RU POV: Russian advances from Day 980 and 981 of the War - Suriyakmaps

Beginning with the Kupyansk front, Russian troops made further progress northwest of Kupyansk itself. In the forest area, Russian forces have gradually cleared Ukrainian positions over the past few weeks all the way up to the Oskil River. This means that Russia’s flank is now secure, with no Ukrainian presence on the east side of the River in the forest, which will aid Russia in its assaults towards Kupyansk.

Further east, Russian troops also captured one of the large fields south of Synkivka (under the u), as well as some more buildings in Petropavlivka (below the r). Fighting in the town is still quite slow, but Ukraine is gradually being force back to the western side of the Hnylytsya River. As a reminder, if Petropavlivka falls to Russia, the large area of fields to the east that Ukraine currently controls will be untenable, forcing them to retreat and allowing Russia to take them without a fight (pic below).

On the Kurakhove front, Russian forces made advances across a broad area of the frontline over the past 2 days. On the north side, Russia troops captured all of Kreminna Balka (above u) and the adjacent fields, reaching the outskirts of Voznesenka. A little further south, heavy clashes continue in Novoselydivka, with Russia reaching the centre of the village. Ukraine will likely retreat from the village within the next 2 days due to the risk of being cut off if Russia captures Voznesenka (only supply road for Novoselydivka runs through it). To the southeast, Russian troops also expanded their control of the fields north of the reservoir, as they begin to approach Illinka.

On the shore of the Oskil river, Russian troops were also confirmed to have entered Vovchenka, capturing over half the village with ease. As mentioned in the previous post, Ukraine cannot try hold Vovchenka, Stepanivka and Illinka due to them sitting in the low ground (with Russia approaching from the heights to the north), and the high risk of being encircled if Russia cuts them off (1 road for supply on west side of Illinka). Instead Ukraine is attempting to regroup their forces that survived the battles in Kurokhovka, and using some rearguard troops in the previously mentioned villages in order to slow Russia down even a little (pic below).

On the Oskil River front, Russian troops made a small advance on the border of Luhansk and Kharkiv Oblasts, capturing a field. As I mentioned a little while ago, with Russia’s recent advances retaining control of the northeastern fields became far too risky for Ukraine, and has forced them to abandon the area. Russia will still take a little bit of time to move in, as even with Ukraine abandoning their positions they need to properly clear them and check for mines/booby-traps.

Over in Selydove, Russian assault groups began moving west of the city, capturing multiple fields around Vyshneve (above the a) and reaching the outskirts of Hryhorivka (above the y). There were some Russian reports that fighting had already begun in Hryhorivka**,** however I cannot confirm this yet.

On the Kurakhove front once again, and the Vuhledar front, Russian forces continue to make large gains across the board. Starting with the northeast side, Russian forces continued their clearing of the fields south of Maksymilyanivka, capturing a large area up to the stream.

On the southwest side, Russian troops were finally confirmed to have cleared the last of the buildings in Shakhtarske, confirming full control of the settlement. This means of the 4 towns on the Vuhledar front Russia assaulted simultaneously (mentioned last post), they have captured all 4 in less than a week. To reiterate what I’ve previously said, this pace of advance has not been seen since 2022, with most town battles taking weeks, if not months, in the time since then. If Russia can keep this pace up there is a very real chance that the whole south Donetsk front could be captured by year’s end, or collapse entirely.

To the east, Russian troops advanced out of Novoukrainka (captured 2 days ago), taking over a large area of fields and several trench networks that Ukraine was forced to abandon. There have also been early reports that Russian troops have already reached Maksymivka (under the r), but these haven’t been confirmed yet. Once the assault on Maksymivka does begin, it will likely fall quite quickly.