RU POV: Russian and Ukrainian advances from Day 1095 and 1097 of the War - Suriyakmaps

Starting off once again in Kursk, in the exact same areas as the previous update. On the west side, as I briefly mentioned last time, Russian assault groups started to advance out of Sverdlikovo, and were able to establish a foothold in western Lebedevka, taking over the houses on both the north and south side of the Loknya River. Fighting is currently ongoing in the centre of the village, as Russia continues the attack. Like with battle for Sverdlikovo, Lebedevka has the same issues for Ukraine in that its quite isolated and difficult to reinforce/resupply the garrison, so they will struggle to hold the settlement.

Moving southwest, over in Cherkasskaya Konopelka, as I predicted last update, Ukraine was unable to reinforce the infantry that were occupying the village and over the past few days Russia has driven them out and recaptured the settlement. This means virtually all the land Ukraine took during their offensive attempt 2.5 weeks ago, aside from the field area north and northeast of the village which is mostly in the greyzone. Russia will likely clear this area out over the next few days, and reorganise their troops in this area so they can renew attacks on Makhnovka.

I’ll also note there haven’t been any updates on the Russian attacks across the border into Sumy since last post, aside from the occasional drone strike video.

Onto the Siversk front, where for the first time in years we’ve seen a significant change in the operational space. 2.5 weeks ago when Russia started to launch some smaller attacks around Siversk, I mentioned that we might be seeing the front be reactivated for the first time in over a year. This has now been confirmed.

There were 2 directions of attack, from within Bilohorivka and from the south. The north one, despite being a relatively small advance, is actually incredibly significant for this front. Russian assault groups launched an attack on the large ‘bunker network’ next to the chalk quarry (really just a massive network of dugouts and tunnels expanded over the past 2 years), capturing it over a few days of fighting. This ‘bunker network’ is what has held up the fighting around Bilohorivka for the past few years and what has prevented Russia from being able to secure the (ruins of the) town. Without this defence point Ukraine’s forces in this area are in a much worse position, and it provides Russia a good staging point for further attacks west.

The southern advance saw Russian assault groups pushing through the forest area southwest of the chalk quarry over a few days, clearing out the many small trenches and dugouts littered throughout. With this area under their control, they can begin to push north towards the road in this area and try flush Ukrainian troops out from the remaining trench networks in this area.

On the Velyka Novosilka front, Russian forces continued their advance, pushing north over the small stream as they head towards Dniproenerhiya, as well as expanding their control over the Ukrainian defence line (broken a few days back) to the northwest of Velyka Novosilka itself.

Moving to Vovchansk, there was another small ‘advance’ made by Russian in the positional battles over the ruins, with a squad taking up positions in the rubble of some of the residential buildings. As with all the previous mini advances in Vovchansk, it would be more accurate to say these aren’t advances but more confirmation that Russian troops have been spotted in this area.

There was also a similar minor 'advance' in the centre of the town by Ukraine, being spotted slightly further north than they were before.

Following on from the previous update, the Russian infantry that crossed the Oskil River into Topoli cleared out the remainder of the settlement, confirming full control. This means Russia now has a direct land connection to the west side of the Oskil River (as opposed to having to cross by pontoons or boats), and once any mines are cleared out they can start bringing in troops and equipment to develop further attacks into Kharkiv Oblast.

South of Chasiv Yar, over the span of a few days Russian assault groups managed to level the front line, capturing positions in the forest areas and along the main road. They are currently setting up for an assault on Stupochky, although its difficult to say when it will begin.

On a side note, fighting is ongoing in central Chasiv Yar, we just aren’t getting any updates as it’s the intense back and forth over the apartment buildings, reminiscent of the battle for Bakhmut. We do get the occasional video though, like this and this.

On the west side of the Kurakhove front, Russian troops made a small advance in the treelines west of Andriivka, capturing a trench network. This is the last defensive position before the town of Oleksiivka to the west, where Ukraine is currently preparing its defence. Russian forces are still cleaning up in Andriivka and reorganising, so it may be a few days

Following on from picture 3, Russia made further advances northwest of Velyka Novosilka, completely capturing the fields east of the spearhead up to the Mokri Yaly River, as well as another small trench network to the west. This advance also means Russia has breached and captured almost the entire defence line in this area in 4 days.

Ukraine has been suffering from a severe lack of manpower here, as they’ve received no new reinforcement units despite the losses suffered in the fighting in Velyka Novosilka. The 110th Mechanised Brigade, which was the unit that had a number of its troops encircled inside the town is still on this front in spite of the losses. Without reinforcements Ukraine will not hold the line here and will continue to be pushed back all the way to the Dnipro Oblast Border.

Heading to the Kupyansk front, on the east side, Russia has made another advance for the third time in a week, confirming they have restarted offensive operation on this area of the front. They’ve captured several fields and dugouts north of Stepova Novoselivka, which is now under threat of being cut off if Russia pushes much further west.

To the west, Russian DRGs operating south of Dvorichna have reached Kindrashivka and Holubivka, both villages directly north of Kupyansk. For now no advance has been confirmed as these are only scouts, however given their movement its clear Russia intends to assault these areas next, and is probing for openings.

Following on from picture 2, Russian assault groups continue to advance in and around Bilohorivka, capturing more positions around the chalk quarry and main road, as well as taking over the last ruins in Bilohorivka, confirming full control of (the remains of) the town after several years of back and forth fighting. Back when the initial capture and recapture of Bilohorivka happened, I remember reading a comment stating that “Kyiv or Moscow would fall before Bilohorivka does”, and I think that encapsulates the battle quite well. Despite its notoriety that battle has ended without much fanfare, as the slow grinding nature of the war finally caught up to this area.

I’ll note that despite the map colouring, Russia does not control any positions on top of the chalk quarry itself, only on the edges of it. Neither side has held positions up there since Ukraine was bombed out last year in what I personally think was one of the most brutal campaigns of the war.

Heading to the west side of the Pokrovsk front, in Uspenivka, Ukraine launched a counterattacked using mechanised forces, recapturing the central road and houses. Despite its small size, the battle for this village has stretched on far longer than anyone anticipated, owing to both sides constantly pouring in reinforcements.

To the south, Russia captured the last few buildings in Zaporizhzhya, confirming full control of the village. Their next target will be nearby Preobrazhenka, a small village of only a dozen houses, which won’t last long once under assault.

Following on from picture 8, Russian advanced north of Velyka Novosilka for the third day in a row, capturing several more fields and treelines on either side of Novoocheretuvate. They currently sit right outside of the small village of Skudne (below Dniproenerhiya), which will likely fall within the next day or 2 as its small garrison are already at risk of being cut off. If they have not left already, the garrison will be trapped as the only road out of the village can be occupied and mined by Russia if their forward troops advance just 800m north, using either of the treelines in the area.