RU POV: Russian and Ukrainian advances from Day 1297 to 1300 of the War - Suriyakmaps

Starting off on the northeastern side of the Pokrovsk front, Russian forces counterattacked over the span of 2 days southeast of Sofiivka, recaptured several fields and treelines lost to Ukraine days prior. This area has seen a lot of back and forth this month, with neither side able to properly secure it, which will likely continue for some time.

Over on the Velyka Novosilka front, over the last week and a half Russian forces re-established control over Zelenyi Hai (below Ivanivka) and most of Andriivka-Klevtsove (above the S), following the Ukrainian counterattacks in August. Depending on which source you use/trust there is some debate over whether Russia truly lost control of Andriivka-Klevtsove, as some argue that Russian troops were always present and Ukraine only sent DRGs in (who also went to Tolstoi), whilst others say that control was split due to both sides having infantry present in basements across the small town.

Regardless, for now the settlement is under Russian control and they will be working on trying to secure the areas north and south of the town to prevent Ukraine from launching more counterattacks. This also means we are in the final stages of the Velyka Novosilka front, as the fighting moves into Dnipro Oblast and towards Prosyana (northwest) and/or Mezhova (northeast).

Moving down to the Pokrovske and Hulyaipole fronts, on the north side, Russian assault groups captured Ternove after a few days of fighting. Like with many of the other settlements on this front, the battle was made significantly easier for them by isolating the garrisons by advancing on the flanks and hitting all transports in and out of the area. This meant that by the time the first Russian assault groups moved into Ternove whatever garrison Ukraine had present had either fled (to avoid being encircled) or been picked off by drones and artillery in the days prior. Their next target here is Berezove to the west, where fighting is currently occurring.

To the south, a different Russian assault group moved from Temyrivka and captured the small village (really just some farms) of Obratne. Ukraine had launched a counterattack here a week prior to this with some APCs, but they didn’t make it far, losing both vehicles and eventually the village.

Slightly south again, Russian infantry groups have increased their activity in the fields between Obratne and Olhivske (blue dot below k), clearing and capturing a relatively large area of fields and treelines. This is part of the broad push to the Yanchur River I described in this comment, which Russia would use to pressure or cut off supply to Hulyaipole. Novoivanivka is the last settlement along the main road between the Russians and the river, meaning it is almost certainly their next target (already being shelled).

Up to the Sumy front, since the beginning of September Ukraine continued to hit and assault Novokostiantynivka (southwest of @), from the south and west, finally managing to secure the village. As Suriyak mentioned, Russia had practically lost control of the village back in July, but the fighting elsewhere on the front and the low importance of Novokostiantynivka meant it took a lot longer for Ukraine to secure it (which doesn’t matter).

A little to the east, Ukraine has been working on clearing the greyzone south of the reservoir, which became inaccessible to Russia (by land) when they lost Kindrativka a few months back.

Heading down to the Kostyantynivka front, east of the city, Russian forces have been probing Ukrainian positions in the dachas, taking over a few smaller trenches north of Oleksandro-Shultyne and entering the eastern houses. For now this is just minor DRG or infantry presence (in the dachas specifically), but the Russians will be looking to clear out spaces for more troops and scout paths to get them into the city proper.

Back to the Pokrovsk front, this time east of Myrnohrad where over the past week Russia has intensified its infantry attacks. Many smaller groups of Russian infantry have been pushing through the treelines and into the ventilation shafts east of the city, trying to clear a path into Myrnohrad itself. Whilst Ukraine has prevented them from reaching the outer buildings so far, if they do not re-establish a buffer around the city soon it is only a matter of time before Russian assault groups enter Myrnohrad.

Following on from picture 3, Russian assault groups made further gains west of Temyrivka, capturing several fields and treelines, as well as reaching the outskirts of Novoivanivka. They are likely trying to break in and capture the village before Ukraine can set up a proper defence, building on their momentum on this front.

On the west side of the Zaporizhia front, over the past week a small number of Russian infantry made their way from the southern apartment district in Stepnohirsk into the main part of the town, even managing to cross the stream that splits the town in 2. Similar to picture 5, this is only a minor Russian presence for now, but they are trying to build up their forces and expand their control.

