Back home
Post #276

RU POV: Russian and Ukrainian advances from Day 1548 to 1558 of the War - Suriyakmaps

May 21, 2026 — May 31, 2026 War Day 1548–1558

Apologies for such a big gap between updates, I’ve had a lot on and a few things in the works (one of which you’ll find out about soon).

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Pictures 1 to 10 are from Day 1548 to 1552 (Thursday 21 May to Monday 25 May) and Pictures 10 to 20 are from Day 1553 to 1558 (Tuesday 26 May to Sunday 31 May).

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A reminder that these maps are confirming updates from previous days (i.e. typically 24 to 72 hours delayed from each day).

Live map can be found here, Suriyak’s twitter can be found here.

Ukrainian Advance
87.74 km²
Overall (set): 89.55 km²
Russian Advance
146.48 km²
Net Change
-58.74 km²

Situation Snapshots

Imagery, commentary, and territorial changes from the period.

20 entries
Russian Forces Advance: 2.68 km²

Advance = 2.68km2

Beginning today on the northern front, on the southwest side Russian assault groups have continued slowly pushing through the forest towards Shesterivka, where clashes are taking place. They do not control the village yet and we will likely see some back and forth as they try to secure positions in the locality.

To the northeast, Russia is working on securing the last sections of Volokhivka and have begun fighting in neighbouring Karaichne.
Ukrainian Forces Advance: 0.22 km²

Advance = 0.22km2

Onto the Kupyansk front, within the town itself there have been minimal changes over the past few weeks, with Russia still maintaining their presence on both sides of the river and trying to expand control. Ukraine for their part are still struggling with supplies due to drone pressure and Russian DRGs operating in Kupyansk-Vuzlovyi. Per some reports Ukraine is losing ground in eastern Kupyansk due to said supply pressure, but nothing has been confirmed yet so take this with a grain of salt.

To the south, Russia has further consolidated in Kurylivka and has managed to capture a few small streets in Kupyansk-Vuzlovyi, trying to cut the Ukrainians off.
Context

No Advance

Down to the Oskil River front, there have not been many changes on this section of the frontline in May, with Russia still heavily shelling Bohuslavka (under the a) and attempting to attack Novoplatonivka.
Ukrainian Forces Advance: 11.43 km²

Advance = 11.43km2

Further south on the same front, Ukraine launched a series of attacks through mid-May, managing to recapture Hlushchenkove (has been contested for months), a number of treelines and a small section of Ridkodub.

There was a mechanised portion of these attacks that tried to break through to Nove, however from the available footage (video 1, video 2, video 3) and lack of geolocations of further Ukrainian movements in that area since it looks to have been wiped out.
Context

No Advance

Heading to the Slovyansk front, over the span of a week Russia ramped up its crossings over the canal, sending small infantry groups towards Malynivka and Tykhonivka in an attempt to establish a foothold.

A little to the southeast, a few Ukrainian soldiers were shown to be in Minkivka, either a new group that has infiltrated the village or one that has been entrenched in the basements since the previous counterattack attempt at the beginning of the month.
Russian Forces Advance: 2.52 km²

Middle Advance = 0.10km2, Bottom Advance = 2.42km2

Moving to the Kostyantynivka front, Russian forces continue to flood into the city, trying to overwhelm the remaining Ukrainian defenders. Whilst the only confirmed advance occurred on the southern edge of Kostyantynivka, where Russia captured some residential streets and part of an industrial area, larger sections of the city have fallen into the greyzone due Russian troops slipping through the lines (such as this).

In coordination with this Russia has stepped up its shelling/bombing of the remaining Ukrainian strongholds and increasing the pressure on what little remains of Ukrainian supply/reinforcement routes in and out of the city, including some of the bridges further north in Oleksijevo-Druzhkivka (video 1, video 2). Whilst the situation is certainly dire for Ukraine it does not mean the city will fall quickly, as the Russians will still need to consolidate their positions, clear out many thousands of buildings and eventually push Ukraine out altogether, all of which takes a lot of time and effort.
Ukrainian Forces Advance: 7.21 km²

Upper Left Advance = 3.80km2, Left Advance = 0.60km2, Lower Left Advance = 2.80km2

Over on the Pokrovsk front, on the northwest side Russia has expanded its control around Novooleksandriva and has taken control of neighbouring Vasylivka (minor village). Myrne will be the next stop for this particular Russian unit in the push to move this front forwards, although it will not be nearly as easy as the previous two villages due to a lack of cover and the locality being larger.

To the south Ukrainian troops counterattacked and managed to retake some of the treelines along the E50 highway, as the back and forth over this area continues.

