forces Videos compiled by the Ukrainian 101st Guard Brigade in early October seem to depict the initial phase of the counterattack The videos show drones striking Russians hiding out in doorways apartments and rooftops in the highrise district One drone observed Russian infantry retreating following a failed local counterattack The Russians fortified at least one highrise compelling the Ukrainians to drop the entire building with explosive charges and here our lads can’t even reach the nearby houses.” The officer said he’d been injured by falling concrete—further evidence of the Ukrainians’ demolition strategy But if destroying Toretsk is the price of partially reversing the Russian advance along that axis The alternative—another Ukrainian retreat—just allows the Russians to advance into more towns and cities Halting the Russians in Toretsk won’t save Kurakhove or Pokrovsk—those settlements are in entirely different sectors But how Ukrainian forces have reversed some Russian gains in Toretsk might hint at Ukrainian commanders’ thinking as they brace for the big battles to come in Pokrovsk and Kurakhove The plan is evident: bombard the Russians with drones and topple every building the Russians might turn into a defensive position 1. Intelschizo 2. Audax 3. WarTranslated (and here) 4. Ukraine Control Map The Russians have occupied the built-up area of Toretsk The north-western outskirts of the town and the mine in its northern part remain under Ukraine’s control and fighting is taking place there Most sources confirm that Kurakhove has passed completely into Russian hands Only the Operational-Strategic Army Group ‘Khortytsia’ which was responsible for the defence of the town claimed as late as 11 January that the centre of Ukrainian resistance was holding out on the site of the local thermal power station Velyka Novosilka came under operational encirclement The supply and possible evacuation of the defenders is now only possible via dirt roads Russian forces have reached the first of two roads leading west from Pokrovsk, exiting on the outskirts of Udachny. According to Reuters, the coking coal mine located there has completely stopped work (see ‘The prospect of losing Pokrovsk – a blow to Ukraine’s metallurgical sector’) remains in Ukraine’s hands (Russian troops are 6–7 km away from it) Pokrovsk’s main connection to the northern part of Donetsk Oblast has also been disrupted Clashes are ongoing over a key road junction on the Pokrovsk-Kostiantynivka route which is currently not controlled by either side Russian troops seized the refractory plant – the main centre of Ukrainian resistance in the centre of Chasiv Yar They also resumed offensive operations north-west of Bakhmut They also continued to expand bridgeheads on the western banks of the Zherebets River towards Lyman and the Oskil River north of Kupiansk Ukrainian forces were pushed back from Berdin in Kursk Oblast and ceased offensive operations More towns and villages came back under Russian control and they recorded the greatest progress in the northern part of the enemy breakout made moves to push Russia out of Makhnovka south of Sudzha and to thus remove the immediate threat from that town guided aerial bombs fell on an industrial zone in Zaporizhzhia The attack killed 13 people and wounded 127 making it one of the bloodiest strikes on the city to date the invaders also hit Zaporizhzhia with a rocket with the air raid siren sounding only after it hit the industrial infrastructure (according to some sources Further attacks on the city – this time using strike drones – occurred on 10 and 12 January Russia attacked targets across Ukrainian territory Emergency power cuts as a result of damage to power infrastructure occurred in Kyiv (10 January) Kherson (12 January) and Zhytomyr and Sumy oblasts (13 January) Damage to facilities was also reported from Kyiv (8 Chernihiv (11 January) and Zhytomyr (14 January) oblasts as well as Kharkiv and Mykolaiv (9 January) Sumy was the target of a rocket and air attack From the evening of 7 January until the morning of 14 January the invaders are thought to have used a total of 564 strike drones and just seven rockets Ukraine declared 363 drones and four missiles shot down while 193 drones were described as locally lost The Ukrainian Air Force Command introduced additional information in the communiqués according to which the locally lost drones did not contain warheads Ukrainian drones struck the Kristal combine fuel base in the town of Engels in the Saratov region the Russian strategic air force base dislocated there This is the biggest success of Ukrainian operations deep inside Russian territory since last August when the Rosreserv fuel depot in Proletarsk in the Rostov region was destroyed Drones also attacked Engels on 14 January and again led to a fire at the fuel base (damage to two companies was reported) Ukrainian drones caused a fire at the PlastFaktor plant in the town of Krym in Rostov Oblast on 11 January at the Taneco refinery in Nizhnekamsk in Tatarstan and on 14 January Gazprom’s liquefied gas storage facility in Kazan (earlier the Astra channel reported that the hit had occurred at the Kazanorgsintez plant) Gatchina in the Leningrad region (10 January) and Nizhnekamsk again (14 January) On 9 January a meeting which had been postponed since last October took place The 25th meeting of the contact group of states providing Ukraine with military support in