RU POV: Russian and Ukrainian advances from Day 1020 to 1023 of the War - Suriyakmaps

Russian Forces Advance: 2.14 km²

Advance = 2.14km2

For the second post in a row we start with Kursk. Following their capture of Plekhovo late last week, Russia has begun moving west towards their next target of Guevo (blue dot under y). As part of this, some Russian troops have been clearing the forest area along the border, and have actually crossed into Sumy Oblast.

As pointed out in the last post, this isn’t some new push to invade Sumy, but just clearing a forest they were already fighting in as they head west. Russian troops are unlikely to actually leave this forest and head towards Myropillya or Zapsillya, although they may try to raid it to pull Ukrainian troops from other areas. This area is also pretty terrible for movement by either side, being quite waterlogged by a number of smaller streams and little lakes, so trying to use vehicles here would be difficult. Russia will likely just stay within the confines of the forest, clearing it of Ukrainian troops who had retreated from Plekhovo, before looking to cross the Psel River.

Russian Forces Advance: 0.48 km²

Advance = 0.48km2

On the Toretsk front, Russian forces restarted their advances in Leonidivka and Shcherbynivka, having been pushed back from both settlements a little under a month ago, capturing a few houses on the southern side. The same problems remain in this area as from when Russia first begun to advance here, with both Leonidivka and Shcherbynivka only having 1 street of houses until you get much further north, meaning there is minimal cover.

Russian Forces Advance: 11.86 km²

Top Advance = 3.96km2, Middle Left Advance = 7.90km2

Northwest of Kurakhove, Russian troops have cleared out the remaining fields and positions along the railway and just east of it, as they capture the remainder of the pocket north of the reservoir. To reiterate, most of this area north of Beretsky was abandoning over a week ago, but its taken time for Russia to clear out the various positions and check for stragglers. They’ll likely continue this advance and move west of the railway over the coming days.

Russian Forces Advance: 2.27 km²

Advance = 2.27km2

Northwest of Kurakhove, Russian troops have cleared out the remaining fields and positions along the railway and just east of it, as they capture the remainder of the pocket north of the reservoir. To reiterate, most of this area north of Beretsky was abandoning over a week ago, but its taken time for Russia to clear out the various positions and check for stragglers. They’ll likely continue this advance and move west of the railway over the coming days.

Russian Forces Advance: 0.38 km²

Advance = 0.38km2

Following on from Picture 2, within Toretsk Russia has captured the Centralnaya mine and adjacent mine complex, as well as the remaining buildings between the mine and the central apartment blocks. This effectively means Russia has control over almost all of central Toretsk and the main defensive positions (just missing the markets).

From here it will be much easier for Russia to advance, as the west, north and northwestern sides of Toretsk are mostly made up of smaller residential buildings and the occasional 2 to 3 story structure, rather than the concrete highrises and dense industrial facilities they have been clashing over for the past 2 months. The one exception to this is the mine complex in Krymske (left of the K in “Krymske”), however that sits of the edge of Toretsk and will not aide Ukraine in defending most of the remainder of the town. The battle will still take some time however, as there are many buildings to clear, and Ukraine has not given the fight here yet.

Russian Forces Advance: 1.60 km²

Top Advance = 1.15km2, Middle Left Advance = 0.45km2

Following on from picture 3, on the west side, Russia has cleared the last buildings of Novotroitske, providing full control over the town in a little under 3 days of fighting. Ukrainian troops have retreated back to Novovasylivka (southwest of Solone), which will likely be the next target for Russia once their assault groups have rested and regrouped. Novovasylivka has no prebuilt defences, unlike Novotroitske, so will be very difficult for Ukraine to hold.

Heading northeast, a separate set of Russian assault groups also captured the remainder of Shevchenko, with this town falling in a little under 4 days of fighting. Like with Novotroitske, Russia will spend a little bit of time consolidating positions and preparing for further advancing north and northwest (discussed previously). This makes it 2 small towns near Pokrovsk falling quite easily within the span of a week, mostly due to a lack of forces and Ukrainian oversight. Next goal for this particular group, as mentioned in picture 3, is heading north to the treelines along the former railway line, as well as northwest to Pishchane.

Russian Forces Advance: 0.32 km²

Advance = 0.32km2

Within Kurakhove, heavy clashes continue, with Russian assault groups making further progress in the central area, captured more apartment blocks and more of the industrial area. At this stage over half the town has come under Russian control, including almost all the area east of the central road (running south to the Nova Illinka in the north). It is highly unlikely Ukraine can turn the situation around, and their loss of Kurakhove is only a matter of time. They will try hold out in the power plant on the northwest side, but will be forced to retreat once Russia begins to advance in the fields south of it (around the @).

Russian Forces Advance: 1.61 km²

Advance = 1.61km2

Heading south on the same front, a Russian mechanised group reached Veselyi Hai from the south, dropping off troops who have started to clear the buildings in the village. At this stage there aren’t all that many Ukrainian troops in this pocket (<150), but there are still some as many evacuation transports were struck, and others were unable to retreat in time. Ukraine has all but accepted they have lost this area at this stage, but are at least trying to stall here as long as possible.

