RU POV: Russian and Ukrainian advances from Day 961 to 963 of the War - Suriyakmaps

Starting off with the Kurakhove front, Russian forces have gradually ramped up their operations in Maksymilyanivka, capturing a few more buildings in the central town area, as well as the warehouses on the southern side. Fighting in the town is mostly being conducted by small squads and drones, with vehicles rarely seen.

One of the more interesting updates this week occurred on the mostly static Zaporizhzhia front, northeast of Hulyaipole. Russian troops launched some unexpected attacks, capturing multiple fields and treelines, as well as the settlement of Levadne (red dot under @). This particular part of the Zaporizhzhia front has seen quite literally no change since mid-2023, when Ukraine pushed Russia back in this area during the first month of their counteroffensive. This particular advance was small in scale, mostly exploiting weak Ukrainian positions with little support to make a quick advance.

Whilst I would caution against talking of a Russian Zaporizhzhia offensive (as some RU channels have mentioned), as it does not make much sense to do so at the beginning of mud season in an area that is 99% open fields with no roads, it is true that Russia has started launching small attacks here and there on this front, most recently into Kamyanske along the Dnieper river (discussed here). Its possible that Russia may just be trying to take territory where it sees easy opportunities to do so, but I won’t completely rule out the possibility that a Zaporizhzhia offensive may be being planned.

South of Katerynivka/North of Vodyane, Russian troops captured several large fields, as they gradually push west. Separate to this advance (but still important to mention) was a Russian missile strike on the bridge between Yelyzavetivka and Katerynivka, which will limit supplies to Ukrainian troops in the latter town.

In Selydove, over the past week or 2 Ukraine has progressively pushed Russian troops out of the western side of the city, recapturing the park, suburbs and mine complex. Whilst this occurred over weeks, it was only confirmed recently due to a lack of footage up until now (such as this strike). Ukraine did try to advance even further east, launching a few assault attempts into Mykhailivka (red dot above m), but recent video footage has confirmed these assaults failed, and Russia still controls the town. Russian command are still focusing on encircling Selydove from the south and north, although progress is slow.

To the south, Russian troops captured the last few buildings in western Tsukuryne, bar the warehouses of the farms, confirming control of most of the town.

Over in Kursk, following the Russian counterattacks south of Veseloe mentioned in the previous update, Russian troops have continued clearing the fields, and have recaptured all their previously lost territory up to the border. The Ukrainian attack on this area began on Day 933, exactly 1 month ago, as a diversion/distraction to try halt or stall the first phase of the Russian counteroffensive, which had begun a few days prior.

Ukraine had specifically brought the 21st Mechanised Brigade (Leopard 2A5s, CV-90s) and 501st Marine Battalion to the Kursk region in September to launch an attack on this area, although originally this was aimed at cutting Russian troops off south of the Seym River, rather than the diversionary attack it turned into. Having made minimal progress in the month of fighting, and losing a good amount of equipment and soldiers , Ukrainian command elected to cut its losses and pull out of this area. With this direction of attack foiled, Russian troops here can now be reassigned to aid in their counteroffensive further east, particularly the drone and artillery crews. Some Russian troops will stay in this area, but by remining the border breaches that Ukraine came through, they can re-establish their defences.

As for whether this diversionary attack was worth it for Ukraine, they did manage to stall Russia’s counteroffensive for several weeks, but it came at the cost of a lot of modern equipment and soldiers from one of the better trained brigades. Its unlikely Ukraine would be willing to try again in this area, but will still be looking for opportunities to launch another attack, if they arise.

On the Chasiv Yar front, Russian troops made a small amount of progress in several area, advancing further in the forests west of Hryhorivka (top of map), as well as south of Kalinina (middle of map). To the south, Russian assault groups crossed the canal and established control of the intersection, bridge and surrounding trenches, partially seen in this video. This advance provides Russian troops a solid bridgehead on the other side of the canal in the south, which in addition to their previous crossing in the forest, will allow them to begin approaching Chasiv Yar from the south. The battle for the fortress will continue to be slow and very positional however.

orth of Vuhledar, Russian troops captured several more fields, as they straighten the front line in their march towards Bohoyavlenka (blue dot).

On the Toretsk front, Russian troops made a small advance in Scherbynivka, capturing a few more buildings and the train station.

In central Toretsk, the greyzone in the apartment block area has expanded, as heavy clashes continue. The actual control of the buildings in that area is unclear, as Russian and Ukrainian troops are sometimes occupying the same building, and are resorting to more creative strategies to drive each other out from their positions.

Following on from Picture 5, the second phase of Russia’s counteroffensive continues, and we have a bit more confirmation amid the chaos that is ongoing.

To the north, Russian troops advanced west of Kremyanoe, clearing the fields and forest area along the road. Combined with the advance towards Novaya Sorochina mentioned in a previous update, Ukrainian positions on the northern side of the Kursk front are becoming quite precarious, as their positions and supply lines are gradually being flanked.

On the northwest side, we’ve had a bit more confirmation on current control, with Russian troops advancing into Liubimovka (video 1, video 2), as well as pushing further south of Zelenyi Shlyakh. The grey zone in this area has been expanded quite a bit, as its unclear whether Ukraine is still present in these areas (as some sources say), or has quickly retreated further south (as others claim). Russia’s quick advances have caused quite a bit of chaos for Ukraine, with their troops not knowing how close the frontline is, or where to retreat to, resulting in incidents like with these (alleged) drone operators being killed after thinking they were in the rear. We should get more confirmation on who controls what over the next few days.

On the south side of the Kursk front, Russian assault groups advance north of Fanaseevka, capturing Cherkasskaya Konopelka and the eastern fields in a quick attack. This was done separately to the previous advance from Fanaseevka, although employing the same tactics of using the dense forest to cover their advance until they got close to the settlement. The concern for Ukraine here is that Russian troops now have a path (through the forests) to sneak behind Ukrainian lines and harass their soldiers and supplies in and around Sudzha. This increases the pressure on Ukraine’s Kursk grouping, as they have to keep more troops on this side of Sudzha, which could instead be responding to Russian advances on the other side

On the Oskil River front, Russian troops have advanced towards Novosadove (blue dot below i) from the north and east, squeezing Ukrainian troops out from their position in the treelines east of the settlement. Holding Novosadove will be quite difficult for Ukraine, as there are very few buildings, no continuous tree cover, and only a few ways out of the settlement. If Russia does launch assaults on it (highly likely), then Ukrainian troops will almost certainly pull back to stronger positions in northern Terny (off map south).

West of Vuhledar, Russian troops expanded their control of the fields south of Zolota Nyva, as Ukraine abandoned the area following their loss of the settlement. The front line here has straightened up (north of Novodonetske), meaning any further Russian advances west will also have to deal with having an exposed southern flank. Its possible Russia may be trying to push west in this area in order to flank Ukrainian positions south of Velyka Novosilka, rather than aiming to reach the town with this push.

Following on from picture 2, Russian troops continued their advances around Levadne, capturing multiple fields as Ukraine is pushed back. To reiterate, these are not large offensive assaults but mostly smaller groups (1 to 3 vehicles) overwhelming the few Ukrainian troops deployed here. Russia will likely continue to advance up to the stream (as it has been doing), but whether it goes further north is uncertain at this time (pic below).