the Ramstein format with some participants expressing concern about whether cooperation in this format would continue after the change of power in Washington The United States and Ukraine gave divergent figures on the value of the military aid which has been transferred and pledged to date According to US Defence Secretary Lloyd Austin it amounted to $122 billion as of February 2022 Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh indicated a figure of $126 billion and the Ukrainian Defence Ministry indicated $145 billion ‘Roadmaps’ setting out strategic goals for the development of Ukraine’s Defence Forces until 2027 under eight so-called coalition capabilities (air On the occasion of the contact group meeting several countries presented new support packages which Ukraine calculated to have a total value of €2 billion (according to President Volodymyr Zelensky) or the same amount in dollars (according to Defence Minister Rustem Umerov) The 74th package funded from the Presidential Drawdown Authority included AIM-9M air-to-air missiles for F-16 fighters and AIM-7 and its modification RIM-7 for post-Soviet Buk-M1 air defence systems (as part of the FrankenSAM project) 230 kg JDAM-ER and 100 kg GBU-39/B guided aerial bombs Canada’s Ministry of Defence announced a $300 million donation – $200 million to the Czech initiative to purchase munitions for Ukraine (Canada had previously set aside $53 million for this purpose) and $100 million to acquire Ukrainian drones in accordance with the ‘Danish model’ (Denmark was the first to change the form of military aid from direct supply to paying for Ukrainian production) London announced 30,000 FPV drones as part of the drone coalition (worth around £45m) and Oslo announced $28m for the purchase of drones as part of the UK-coordinated International Fund for Ukraine Germany pledged the dispatch of 50 additional missiles for the IRIS-T air defence system (the Ukrainian defence ministry recalled that Berlin had pledged to deliver a further six systems of this type in 2025) Iceland pledged €2 million in the ‘Danish model’ and Poland pledged another support package German news channel n-tv revealed the assumptions of the first support package for the Ukrainian army prepared by the German authorities in 2025 seven Gepard self-propelled anti-aircraft guns with 120,000 35 mm cartridges 3,500 Helsing circulating ammunition and six Sea King helicopters Deliveries of the listed armaments had already been announced It is unclear whether they will be delivered simultaneously The declared number of artillery shells in particular raises doubts about this the delivery of 4,500 drones worth a total of €5 million to Kyiv was announced by the new Lithuanian Defence Minister Dovilė Šakalienė President Joe Biden’s outgoing team has failed to use $4bn from the Presidential Drawdown Authority mechanism The funds will be transferred to Donald Trump’s administration with the understanding that they are to go to further military support for Ukraine Germany ceremonially handed over to Ukraine the first of 54 RCH 155 (Remote Controlled Howitzer 155 mm) self-propelled howitzers on a Boxer wheeled armoured personnel carrier chassis The German-funded contract started in January 2023 and six howitzers are ready or in the final stages of production They are expected to remain in Germany until April and will be used to train Ukrainian crews Ukraine is the first user of the RCH 155 which due to the chassis and armament used (analogous to that used in the several tonnes heavier PzH 2000 howitzer on a tracked chassis) remains an experimental design stated that Ukraine would also receive Boxer RCT30 wheeled infantry fighting vehicles Rheinmetall CEO Armin Papperger announced that the first KF41 Lynx tracked infantry fighting vehicle had been handed over for testing in Ukraine at the end of last year The words of the heads of the German armaments companies should be seen first and foremost as a competitive bid which German funding may help to make a reality It should be remembered that last June Papperger announced that a Lynx plant would be up and running in Ukraine by the end of 2024 German companies are not only competing internally (for state funding) but are also trying to push Sweden’s BAE Systems AB out of the Ukrainian market Ukraine decided that its target infantry fighting vehicle would be the CV90 manufactured in Sweden and already in use by the Ukrainian army on the front line The 12th Army Corps has been formed in the Ukrainian Land Forces as reported by MilitaryLand.net on 8 January and indirectly confirmed by the Ministry of Defence The formation of a new – the fourth in a row – corps in the land forces was first reported in October 2024 Although it is not known which units are included it is likely that the core of the new corps will consist of newly formed brigades with numbers beginning with 140 and/or 150 and the 7th Landing and Assault Corps in the landing forces Although each corps is intended to contain four to five all-military brigades (plus support and security units) The 9th corps and 10th corps each comprise three brigades while the 7th KDSz and 11th corps each have ten the State Bureau of Investigation reported that last year 120 officials suspected of involvement in organising the illegal movement of men subject to conscription across the border had been uncovered Sixty-one indictments were filed with the courts the acceptance of