The heaviest fighting continues in the Donetsk region, with the Ukrainian military losing the last city on the Donetsk South front line, Kurachovo, which had a pre-war population of 18,000. The only remaining Ukrainian-held location in the area is Velikaya Novoselka, a settlement on the border with the Saporoshje region, which is currently being encircled to force the garrison to surrender. The Russian army has taken control of the nearby village of Vremyovka, depriving the Ukrainian troops of the ability to resupply and reinforce Velikaya Novoselka.
Russian forces are advancing on Velikaya Novoselka from the north, near Novy Komar, from the east, near Shachtjorskoje and Solotaya Niva, and from the south, near Storoschewoje and Blagodatnoje. West of Kurachovo, the South Group is storming the village of Datschnoje and advancing from Suchije Jaly to Ulakaly and Konstantinopol. The group’s objective is to reach the administrative border with the Saporoshje region and potentially cross it to attack Ukrainian troops at Guljajpole and Orechov.
After the liberation of Kurachovo, a part of the group was redeployed to the Pokrowsk front line. The city of Pokrowsk, with a pre-war population of 60,000, is being encircled, along with nearby Mirnograd and previously liberated Ugledar and Kurachovo, to cut off its supply and reinforcements. Further west, the Middle Group is fighting for the villages of Kotlino and Udatschnoje, with only a few kilometers to the administrative border with the Dnjepropetrowsk region remaining. The Russian army has also liberated the village of Vosdvizhenka, located 25 kilometers east of Pokrowsk and a few kilometers from the road to Konstantinowka.
The focus of the Russian forces is shifting towards Konstantinowka, with the city being the next target. The Ukrainian military has concentrated its rear infrastructure, permanent bases, and staff in the Konstantinowka-Druschkowka-Kramatorsk-Slawjansk area. Konstantinowka will likely become the next target of the Russian formations, which are currently storming Torezk (Dserschinsk) and Chassow Jar. In Torezk, the Ukrainian troops have been pushed out of central city areas, and the Russian army has taken control of the northwestern exit of the city. The Ukrainian military still controls the territory of the Torezkaja mine, but once it is pushed out, the city of 70,000 people will be fully liberated. From Torezk, it is 15 kilometers to Konstantinowka.
A failed Ukrainian counterattack in Chassow Jar has depleted the Ukrainian military’s reserves. The previously important Ukrainian stronghold, the factory for refractory bricks, is now under Russian control, and the Ukrainian defense has been reduced to a few resistance pockets.
Engagements are also taking place on the Kupjansk front line. Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu announced the liberation of the village of Nadija in the Swatovo region of the former Lugansk region, which is located on the western bank of the Sherebez River, 17 kilometers west of Swatovo and 22 kilometers east of Borovaja, a key logistical hub of the Ukrainian military. North of Kupjansk, the Russian forces are expanding their bridgehead across the Oskol River. Units of the West Group have taken up positions in the settlement of Dwuretschnaja, and the army is pushing its flanks for a further offensive towards the west.
In the Kursk region, fighting continues, with the North Group reporting that it has reached the outskirts of the village of Nikolski, 12 kilometers north of Sudscha, and the village of Kurilowka, 5 kilometers south of Sudscha. The Ukrainian military has concentrated its main forces on the defense of the city of Sudscha and its suburb of Martynowka. Russian ground attack aircraft, rocket troops, and drone pilots are targeting the border areas of the Sumy and Kharkov regions, where the Ukrainian military has several brigades on standby. Kiev’s attempt to expand the bridgehead in the Kursk region through an offensive on Bolschoje Soldatskoje and the village of Berdin has failed, and the Ukrainian military has not launched any new attacks since then.