UA POV: Russian and Ukrainian advances from Day 919 and 920 of the War - Suriyakmaps

In Kursk, Ukraine made a small advance in a field in the north, whilst also recapturing the village of Borki, which they lost control of a little less than a week ago. Heavy clashes continue in this area.

Northeast of Chasiv Yar, Russian troops captured the first few houses of Hryhorivka, marking the start of the battle for the village.

On the Toretsk front, Russian assault groups finally finished clearing the last section of Pivnichne, confirming full control of the town. Ukrainian troops withdrew from this area when the fighting on the eastern side of Toretsk began.

On the Pokrovsk front, Russian assault groups captured the village of Dolynivka, after 2 days of fierce fighting. Ukrainian forces were trying to hold the river and forest area here, but had extreme difficulty due to the loss of neighbouring Halytsynivka and the trench network north of the village. The surviving troops have pulled back to Lisivka and Ukrainsk (West), where Russian forces are currently closing in.

In Krasnogorivka, Russian troops began to expand the buffer around the town, capturing some fields near the railway on the west side. Activity in this area is still quite low, with both sides resting and regrouping following the battle for the central town area.

Around Vuhledar, Russian forces have begun anoffensive operation to capture the town, which is part of the larger campaign on the southern Donetsk front. Starting in the west, Russian assault groups made rapid progress through the fields, following their earlier successes west of Pavilivka a few days ago. Ukrainian defences in this are were weak, which has allowed Russian troops to push right up to Prechystivka, where clashes with Ukraine are taking place. If you’ve read my previous comments, you’ll know I mentioned Prechystivka a week ago as a possible target for Russia to use as a base to cross the Kashlahach River, which looks to be occurring now. If Russia can take this town, they will be able to use it as a staging point for assaults to the north towards Novoukrainka, which would cut off supplies to Vuhledar.

At the same time, Russian troops also began assaulting the Mine northwest of Vuhledar, managing to land assault troops at the main building, as seen in this video. From current reports, clashes are currently ongoing for control of the mine complex. Russia has also started striking Ukraine’s outermost positions in an attempt to knock out the various strongpoints and force Ukraine back to positions in or directly around Vuhledar.

Regarding the many claims of a direct assault on Vuhledar beginning a few days ago, including this video being released by Ukrainian soldiers; it is simply not true. Russia has been ramping up the shelling/bombing of Vuhledar and the surrounding area, but the claims of a direct assault on the town beginning do not have any evidence to back them up.

Back over to the Pokrovsk front, Russian assaults in multiple areas continue. Within Selydove, Russian troops have captured most of the southeastern side of the city, including the hospital complex. Russian advances here have slowed down due to the arrival of Ukrainian reinforcements in the form of the 15th National Guard Brigade (was deployed near Orikhiv, Zaporizhzhia Oblast) and another unknown/unclear unit. For now Ukraine is holding in the apartment buildings through the centre of the town, with Russian troops having to slow down and clear them 1 by 1. More Russian troops are being brought into the city to help capture it, so Russian advances around Selydove will likely slow down.

Following on from Picture 4, Russian troops have captured several of the fields southwest of Memryk, as well as the ones directly south of Dolynivka. The main Russian target in this area is the town of Ukrainsk (above the S and U), where Ukrainian troops are trying to halt the Russian advance. There are already many conflicting reports about the state of this area, with some saying Russia is only now moving towards Ukrainsk, whilst others say they have already captured part of the town. The lack of footage by both sides is complicating the mapping, so we’re left with claims for now.

Over in Toretsk, Russian troops continued advancing through the residential area in between the forest, and have pushed right up to the slag heap. Ukrainian troops in the prison will likely retreat over the next 2 days, as they are at risk of being encircled or wiped out once Russia sets up positions on the slag heap, which will allow them to fire down at anywhere in the prison.

On the Siversk front, Russian troops have advanced up the railway, and captured the ruins of the village of Vyimka (red dot). At the same time, Ukrainian troops have recaptured Ivano-Darivka and some of the surrounding fields, after Russia was forced to retreat from the area due to Ukraine’s height advantage 2 weeks ago. Is unclear whether Ukraine will be able to hold this area, or will elect to pull back to its strong positions on the hills to the north.

On the Oskil River front, Russia continues its push towards the river itself, capturing several more fields, putting themselves only 4.3km away (2.37km from the main supply road). Russian troops here are now just outside the first of the Ukrainian trench networks in this area, built to help Ukraine defend against the Hlushkivka and Kolisnykivka.

On the east side, Ukraine has retaken the forest area west of Tabaivka. The village itself lies on the other side of the river, so Ukraine will likely have to try push further south in order to pressure the Russian advance west.

On the Kursk front, Ukraine made a series of large advances following their capture of the village of Malaya Loknya, where both sides had been clashing for several weeks. With the loss of the village, Russian troops were forced to retreat quite far back, as there was no longer any feasible defensive position here to hold from (its mostly farms, open fields and some forest areas). These advances weren’t without losses, as Ukrainian troops are harassed, ambushed and struck from behind the border all the way to the front, but Ukrainian command were determined to break through.

It is difficult to predict what Ukraine will do next here, as whilst they are pouring more reinforcements into Kursk, this particular area of Kursk is devoid of any strategic targets and is almost entirely small villages and farms. One of Ukraine’s targets however is Bolshoe Soldatskoe (off map east), which may be where Ukraine’s shifts focus to next.