RU POV: Russian and Ukrainian advances from Day 868 to 871 of the War - Suriyakmaps

The Russian assaults around Ocheretyne continue once again. In the north, Russian forces expanded their control of the fields northwest of Novooleksandrivka, this time on the opposite side of the river/reservoir as their previous advance. With control over both sides of the river, and the respective roads, Russian forces are rapidly closing in on Vozdvyzhenka, where the remainder of the Ukrainian 110th Separate Mechanised Brigade withdrew to after abandoning Novooleksandrivka last month.

To the south, Russian forces continued closing in on Novoselivka Persha from multiple sides, including capturing the Ukrainian trench network in the north I mentioned in the previous update here. Ukrainian forces in the town are in dire straits, as they face potential Russian assaults not only from the entire northern side, but also from the east on the other side of the river.

Russian forces captured more of the centre of Urozhaine, after fighting resumed following a several week pause after the capture of neighbouring Staromaiorske.

Following on from picture 1, Russian forces began their assaults into Novoselivka Persha, quickly capturing the northern warehouse area, and the school of the northern side of the town. Ukraine is struggling to defend Novoselivka Persha due to the large surface area they have to defend, and the river running through the centre of the town making rotations between the north and south side difficult.

Following on from Picture 2, Russian forces quickly captured the remainder of Urozhaine in a series of rapid assaults, some of which can be seen in this video. At the same time, Russian forces on the opposite side of the river also captured the rest of the trenchline north of Staromaiorske.

Whilst motorcycle and buggy/quadbike assaults have been widely ridiculed by various sources, the reality is they are proving highly effective in the drone-saturated warfare we are seeing today, and are being carried out more frequently as Russian (and even some Ukrainian), units adapt.

Over the past 2 days, Ukrainian forces launched a counterattack on the southwest side of Krasnogórivka, recapturing one of the farms, and a few of the buildings of the southern suburbs. Whilst this counterattack did catch Russian forces off-guard, it is unlikely to stop the fall of the town as there are too few units involved to truly force Russia out. It will however buy some time for the Ukrainian units in the northern side of Krasnogórivka to withdraw or build up new positions.

Continuing on from picture 1 and 3, in the north, Russian forces advanced slightly further northwest, and are now just 300m from the first buildings of Vozdvyzhenka. The assault will not be easy, as not only is there a trenchline just outside of the warehouses, but the warehouses are separated from the main part of the village by a small river, which acts as a second line of defence here.

To the south, Russian forces also began to advance into Novoselivka Persha from the east, capturing several fields and the first buildings on the eastern side of the town. At this stage, given recent Russian progress, Ukraine will be unable to hold the town, and will almost certainly have to retreat. Whether the 47th mech brigade is able to stall long enough to evacuate supplies, ammunition and parts (as this was their forward operating base) is now the main question.

Back to the Niu-York/Toretsk front, Russian forces have captured the first streets of Zalizne, and are moving quickly towards the centre of the town. This means that Russia has a presence in 3 of the towns in the Toretsk town cluster; Zalizne, Pivnichne, and Druzhba. From the available footage, Ukrainian counterattacks and attempt to stall Russia seem to be mostly limited to FPV drones, and individual tanks driving forward to shell Russian positions. This is due to Ukrainian units in this area not having the numbers, nor the experience, to fight the Russian assault forces in urban combat.

South of Niu-York, Russian forces expanded the salient (or as one Telegram comment put it, the Niu-York hotdog) south of the town, capturing several more fields. Clashes continue in the town itself, with Russian forces bringing their Airforce advantage to bear, increasingly bombing the main Ukrainian positions in the industrial sector with FABs.

Russian forces made some small advances in the hills overlooking Klishchiivka, capturing them in a small opportunistic attack.

Over the past few days, Russian forces have entered and captured the eastern side of Makiivka. Almost identically to what occurred in Stelmakhivka a few days ago, Russian forces were able to quickly enter the town, forcing Ukraine to give up the eastern side and pull back across the Zherebets river (the same river flows through both towns). Same as in Stelmakhivka, Russian forces will now consolidate their control of the eastern side of Makiivka, and will have to find a way to cross the river and establish a foothold on the western side.

Russian recon forces, who captured Sotnytskyi Kozachok last week, pulled back across the border, allowing Ukraine to re-enter the village and take control of it once again. From what I could find, almost no combat took place here, and neither side lost anything with this exchange of a border village.

Ukrainian forces expanded their control of the warehouse area north of Hlyboke, capturing the final one. Whilst they are under frequent bombardment the Ukrainian forces there look to be holding their positions for now. Whether they will be able to cross over the river into Hlyboke is unknown.

The clusterfuck that is Vovchansk continues. As can be seen in this video, 2 months of intense bombardment by both sides has left the town in ruins, and makes determining who controls what a nightmare.

Russian forces retook some of the eastern streets, undoing one of Ukraine's recent advances. In the centre of the town, Ukraine crossed the river from the west, moving towards the hospital area. In the south, Russian forces expanded their control on the other side of the Vovcha river, moving into more of the residential area.

Repeating what I've said many times before; the fighting is a mess here, and neither side looks to be 'winning' the battle itself, with both of them trading control over different areas frequently. Ukrainian sources have claimed Russian forces have allegedly been 'encircled' in the aggregate plant for over a month now, but are still being supplied and were able to cross the river. Similarly, Russian sources have claimed to have knocked out most crossings over the river multiple times, and they are either replaced, or were not fully destroyed. The battle is certain to continue for a while to come.