RU POV: Russian and Ukrainian advances from Day 1169 and 1170 of the War - Suriyakmaps

This time we’re starting off in the Sumy Border area around the Sudzha checkpoint. Whilst heavy clashes continue 40km northeast around Tetkino, there have been some minor changes here over the past couple of days, with Ukraine re-establishing control over a few houses in Loknya in a counterattack (using a tank to shell the buildings), whilst Russia has captured another small forest area west of Oleshnya.

Activity in this area will likely remain relatively low until events around Tetkino calm down, as both sides have a lot of their forces occupied with the fighting there.

On the Oskil River front, following the capture of Nove the previous week, Russian infantry have begun moving west of the small town, taking over most of the forest area adjacent to the settlement as well as part of the fields. Russia do have their eyes set of Ridkodub to the north of Nove, however look to be expanding their control of the surrounding area whilst they let artillery and Fabs soften up Ukrainian positions.

Following their capture of the ‘white hill’ by the end of April, Russian forces on the Siversk front have begun another assault on Verkhnokamyanske, taking over positions on the slope of the hill north of the settlement, whilst also clearing out some of the buildings on the eastern edge. Verkhnokamyanske is heavily destroyed and most buildings are rubble after several years of fighting, so any advance within the settlement will be difficult, however now that Russia controls the high ground above it they may be able to take Verkhnokamyanske this time.

As has been mentioned many times over past couple of years, Verkhnokamyanske sits between Russia and Siversk, so its capture would finally allow them to make a move on the town. Combined with Russia gradually clearing the hills north of this advance and we may see a battle for Siversk before the end of Summer.

Heading over to Chasiv Yar, Russia has begun moving a small number of infantry into the hills/old quarry north of the town since the beginning of May. Despite having occupied positions next to it since late last year, Russia has ignored these hills for the most part as the goal was always Chasiv Yar itself and they do not help with the capture of the town. Russian command may be considering expanding their control north of the settlement (hence the need to control these hills), however we can’t say that with certainty just yet.

On the Kostyantynivka front, following their capture of Novoolenivka 2 days prior, Russian infantry have begun to fan out from the settlement, taking control of the fields and treelines to the east of the village, as well as the fortifications to the south of it. Ukraine is still having issues containing the Russians here, with another counterattack from the west going poorly. The fortification line here runs from south of Novoolenivka all the way north to Yablunivka, meaning Russian troops could use it as cover to reach that town.

To the southwest, the Russian assault group that landed in Nova Poltavka a couple of days ago made a little bit more progress, but is having some difficulty in pushing through the village.

To the east, as mentioned last post the first Russian assault group entered Oleksandropil the previous day and was able to quickly take over most of the village. The Ukrainian garrison was quite small and stood little chance of holding Oleksandropil, so this outcome is not surprising. The rest of the village will likely be under Russian control with the next day, if it isn’t already, but we’ll need to wait for confirmation.

Southwest of Toretsk, Russia troops moved further into the centre of Leonidivka. There is not much for me to comment on here as this area had been greyzone for a while, so its simply Russia moving back in.

Moving over to the Pokrovsk front, the farm on the western edge of Uspenivka was cleared by Russia, meaning for now the village is secured. Ukraine can still cross back over the Solona River and reopen the battle though.

To the southwest, following their capture of Kotlyarivka a few days ago, Russian infantry are continuing to move out into the surrounding area, clearing part of a treelines northeast of the village, as well as a few of them southwest of it. A separate set of Russian assault groups launched an attack on Troitske, having much better success this time and quickly taking over half of the village. Ukraine’s garrison has reportedly fled back to Horikhove but its positions east of the Oblast border are looking quite vulnerable (few fortifications, under attack from north and east, difficult to get reinforcements here).

On the Velyka Novosilka front, Russian assault groups continued their advance towards Zelene Pole and Novopil, taking over several fields and treelines east of the villages. They are now within striking distance of both settlements, however its unclear if they will wait for Ukrainian positions to be further softened up by bombardment (such as this), or believe that the garrison is weak enough that they can attack within days. I do not have much information of the Ukrainian forces in this area right now, so I cannot say how well Ukraine can hold.

Up in northern Kharkiv, throughout the end of April and into early May Russia made some smaller ‘attacks’ within Vovchansk, with a small number of infantry moving into the rubble in the centre of the town up to the river, including the aggregate plant. As with all Vovchansk frontline changes, take this not as ‘control’ but rather showing which side was in a particular area last.

Heading to the Belgorod border area, following on from their advances a few days prior, Russian troops ramped up the pressure on the remaining Ukrainian forces trying to hold onto their tiny foothold in Belgorod, and were not only able to recapture several fields and treelines but were also able to push across the border and take over the small village of Mar’ine.

Obviously this holds no strategic value and was always going to be undefendable once Russia tried to attack, but it does mean Russia is now moving into yet another part of Sumy. Ironically Russia likely never intended to cross the border here, but with Ukraine’s incursion forcing them to move units to this area and spend a good amount of time shelling and bombing Ukrainian positions they’ve now found themselves with the opportunity to push back.