bribes totalling 11.4 million hryvnias (about $270,000) was documented and the perpetrators’ assets worth about 11 million hryvnias (more than $250,000) were seized Among the most common ways of enabling departure were the falsification of medical diagnoses the granting of humanitarian driver’s licences and transfers across the border beyond checkpoints the commander of the Ukrainian Land Forces assured the president that he had taken measures to improve the situation in the 155th Anna Kyiv Mechanised Brigade the focus was on manning it with experienced officers and encouraging soldiers who had left the unit without leave to return the head of the Censor.net news portal Yuri Butusov stated that Zelensky had issued a decision to stop creating new brigades and to send enlisted conscripts to existing units On 8 January a Donetsk Oblast court reported the acquittal of the battalion commander of the 110th Mechanised Brigade who refused to obey orders to seize and hold defensive positions on the front line The court ruled that the military officer could not carry out the order due to the poor condition of the subunit – its manning was only about 40% (33 out of 314 soldiers had not even completed basic training and others were partially incapacitated due to injuries) The verdict confirmed information about the crisis situation in the units fighting at the front the Ukrainian parliament extended until 1 March the deadline for the voluntary return of soldiers who had left units without leave According to the legislation adopted at the end of November soldiers who left their unit without leave for the first time had to return to duty by 1 January this year the State Bureau of Investigation announced that by the end of last year 7,000 soldiers who had previously abandoned their units had returned to them Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal stated that approximately 950,000 men had been granted deferment from military service at the request of companies This figure was accepted by the Ministry of Defence and the General Staff this fact does not adversely affect the course of mobilisation Minister of Strategic Industry Herman Smetanin announced that some 30,000 pieces of defective mortar ammunition had been withdrawn from units at the front – they had the wrong diameter and their powder charges were poor quality Smetanin provided assurances that ammunition production is now proceeding normally – more than 32,000 pieces have already been delivered the State Special Communications Service reported that the number of cyberattacks on Ukraine increased by 70% in 2024 Hackers most often attack critical infrastructure in the energy sector defence industry companies and telecommunications operators The most popular tools are mass mailings of malware and phishing emails revealed that 352 cars belonging to the military and public security institutions had been set on fire in 2024 on the orders of the Russian intelligence services There were also 149 cases of the destruction of railway relay cabinets and 57 arson attacks on military commissions Most of these incidents took place in Kyiv President Zelensky announced that two lightly wounded North Korean army soldiers had been taken into Ukrainian captivity in Kursk Oblast They are being interrogated by SBU officers assisted by interpreters from South Korean military intelligence One of the captives was carrying a Russian military booklet issued last autumn in the Republic of Tuva and containing the details of a Russian citizen South Korean military intelligence estimated that at least 300 North Korean soldiers had been killed and another 2,700 wounded on the Ukrainian front The Russian occupation authorities have for the first time conducted the forced conscription of residents of occupied parts of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia oblasts Ukrainian military intelligence reported on 9 January The administration is forcing Ukrainians under the age of 60 to register with military recruitment offices the occupiers threaten them with dismissal and the loss of social payments Russia is trying to attract residents of the occupied areas to contract service by promising a one-off payment of 2.5 million roubles (about $25,000) this amount is approximately 2 million roubles Biuletyn Informacji Publicznej such as unauthorized airspace incursions and close encounters with NATO ships and aircraft by Kateryna DenisovaIn this aerial drone image damage to the city and its buildings can be seen after heavy artillery and guided bomb attacks by Russia on July 24 (Kostiantyn Liberov/Libkos/Getty Images)There are no intact buildings or shelters left in Toretsk in Donetsk Oblast allowing Russia to occupy new areas of the embattled town a spokesperson of the Operational Tactical Group Luhansk Toretsk lies some 35 kilometers (20 miles) north of occupied Donetsk. The town has become one of the hottest spots in Donetsk Oblast in recent months as Russian troops continue advancing in Ukraine's east "Now the town looks more like a desert planet: there are no shelters for civilians or soldiers but on scorched earth," Bobovnikova said The crowdsourced monitoring website DeepState reported on Oct 15 that Russian troops have advanced in Toretsk over the past day The estimated advance of Russian forces in Toretsk as of Oct (DeepState/OpenStreetMaps)Speaking on national television Bobovnikova said that Russian soldiers change their