Russian Forces Advance: 0.16 km²

Advance = 0.16km2

In Chasiv Yar, following on from the clashes over the refractary plant mentioned in the previous update, Russia has managed to captured the remainder of the main building. The battle is far from over, as Ukraine still controls the other buildings in the industrial area and the many apartment blocks in the centre of the town, so expect counterattacks to take place over the coming days as Ukraine tries to reestablish control.

Russian Forces Advance: 7.74 km²

Top Advance = 7.22km2, Bottom Advance = 0.52km2

Following on from pictures 4 and 6, in the north those Russian troops who were taking advantage of the lack of forces around Novotroitske have captured another set of fields northeast of Novoolenivka (not marked on map, its east of Novojelyzavetivka). We also finally have an update on Pushkine after a week of silence from both sides sources, with Russian troops confirmed to have captured the village. This likely occurred days ago, given they already had a foothold last week, but given how small the village is and events occurring elsewhere, it just wasn’t a priority for updates.

To the south, Russia started to move out of Stari Terny, capturing the next field west of the village as they move towards Shevchenko (yes there are 2 Shevchenko’s within 20km of each other). Whilst Shevchenko is a likely next target for Russian troops on this front, this particular advance is more aimed at cutting the last evacuation route for Ukrainian troops in that little pocket between Stari Terny and Sontsivka.

Ukrainian Forces Advance: 0.98 km²

Advance = 0.98km2

On the southern Kurakhove front, Ukrainian troops counterattacked in Kostiantynopolske, pushing the Russian assault groups out of the village and also recapturing the greyzone on the northeastern side. This buys Kostiantynopolske some more time, but with Sukhi Yaly (red dot under @) under Russian control the village is still in a precarious position.

Russian Forces Advance: 2.48 km²

Advance = 2.48km2

Following on from picture 1, Russian forces continued moving through the forest area along the border, heading west. There has already been some clashes in Guevo, as Ukraine reinforces the area and tries to dig in. For an idea of the terrain, have a look at this video of drone strikes in the forests around Gurevo (vehicles only, no gore).

There was also a Russian assault on Cherkasskaya Konopelka to the north, with Ukraine allegedly being forced to retreat into the adjacent forest. No confirmation on what happened after that however.

Russian Forces Advance: 7.80 km²

Advance = 7.80km2

On the Oskil River front, Russia has continued that gradual push through the fields on that north side, as I’ve mentioned in several of the previous updates. There isn’t all that much to say on these advances, as they are relatively uneventful, however if Russia keeps this pace up we will start to see more effects on other battles on this front.

Russian Forces Advance: 1.50 km²

Left Advance = 1.37km2, Right Advance = 0.13km2

Following on from picture 6, Russian troops, following a short break (a little over a day), have begun to move out of Novotroitske, increasing the buffer around the town by capturing some treelines on the western side. Ukraine is also reportedly counterattacking in this area, trying to push back into the northwest side of Novotroitske, although I can’t comment on the outcome of that at this stage.

There was also a little advance confirmed in Lysivka to the east, with Russia capturing a few more houses on the southern side during the ongoing clashes.

Russian Forces Advance: 5.90 km²

Top Advance = 1.67km2, Middle Advance = 0.42km2, Lower Right Advance = 3.81km2

Following on from picture 10, on the north side Russian forces have undone Ukraine’s counterattack in Zorya (from last week), retaking the western houses and capturing the settlement (again), as well as entering and pushing through the forest on the western side of the village. Russia will need to clear this forest area along the stream (northwest of this advance), but once it has done that it can turn its attention towards Slovyanka, and the prize of the many open fields behind it (expanded on below).

A little to the south, Russia has finally cleared the last of the residential buildings in northwestern Sontsivka, leaving just a few buildings on the western side before they fully control the village.

To the east, Russia continued clearing that pocket as I mentioned earlier, as the few remaining Ukrainian troops try to retreat out of the only remaining exit (towards Shevchenko) before they are encircled. Thus the pocket should be wrapped up relatively quickly, with fighting shifting towards Shevchenko over the next week.

Russian Forces Advance: 0.26 km²

Advance = 0.26km2

Following on from picture 7, within Kurakhove Russian assault groups have cleared the small residential buildings on the southern side of the town, and cut off the small highrise district on the southern side (under the word ‘Pivdennyi’). There were still reportedly some Ukrainian troops holding these buildings, however they have been effectively encircled as the only way out is looping through the open field on the southern side. Whilst it might be possible for Ukraine to get an APC or armoured car there to evacuate them, the risk is likely too late, and with Russia already storming the buildings (as of writing this) they will probably be captured or killed before Ukraine could even attempt a rescue.

Once this highrise area is captured, Russia can turn its attention to the remaining apartment buildings in central Kurakhove and the final stages of the battle.

Russian Forces Advance: 2.82 km²

Top Advance = 0.16km2, Bottom Advance = 2.66km2

Context

Following on from picture 8, the previously mentioned assault group dropped off in Veselyi Hai has captured the village, as well as the remaining section of the tree plantation on the eastern side. Those few Ukrainian troops who made it out of this area crossed the bridge into Hannivka, but are still stuck in the pocket due to Russian control of the warehouses and first residential buildings on the east side of Uspenivka. They will either have to attempt a breakout, or hold onto Hannivka in a last stand, as there is simply no other realistic option left for them.