Out east there were also some new Ukrainian infiltrators spotted in Rodynske, which Russia are attempting to drive out now. Like the previous attempts Ukraine won’t be able to establish a foothold but it is preventing the Russians from properly consolidating and moving the front north.
Russian Forces Advance: 63.63 km²

Middle Advance = 42.75km2, Middle Right Advance = 18.89km2, Lower Advance = 1.99km2

Onto the Pokrovsk front, the situation here has gotten even messier over the past couple of weeks with new movements from both Russia and Ukraine. As I explained in this comment, the Russians reportedly managed to hold onto some of the villages they were thought to have lost in February because the Ukrainians never cleared them out, only pushed through with assault groups. So places such as Verbove, Vyshneve and even possibly Vidradne, Hai and Novooleksandrivka are under Russian 'control' because they have a squad or two of infantry still hiding here whilst Ukraine has none.

This partially explains why we kept getting random geolocations of Russians well behind areas Ukraine said they recaptured for the past few months, because most of these troops never left. This has led to the Russians managing to sneak some troops up to Dobropasove (top of the map) and assault it, even using shorter range recon drones (like basic Mavics) to film their soldiers and strikes which would confirm their drone operators didn't get pushed back that far. Obviously, they do not control it but the fact they managed to get a squad of soldiers there when per Ukraine's own claims its 15km behind their lines means they have a serious issues in securing the front.

Ukraine for their part has renewed their attacks on Berezove, retaking some of the outer buildings, whilst other troops pushed through to Kalynivske and Novomykolaivka and are trying to consolidate there.

The broader light-yellow layer Suriyak has added is to indicate these areas of very thin control and presence of soldiers, where both sides are moving through and are not properly securing their positions.
Russian Forces Advance: 12.31 km²

Top Advance = 0.62km2, Upper Middle Advance = 10.42km2, Bottom Advance = 1.26km2

Heading to the Hulyaipole front, the Russian assault on Vozdvyzhivka is ongoing, with their troops moving into the centre of the town and pushing into the remaining streets now. Russia claimed they captured the locality around this time, with Ukraine rejecting it, but overall the fighting is ongoing.

A little to the south Russia cleared out Verkhnya Tersa and has captured the small town, as well as some of the surrounding treelines. There are still some Ukrainian troops nearby so they have not properly secured it yet, but Russia is now attempting to expand their buffer around the settlement.
Ukrainian Forces Advance: 19.53 km²

Advance = 19.53km2

Out on the Zaporizhia front, Ukraine launched further attacks in the fields out east of Kamyanske, recapturing larger parts of them and attempting to reach the town after Russia was forced to withdraw. Their progress has halted here for now as Russia has now been pushed back to its more well defended/consolidated areas, but Ukraine will almost certainly keeps trying to push forward and reach Kamyanske.
Ukrainian Forces Advance: 11.02 km²

Top Advance = 4.19km2, Bottom Advance = 6.83km2

Swinging back up to the Sumy front, on the north side after weeks more fighting Russia looks to have taken control of most of Myropillya and has begun attacking Zapsillya. They also claim to have captured this village at this time with Ukraine denying it, however its undeniable that fighting has commenced in Zapsillya.

To the south Russian assault groups finished clearing Ryasne and have now taken control of the village. Ukraine has immediately begun to counterattack, trying to break back in, so it is not secure yet and will likely see some more clashes until the frontline can be pushed further west.
Russian Forces Advance: 8.09 km²

Top Left Advance = 1.94km2, Top Right Advance = 3.19km2, Upper Right Advance = 1.58km2, Right Advance = 6.63km2, Lower Middle Advance = 1.37km2

Following on from picture 1, on the far northwestern side Russia launched a new border crossing in mid-May, capturing the villages of Hraniv and Shevchenka over a week. As with all these border settlements they are lightly defended and often abandoned, so the real question will be whether Russia continues the push here to Kozacha Lopan or settles for a small slice of the border as they did in Veteryarne.

On the far northeastern side of the map Russia captured the village of Budarky after a little more than a week of fighting and is now trying to secure the neighbouring treelines. This puts any remaining Ukrainian troops north of the Vovcha River in an awkward position as they are gradually running out of routes to evacuate or be supplied from.

A little to the west, Russia captured more of the forest near Rybalchyne and is trying to creep up to Mala Vovcha, however no attack has taken place yet.

Going west again, other Russian assault groups finished clearing Volokhivka, capturing the village, as well as capturing neighbouring Karaichne and the forest area west of it.

