RU POV: Russian and Ukrainian advances from Day 1031 to 1035 of the War - Suriyakmaps

Starting this update off not with Kursk for once, but in Toretsk. On the north side, Russian troops captured a few more residential buildings as they head north towards the mine complex in Krymske.

On the west side, Russian assault groups captured the commercial and residential buildings southwest of the markets. There was also a Russian recon group spotted heading deeper into Western Toretsk, so expect future advancs in that area.

Over on the Kupyansk front, the fighting in Dvorichna continues. Russian infantry have consolidated their positions and pushed further into the south side of the town, as well as the adjacent fields towards the Oskil River. Ukraine have yet to contain the small Russian grouping here, and are mainly harassing them with drones, rather than any on the ground counterattack.

Over on the Velyka Novosilka front, Russian forces captured the remaining parts of Novyi Komar, providing full control over the settlement. This cuts off Ukraine’s supply route from the north, leaving only the one on the west side of Velyka Novosilka. They are already exerting pressure on this last route, hitting one of the bridges out of the town

Heading to Kursk, where the third stage of Russia’s counteroffensive continues. Starting with the north side (bottom left box), Russian forces continued to advance around Kurglenkoe, capturing another field to the west, as well as continuing to flank the village from the north side of the lake. Russia has yet to actually enter Kruglenkoe, but it is only a matter of time at this stage.

To the south (top right box), Russian assault groups crossed the Psel River and advanced into Kurilova, capturing a little less than half the village. Russia has had a foothold near this settlement for over a month now, having crossed the Psel River back in November, however haven’t sent many troops across until now. If Russia can capture the village, it will provide them with a good staging point to continue advancing into the forests west, as well as help them advance towards Guevo from the north.

Following on from picture 2, Russian troops made further progress in Dvorichna, capturing more buildings in the southern side of the town. Ukraine has still not counterattacked in this area, and the situation is slowly deteriorating. If Russia can capture the whole southern side of the town, they can set up even more crossings over the Oskil River, and bring in more troops and even some vehicles to help speed up their progress.

On the Oskil River front, Russian troops captured the last part of Lozova, now in full control of the village. Ukraine has withdrawn west, towards some trench networks near the small reservoirs. There was also a Russian crossing attempt over the Oskil River on the top left side of the map, however the outcome of this is unknown.

Heading to the far western side of the Zaporizhia front, over the past few days Ukraine launched a new attack on Kamyanske, capturing the fields to the east and a few streets in the southern side of the town.

As mentioned by several other sources, including Ukrainian ones, this attack makes little sense. For a bit of a history lesson, back in early 2022 the front line in Zaporizhia settled along the river splitting Kamyanske in 2, as Russian forces were overstretched and unable to push further, and Ukraine was trying to reorganise its forces and wasn’t in a position to counterattack on this front. The river was a good barrier/defence for both sides, and allowed them to only station a small garrison in Kamyanske, sending their forces elsewhere. This area, and most of the Zaporizhia front, remained quiet for the first year and a half of the war, with Kamyanske being the spot where POW exchanges took place. There was a small spike in activity here back when Ukraine started its 2023 counteroffensive, but it quickly fizzled out. Neither side was willing to commit the forces necessary to cross the river and push into the defences beyond Kamyanske, and thus they were content with holding the line here.

With that in mind, you can probably understand the issue. Ukraine is not in a position to push in and capture not just the remainder of Kamyanske, but the Russian defence line further south. They simply do not have the forces available, and it would not provide any strategic benefit to even try. They’ve essentially left the comfort of their own lines to expose themselves for a push into Kamyanske, that won’t really go anywhere. Russia will just bomb/drone them out, and they’ll fall back to the northern side as they have done so when they tried this before (and like Russia a few months ago).

Following on from picture 4, Russia launched a mechanised assault from Novoivanovka, dropping troop off at one of the further treelines south of Kruglenkoe, before retreating. This provides Russia with control over most of that road, as well as the opportunity to try cut off Leonidovo and Aleksandriya (bottom left blue dot) from behind.

In Kruglenkoe, Russian assault groups entered the village captured the forest and houses on the eastern side. The remaining part of the village has also fallen into the greyzone, and will likely be captured by Russia over the next day or 2.

Over on the Pokrovsk front, Russia continued their advances in multiple directors. Starting with the west side, Russia has expanded its foothold in Novovasylivka slightly, taking control of the first street of houses, as well as the fields immediately east of that.

To the northeast, Russia troops went across the small lake near Pishchane, capturing the forest area on the opposite side, likely with the intent of assaulting Vovkove in the near future. They also pushed into Pishchane itself and established a foothold in the first 2 streets of the village. Clashes are ongoing here, as Ukraine is trying to drive Russia out.

To the east, Russia also captured several fields south of Zelene, as it straightens the front line in this area. Zelene sits on the opposite side of the Solonyi River, so this advance does not really help them position themselves for an assault on the village, only securing the flanks of the crossings they will have to go over.