military uniforms for civilian clothes to move toward Ukrainian positions a tactic they use in other embattled settlements as well According to local authorities, Kyiv controlled roughly 40-50% of the town as of Oct 11 while the rest has been captured by Russia Previously, the Ukrainian military said that fights were taking place "at every building entrance" as Russian forces were pushing from the east along the main Tsentralna (Central) Street The loss of Toretsk would be another blow to Ukraine in Donetsk Oblast after its forces were forced to withdraw from Vuhledar in the south. Russian forces also continue pushing toward Kurakhove and Pokrovsk a key logistics hub roughly 50 kilometers (30 miles) west of Toretsk #article-stream-0 .quote-embed .font-size p{font-size: 36px;}Ukrainian national guardsmen hurl explosives into a building in Toretsk but that’s cold comfort to the outnumbered outgunned Ukrainian troops in these sectors—and to the former residents of the towns and cities that have become battlegrounds How they’re doing it speaks to the Ukrainians’ desperation as Russia’s wider war on their country grinds toward its fourth bloody year To liberate the Russian-held quarters of Toretsk an eastern city with a pre-war population of 35,000 Ukrainian troops are detonating entire highrises in the hope of burying the Russian troops sheltering inside While the gunner atop their armored truck blasted away with his heavy machine gun tossed heavy explosive charges into a hole in the side of the building and then leaped back into the truck “Let’s go!” one of the guardsmen barked blowing out windows on several stories of the building It wasn’t the first time Ukrainian forces had demolished entire blocks of Toretsk in order to liberate them drone feeds and videos posted online by front-line forces noticed something unusual happening in Toretsk where Ukrainian brigades and Russian regiments have been locked in brutal urban combat for months indicating the Ukrainians had evicted local Russian forces The Ukrainian National Guard is fighting with total abandon: bringing down entire building as they advance into a city that’s steadily turning to rubble But the alternative for the Ukrainian brigades in this sector is surrendering what’s left of Toretsk to the Russians and falling back to the next nearest settlement That would almost certainly bring the fighting—and likely total destruction—to that settlement 1. Audax 2. WarTranslated The General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces stated this on Facebook "The enemy's position was completely destroyed including assault groups and drone operators," the statement read Video: Facebook page of the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces The General Staff noted that while final casualty figures are still being clarified the destruction of enemy forces and their shelter significantly weakens Russian military capabilities in the Toretsk sector "Ukraine's Defense Forces remain ready to act decisively to eliminate any threats posed by the occupiers to the safety of the Ukrainian people," the statement said Ukrainian troops have started a "partial withdrawal" from the key city of Toretsk as heavy street battles rage on in the eastern settlement The situation is "very dire" for Ukrainian forces in Toretsk," Russian state news agency Tass reported on Sunday we are seeing a partial withdrawal of units from the city." Newsweek has reached out to the Ukrainian military and the Russian Ministry of Defense via email for comment The Donetsk city of Toretsk sits north of Avdiivka the former Ukrainian stronghold which Russia captured in February Russia has been slowly but surely advancing westward in Donetsk throughout the year one of two regions making up the Donbas that have consistently been a focus for destructive assaults by Moscow's forces as well as west of Avdiivka as Moscow plugs away with efforts to reach the strategic Ukrainian logistics and transport hub of Pokrovsk The Kremlin has simultaneously concentrated resources west of Bakhmut in a long-running campaign to capture the town of Chasiv Yar a spokesperson for Ukraine's Luhansk group of forces operating in the east said that fighting was taking place at "literally every entrance" to the city The head of Ukraine's military administration for Toretsk said on Friday that Russia had seized between 50 and 60 percent of the city "The enemy is trying and making every effort to completely capture the city in the shortest possible time but the Ukrainian Armed Forces are giving a worthy rebuff and holding their positions as much as possible," Chynchyk said saying on Friday that Russia only controlled the eastern part of Toretsk The U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War think tank said on Saturday that Russian forces control at least 38 percent of the city adding that Moscow and Kyiv are "currently engaged in heavy urban combat within Toretsk." Ukraine's military said early on Sunday that Russia had carried out 15 attacks around Toretsk in the previous 24 hours Russia's Defense Ministry said on Saturday that it had attacked Ukrainian forces along several points of the front line in Donetsk over the previous day including southwest of Toretsk and immediately to the west of the city Russia is attempting to "erase the city with artillery," deploying similar tactics the Kremlin has used against other Donetsk settlements over the course of the war