RU POV: Russian and Ukrainian advances from Day 878 and 879 of the War - Suriyakmaps

As mentioned in the previous update, with Russian forces closing in on the tree plantation from the north and the south, Ukrainian troops were forced to retreat, with the area now being controlled by Russia. From here, Russian forces will continue making their way through the remainder of the plantation to the west, as well as moving northwest towards Tymofiivka.

Russian forces restarted some of their advances towards Nevelske (middle red dot), capturing new positions east of the village. The goal of these attacks is to broaden the area from which Russia can launch assaults on the village, as they are currently limited to the south side.

Back and forth fighting continues in Vovchansk. Russian assault troops have captured another apartment building in the centre of the town, whilst Ukrainian forces have captured a small section of the eastern suburbs (for the third time). Once again, neither side is clearly coming out on top in the battle itself, and determining control of different areas is extremely difficult due to just how heavily bombed the town is.

Following Ukrainian withdrawal from Krynky last month, and the subsequent transfer of a few units to the northern front, Russian forces have become more actives on the islands on the Dnieper River. With less forces contesting and attacking them, small Russian squads have been able to slowly clear the islands, increasing the grey zone between the warring sides.

To nip any ideas of a Russian offensive into Kherson in the bud, these operations are only designed to increase the buffer for Russian positions on the left bank. The operations are very small in scale, often only involving a couple of soldiers on a boat, and Russian forces aren't taking up positions on the islands themselves. Raids on the other bank are also highly unlikely, as it is far more effective, and carries less risk to use drones, artillery and FABS to strike Ukrainian targets, than to use infantry on the ground.

In Niu-York, the situation continues to deteriorate for the AFU. In addition to increasing the buffer around their spearhead, Russian forces have begun pushing into the centre of the town on the east side of the river. Ukrainian forces in the southeastern area, mostly manning the 2014 trenchlines, will almost certainly retreat back to the town within the next 2 days, as Russia is only 2.92km away from completely cutting them off, and they only have 1 proper supply road left.

Part of the issue for the Ukrainian 41st Mechanised Brigade and 78th Air Assault Regiment, is that the town itself was never fortified, only the areas to the south and east. This means these units have far fewer defences and positions set up, and Russia is exploiting this to push deep into Niu-York. The fighting is currently split up into 3 sections, being the east side of the railway, west side of the railway, and the fields on the southeastern and southwestern sides.

Ukrainian forces in the Toretsk area are fairing similarly to their Niu-York based compatriots. In Pivnichne itself, Russian assault troops have expanded their control of the central highrise area, as well as houses and forests on the east side of the town. Whilst Ukraine is trying to hold their ground, or at least stall as long as possible, they are having difficulty as there are not enough troops to cover the large frontline, and numerous angles of attack, in this area.

At the same time, as mentioned in an update 3 days ago, Ukrainian forces have started to pull out of the mines east of Zalizne. This has allowed Russian forces to push forward across a broad front, as well as capturing a small section of Zalizne itself. The risk for Ukraine here is that if they cede too much territory on the south side, Russian forces assaulting Zalizne may end up advancing all the way down to Niu York (bottom left corner), causing even more issues for the soldiers there. Thus, whilst they may prefer to hold the buildings in Zalizne, Ukrainian forces will have to try slow Russia's advance in the forests.

Following the capture of Urozhaine, Russian forces have capturing part of the eastern fields, aiming to increase the buffer around the town.

Russian forces continued their advance towards the O0532 highway, capturing some more fields.

Russian forces restarting their attacks towards Maksymilyanivka, following a rotation and month break, quickly capturing the eastern side of the town. Russian forces are likely aiming to make as much gains as possible here, whilst Ukrainian forces are off-guard, and before the battle for Krasnogorivka wraps up (just to the northeast).

Russian forces made a small advance west of Prohres, with clashes occurring between both sides on the road to Vovche (blue dot). Ukraine is trying to buy time for the units it still has in the eastern trench networks to pull back over the river, before they are cut off.