Back to the Oskil River front, this time the northern side. Russian assault groups have made some more progress in Zahryzove over the past few days, and now control a little over 70% of the village. The remaining few streets are quite spread out, so will take some time for them to reach and clear, but at this stage Russia will almost certainly capture the locality before the end of the year.

In Chasiv Yar, following their expulsion from the refractory plant in the previous update, Russia has renewed their efforts in the northern suburbs, recapturing the houses Ukraine just took from them, as well as pushing another 2 streets further west. Russia has certainly not given up on the refractory plant yet, but will be aiming to increase pressure from the north side by trying to push west around Ukrainian positions in the highrises. For an idea of what the town looks like right now, and where they are fighting over, see these pictures.

Following on from picture 1, in Toretsk Russian troops made another advance towards the mine complex, capturing some more buildings. At this stage it looks like Russian command has decided to beeline it for the mine, in order to take out Ukraine’s last stronghold in the town first, rather than work their way through all the residential streets. Like the other mine complex in Toretsk, this will not be an easy task, as the buildings are very strong, with numerous rooms and sublevels to clear. Nonetheless, if they are successful Russia can speed up the capture of Toretsk.

Heading west, in Scherbynivka, a small Russian mechanised group pushed deep into the town, dropping off troops in the centre of the town. If these Russian soldiers can consolidate positions and spread out, they should be able to take over most of the central town within the next day or 2. As for how Russia managed to make more progress here in a day, than they did in several weeks of their previous attempt to attack Scherbynivka; some sources claim that Ukraine pulled part of its troops from the town into Toretsk to try help the defence there, thus weakening Scherbynivka.

Back onto the Velyka Novosilka front, this time to the south. Over the past few days Russian troops have continued to advance from the south, capturing the village of Storozheve (mentioned last post), as well as the surrounding fields and trenches. A separate Russian group also pushed north, capturing another field and treeline, putting Russia only 1 field away from cutting the last Ukrainian supply road (although some Russian sources claim this has already happened). With Storozheve under control, Russia can move onto Neskuchne (bottom blue dot), which is connected to Vremivka and then Velyka Novosilka.

To address a common topic I’ve gotten a few messages about: what happened in Makarivka (bottom red dot)? I talked about this a bit in the previous update, but Makarivka was captured by Russia on Day 1028. The Ukrainian claims about some troops being encircled in the village are not only days late, but incorrect. For a basic idea of the problem, have a look at what the village looks like now (older footage). Makarivka simply does not have any structures left standing, only rubble. Ukraine was holding this area via some of the trenches and dugouts directly north and northwest of the village, not within the village itself, as there simply is no where to hold within the village. This is also why Russia was driven out of southern Makarivka a few weeks ago, and had to go around via the west side. For Ukraine to be encircled in the village, they would somehow have had to lose their positions in the trenches and dugouts north and northwest of the village, retreated into Makarivka instead of to the north, then somehow find positions to bunker down in that weren’t there before. Its simply not feasible, and Russian drones showing the village empty, and their troops continuing to advance northwards, confirms the encirclement claim isn’t true.

This wouldn’t be the first time Deepstate has made such a claim with no evidence, and probably won’t be the last (assuming they survive this recent debacle with Syrskyi).

On the Selydove Pokrovsk front, following on from picture 9, Russia pushed out of the forest area next to the lake, capturing several fields and reaching the first houses of Vovkove (above the y). Given the village is only 2 short streets, and has minimal defences around it, it will likely fall very quickly once Russia starts their assault. The advance in the west field also puts Russia on the outskirts on Solone (no dot, slightly up and left of i), which is in a similar position as Vovkove.

Further south, over the past 2 days Russia had good success in continuing their advance, capturing a large area of fields west of the road from Novotroitske. Ukraine has still been unable to mount a proper defence of this area, and simply did not contest many of these fields, or if they did, were defeated almost immediately after Russia sent in an assault group. This advance also saw Russia capture the entirety of Novoolenivka (below the y), some of the trench networks west of the village, the northern side of Ukrainka (southeast of Novoolenivka), and establishing a small foothold on the eastern edge of Novojelyzavetivka (below the r). Ukrainka will fall very quickly, as the small stream offers little protection due to the numerous crossings, and Novojelyzavetivka will fall shortly after that.

Its highly unlikely Ukraine will be able to recover from their continued losses in this area in the short term, as they just do not have the soldiers nor the defences available to mount a proper defence.

Moving slightly south of the previous picture, following their capture of Zorya last week, Russia has now cleared the nearby fields and forest area, straightening the frontline. This puts them in a good position to begin advancing west into the fields like they have been in picture 14.

A little south, the pocket between Sontsivka and Stari Terny has now been closed, with Russia taking control of most of the remaining fields and treelines. Most of the remaining area up to the Solona River sits in the greyzone, as Ukraine has likely retreated back to positions west of the river.

South of Kurakhove, Russia captured another of the fields west of the southern road, as they gradually push towards Yantarne from the east.

Following on from picture 5, Russia continued their advance in Dvorichna, capturing more of the large buildings and reaching the centre of the southern side of the town, as well as crossing the southwest road.