To the southwest, Suriyak has remarked Synelnykove and more of Lyman as under Russian control, with the fighting taking place around Tsehelne and Vilcha. If you go back to the previous post this is where I disagreed with Suriyak so it looks like he has corrected the map to show the fighting further south than he previously reported.
Russian Forces Advance: 19.69 km²

Upper Middle Advance = 16.85km2, Lower Middle Advance = 1.23km2, Bottom Advance = 1.59km2

Out on the Kharkiv border area, the counterattacks mentioned last post look to have been confirmed, with Russia recovering much of the ground lost including the village of Odradne.

To the south Russia has started launching attacks into Novovasylivka, which they claim to have captured. Whilst it isn’t under their control they are certainly present in small numbers here, so the locality has shifted into the greyzone.

There was also a minor advance further south near Fyholivka, however this is just a single treeline that has likely been under Russian control for some time finally being marked as such.
Russian Forces Advance: 1.54 km²

Top Left Advance = 0.83km2, Top Right Advance = 0.71km2

Following on from picture 2, following Ukraine shifting their units to the northern front in early May, Russian soldiers in western Kupyansk have managed to push back out from their pocket, recapturing some streets, highrises and the stadium area. These are the same troops that have managed to cling onto this side of the town since the Ukrainian counterattacks last year and have been able to maintain their positions despite limited supply and a small area to work with. They will still have to contend with these issues until Russia can improve their positions across the area, but in the meantime they’ll be trying to claw back more of Kupyansk whilst they have the chance.

On the other half of the town Russia has intensified their shelling/droning and is trying to secure the central area next to the railway. There was also a smaller advance in Kucherivka as they have been able to consolidate in the central part of the village.
Ukrainian Forces Advance: 1.43 km²

Advance = 1.43km2

Down to the Lyman front, Russia managed to hold onto Stavky and has driven the Ukrainian attackers back from the warehouses on the western edge.

Other areas saw intensified shelling and slight increases in greyzone but no actual advances or notable changes.
Russian Forces Advance: 1.33 km²

Advance = 1.34km2

Following on from picture 5, Russian assault groups managed to take over some of the fortifications near Rai-Oleksandrivka and have now entered the town. For the moment they only hold a small portion of the locality but are working towards the centre now.
Russian Forces Advance: 1.02 km²

Lower Left Advance = 0.27km2, Bottom Left Advance = 0.75km2

Following on from picture 6, more than half of the city has fallen into the greyzone due to Russia flooding it with small infantry groups, with soldiers being spotted in almost every suburb of the town. Consolidation and full clearing of those areas is ongoing but we can say that the fighting has entered a key phase in the battle over Kostyantynivka.

To the southwest Russia took over one of the treelines near Dovha Balka but has been unable to push further into the settlement.
Russian Forces Advance: 8.34 km²

Top Advance = 2.40km2, Middle Advance = 4.51km2, Bottom Left Advance = 0.94km2, Bottom Middle Advance = 0.49km2

Following on from 7, on the north side Russian troops moved on from Vasylivka and have now begun attacking eastern Myrne.

A little to the south other groups attacked the recently lost positions near the E50 highway and managed to recapture most of them, part of the ongoing back and forth here.

Out to the southwest Russia began to move deeper into Novopidhorodne for the first time in many months, claiming capture of the locality. This village has been in a quiet stalemate for quite some time now, neither side really trying to push forward but also not being able to secure their positions (primarily due to drones). Depending on the source Ukraine has either abandoned the locality or had so few troops present that they could not deal with a push once it finally arrived, but we’ll get further clarification in the future.
Ukrainian Forces Advance: 36.90 km²

Advance = 36.90km2

Back to the Pokrovske front, this time on the northeastern edge where throughout May Ukraine has launched a continuation of their offensive from earlier this year, this time in the area between the Vovcha and Mokri Yaly Rivers. They were able to recapture Andriivka-Klevtsove and most of the surrounding fields and forest areas, before flooding infantry groups out east in an attempt to saturate the area (same as they did in February).

This is an extension of what I described in picture 8, with no true consolidation or control over a decently sized region as they ignore clearing positions in their attempts to push forward. Russia has also been exploiting this and has pushed into and around Lisne (under the S). So this large greyzone has been marked to show the lack of known control from either side, but likely as time goes on areas will be returned to Russia or Ukraine as they are confirmed to still be present in some of these villages.
Russian Forces Advance: 25.33 km²

Upper Middle Advance = 9.12km2, Bottom Advance = 16.21km2

Following on from picture 9, Vozdvyzhivka has been cleared by the Russian assault groups mentioned earlier, who have now begun working on expanding the buffer around the town and preventing Ukrainian counterattacks.

To the south, following the capture of Charivne a few weeks ago Russia has been pushing out further into the fields around the village, capturing a number of them and trying to shift the front further west. Adjacent to this the Russian assault on Hulyaipilske is ongoing, with the village mostly in the greyzone and likely to fall to the Russians soon.