North of Kharkiv, over the past week Ukrainian troops were able to advance into and capture one of the forest areas southeast of Hlyboke. This particular forest area has changed hands at least 8 times since Russia first pushed into northern Kharkiv mid-2024, although this is the first movement here in a while.

Ukraine is always looking for opportunities to push Russia back in this area, but with their forces tied up on other fronts and having failed the several previous attacks, this is likely just them making an opportunistic advance.

Following on from picture 2, Russia made many advances on the Oskil River front over the past week (Suriyak says prior to the ceasefire starting). Beginning on the north side, they’ve increased the pressure around Makiivka, taking over some fields and treelines north and west of the small town. As mentioned before, Hrekivka is the Russian target for this particular group, one of the last 2 settlements Ukraine still controls in Luhansk Oblast.

Southwest, another couple of Russian groups have continued expanding their control around Novomykhailivka, taking a number of treelines, fields and part of a forest area.

Southwest, Russia has once again reached the outskirts of Ridkodub, which also happened the day before the Easter Ceasefire. We could see Ukraine once again retaking these treelines on the outskirts of the village like we did a few weeks ago if the Russians adhere to the ceasefire in this area and leave this area.

To the south, Russian assault groups have been working to clear the remaining fields, treelines and forest areas along the small stream running from Nove through Kolodyazi and into the Zherebets River. With this area cleared they can start moving out west (stream small enough that its easy to cross) and put pressure on Ukrainian forces by exploiting the lack of fortifications. They’ve also made a bit more progress in Kolodyazi itself, reaching the centre of the village, but the ceasefire will put a pause on their assault and Ukraine may take back some of these buildings.

Following on from picture 3, Russian assault groups have taken more of Verkhnokamyanske and have reached the centre of the settlement. A separate group has also cleared the treelines south of the settlement providing Russia a bit of protection in case of counterattacks. The battle for Verkhnokamyanske is still far from over, as the main challenge will be clearing the central area and warehouses.

North of Chasiv Yar, the Russian group that has been making occasional opportunistic advances has once again pushed forward, capturing a couple of treelines and a field east of the canal. As mentioned in earlier posts, their goal is just to push the frontline to the canal so its easier to defend this area.

Following on from picture 5, Russia has made some significant advances over the past couple of days that were only confirmed recently. Beginning with that northwest side, due to controlling most of Oleksandropil (likely all at this point) Russian troops were able to clear out the treelines north and northwest of the settlement.

Separate to this Russian forces from Kalynove and Zelene Pole have gradually cleared out a large area of fields, treelines and trenches, as Ukrainian troops were forced to abandon the positions out of fear of being overrun. These groups will continue north to clear more fields and treelines until they reach Hnativka.

To the east, Russian has made similarly significant progress over the past few days, with assault groups clearing out the remaining fields and treelines up to and over the highway, as well as straightening out the frontline with Leonidivka and reaching the outskirts of Romanivka. That last part likely happened during the first day of the ceasefire, with a couple of Russian sources basically stating that fighting in this area continues with no change.

Ukraine is in serious trouble on this front, as with Russia on the doorstep of Romanivka their forces are being pushed into an incredibly unfavourable pocket around Stara Mykolaivka and Zorya. If Russia takes the village they can either assault Zorya from the east (bypassing Stara Mykolaivka entirely) or simply continue heading north to cut off Zorya from supplies. Add in the advances occurring around Oleksandropil on the other side, and there is a real risk of encirclement developing on this front.

Following on from picture 7, in the few days prior to the ceasefire, Russian troops became more active in Zvirove and around Pokrovsk, managing to clear a number of streets and capture a few POWs. I would still say its far too early to talk about Russia making a move on Pokrovsk, however they have definitely stepped up their efforts to clear out Ukrainian positions and weaken defensive points so they can get closer to the city.

Southwest, Russian troops from Nadiivka have stepped up their efforts to clear the fields and treelines northwest of the settlement, as they prepare to make a move on Novomykolaivka.

Going southwest again, Russian forces in Troitske managed to capture the remainder of the village and enter the first street of Horikhove just prior to the ceasefire starting. Given they had already started assaulting Horikhove prior to the ceasefire, and both sides are clashing in that area, it should come as no surprise they are both continuing to fight (for the first day at least).

On a related note, Russia is now only 1.7km from Dnipro Oblast, with Suriyak reporting that a couple of Russian DRGs have already snuck into Dnipro Oblast to scout out Ukrainian positions. At the current rate of advance it will not take long for them to capture the last couple of fields and treelines to enter Dnipro properly, which will see this area shift into a new front.

Heading south of the previous picture, we’re on the west side of the Kurakhove front. Once again, over the past few days Russian troops increased their pressure on the area northwest of Andriivka, clearing a number of fields and treelines as they move west (these were mostly empty, so minimal fighting). Obviously the target of this Russian group is Oleksiivka, however with there being a well-fortified defence line around the settlement it will be difficult for Russia to attack.

To the south, at some point in the past week Russian assault groups in Bahatyr were able to push north of their initial foothold, capturing a number of houses. Both Russia and Ukraine have been incredibly quiet regarding events in Bahatyr since the Russian assault started, so its difficult to tell exactly what is going on. As always we will eventually get more information, it will just take time as neither side wants to give away too much whilst heavy clashes are ongoing.