RU POV: Russian advances from Day 887 and 888 of the War - Suriyakmaps

Russian forces captured several fields and one of the last remaining trench lines outside Robotyne (mentioned in a previous update), after a few days of small clashes. Ukrainian forces in this area are almost entirely infantry, and simply occupy the holes, dugouts and trenches that litter the area. Most casualties suffered by both sides in the Robotyne salient are from FPV drones, which hunt down individual soldiers in the various holes they hide in.

Russian forces are getting close to closing the salient, and returning to their original pre-counteroffensive positions (pic below).

Russia continued its assault on Kostyantynivka, with small groups of Russian infantry establishing a foothold on the southeastern side of the town. To the north, Russian assault groups managed to push along the main road from Pobjeda, as they aim to increase pressure on the town from the north. Ukrainian forces tried to counterattack with several APCs, and even a Leopard, but were unable to drive Russia out of its new positions.

Ukrainian forces in the eastern fields will almost certainly pull back towards the main road, as the 79th Air Assault Brigade seeks to consolidate its positions.

Advances around Prohres continue for another day. In the north, Russian forces captured the small village of Tymofiivka, as the few defending Ukrainians squads pulled back across the river to the north, and currently occupy the small forest area. This was a logical move, as trying to defend the village with no trenches, bunkers, or dugouts, would be suicidal. The Russian forces that took this village will likely head west towards the 2 Ukrainian trench networks on the other side of the main road, using the river to defend their north flank.

In the centre, Russia captured a large area of fields around Ivanivka, and a portion of the main road, including a small trench network (where left arrow is). With Russian forces closing in on the village from the south and the east, Ukrainian forces will try hold the small trench network on the south side of Ivanivka, but will almost certainly not last long as it can be circumvented.

To the south, Russian forces inched closer towards Zhelanne (bottom blue dot) along the railway, now within 300m of the first buildings. With Ukraine managing to hold the trench system and eastern side of Zhelanne, Russian infantry in this area decided to advance to the east, along the western side of the Vovcha river. As I mentioned a few days ago, Russia's goal here is to open up new supply roads and reinforcement routes along the Vovcha river, which will aid in their offensive.

In Niu-York, Russian forces had further success in the centre of the town, capturing more of the commercial area, and reaching the main road that runs east-west through the town. This also puts them within 200m of the industrial area, Ukraine's main base in Niu-York.

To the south, a small group of Russian troops have continued their advance west, closing in on Panteleimonivka. These odd advances are opportunistic in nature, and were made possible due to the defences in Oleksandropil and Pantelimonivka facing south (as they assumed Niu-York wouldn't fall), and because these villages are held by the weaker 109th Territorial Brigades.

Territorial Defences Forces are considered separate to the main Ukrainian Army, and are considerably weaker than conventional Ukrainian units. They aren't particularly well trained, are almost entirely infantry (with a few armoured cars/APCs), and are designed to be purely defensive and simply hold the line. This makes them quite vulnerable to attack, particularly when they can't be reinforced by proper Army units.

In the Toretsk conglomerate, Russian forces made a small advance in the north, capturing another street of Druzhba. To the south in Zalizne, Russian forces crossed the main road, as they position themselves for an assault on the slag-heap, as discussed here. Ukraine will likely lose control over the remainder of Zalizne within the next week, as it has become increasingly hard for them to reinforce the few remaining areas they control.