Swinging up to Kupyansk, heavy clashes continue within the town, with Russian assault groups confirmed to have captured several apartment buildings, two of the schools and a medical clinic on the north side. Reports on Kupyansk are all over the place due to the information blackout, with a wide range of unconfirmed claims stating Russian control is anywhere between what you see here and them already having captured half of the town.

What we do know is that Ukraine is transferring part of the 3rd Assault Brigade (Azov) to Kupyansk to try hold the town. This is rather interesting as they are currently deployed on the Oskil River front, which is also an area of high concern for Ukraine. Azov were the ones engaged in many aggressive counterattacks back at the beginning of September which fared poorly (video 1, video 2, video 3), which were done in an attempt to improve the Ukrainian situation that front. For them to suddenly have part of their unit pulled from this front means that either the situation in Kupyansk is worse than publicly reported or Ukraine is making the decision to prioritise it over the Oskil River/Lyman front.

Onto the Oskil River front, over the past week Russia consolidated its positions in the Serebryansky forest and managed to cross the Zherebets River, aiming to push onto Yampil (bottom blue dot). As I mentioned a month ago, the localised collapse in the forest was almost certainly going to continue up until the Zherebets River, with the big question being what happens once the Russians get there.

With Ukraine unable to hold the Zherebets River line Russian forces now have the opportunity to push onto Yampil, which they can use as a forward base to either attack Lyman (west) and/or cross the Siverskyi Donets to hit Siversk from behind (south). Either case sees Ukraine in deep trouble, so holding Yampil will be crucial for them.

Following on from picture 2, on the north side, Russian infantry have cleared out some of the treelines along the Vovcha River south of Ivanivka, which were unoccupied. The river is rather thin here, so Russia may be considering crossing over into eastern Ivanivka and building an assault from there.

To the southwest, Russia captured/recaptured/cleared the remainder of Andriivka-Klevtsove. The Vovcha River is wider here and they took out the only bridge to the other side months back, so for the moment its unlikely they are considering trying to cross.

Following on from picture 10, on the northwest side, the Russian assault on Shandryholove continues, with their assault groups managing to clear and capture about half of the village. There have been other Russian movements reported in this area, but those haven’t been confirmed yet.

To the southeast, Russian forces continued to expand the bridgehead on the other side of the Zherebets River, taking over the Ostrich farm/petting zoo (no Ostriches were harmed) and the adjacent trench network. At least one Russian infantry group also made it into eastern Yampil, where clashes have begun.

To the east, Russia has also captured two more chunks of forest north of the Siverskyi Donets River, one above Serebryanka (orange dot) and one above Dronivka (off map south). There is now only a small section of the forest left under Ukrainian control, which is being evacuated now.

Following on from picture 1, over the past few days Ukrainian assault groups recaptured part of Pankivka and are trying to make their way along the treelines west of the village to cut the Russian salient off. Now to be clear, despite some wild claims there are not thousands and thousands of Russian troops in the salient. At absolute maximum there are low hundreds present in the area from Nykanorivka (red dot below @) northwards, spread out across the various trench networks, mini forest areas and treelines. These troops are primarily supplied via drones, hence why Ukraine has been unable to intercept logistics despite the many units and drone teams they have present.

There is definitely a risk that the Russian forces in the salient could be encircled, but as we have seen time and again achieving a full encirclement is incredibly difficult in this war. They will need to secure all of Pankivka and Nykanorivka, as well as the village of Mayak, to encircle the Russian salient, which is proving to be extremely difficult due to all the drones, FABs and artillery Russia is employing here. The salient may also not be as large as Suriyak depicts here, as some sources claim Russia is no longer in Kucheriv Yar (top part of salient) and has also lost Nove Shakhove, but none of that can be confirmed due to the information blackout.

Following on from picture 7, starting on the north side, the Russian assault on Berezove (above the S) continues, with their forces taking more houses on the eastern side of the village, as well as part of the treelines to the north.

To the south, Russian assault groups entered Novoivanivka (below the S) and have quickly taken over half of the village. Another Russian group is working on clearing out the treelines nearby whilst the assault is ongoing.

Moving south one last time, Russian forces crossed the small stream and captured the small village of Olhivske, which had been abandoned by Ukrainian earlier due to Russian shelling/droning. They immediately set out and captured the surrounding fields and treelines, and are currently hammering Ukrainian positions in and around Poltavka (bottom left) in preparation for an assault.