RU POV: Russian and Ukrainian advances from Day 915 and 916 of the War - Suriyakmaps

Launching right into the hottest front, and Russian forces continue to make large gains across the board. In the north, Russian troops, following assaults from the north, east and south sides of Hrodivka, have captured most of the town. Russian progress was held up yesterday, reportedly due to a strong Ukrainian machine gun position in the school, however have been able to advance following renewed assaults from multiple sides. Ukrainian troops are now holding on the other side of the Zhuravka River, however are already preparing to retreat to Myrnohrad, as their positions here are quite weak due to the river being thin and having many crossings (both pedestrian and vehicle).

To the north of the town, Russian forces unexpectedly crossed the Kazenyi Torets rive, taking over part of the forest area and a trench network in the fields. I had originally thought Russia would maintain its line at the river and use it as a defensive barrier on its flank, but its possible they may be trying to take advantage of the chaos to capture some of the settlements on the other side to help with the inevitable siege of Myrnohrad (like Myrolyubivka).

West of Hrodivka, Russian assault groups captured the remainder of Krasnyi Yar, as well as pushing north and entering Mykolaivka. From the information we have, Ukrainian troops here are quickly falling back, so the village will likely fall under Russian control in the next day.

To the west, Russian troops have captured the area up to the railway line, as well as the remainder of Novohrodivka and Marynivka (as I said would happen yesterday). With assaults beginning on Day 911, Novohrodivka was one of the fastest captures of a town by either side in the past 2 years, taking a little under 5 days. Ukrainian troops withdrawing west from the town will struggle, as there are simply no defences built in the fields in that area.

To the south, Russian advances continue to pick up pace, with their forces taking over a large number of fields, capturing most of Mykhailivka, and also taking over the mine complex on the outskirts of Selydove. Early reports state Russian assault groups have already begun attacking towards Selydove, and are taking advantage of the chaos in Ukrainian command to try establish a foothold quickly. I’ll expand on the situation for Ukraine on this front in a comment below, because theres a lot to cover. Russian troops were also confirmed to have taken over the entirety of Memryk, which was mentioned yesterday, backing up Russian reports that the battle only took a few hours. They’ve also already moved further south, likely heading towards Ukrainsk to try quickly take over the town like Russia did in Novohrodivka.

To the east of here, Russian troops took over the large trench network along the Vovcha river, opening up yet another supply route for their troops. Ukrainian troops in Karlivka are in extreme danger, as not only have they had their supplies cut, and are being flanked, but they’re also dealing with Russian assaults from the east, which began a few days ago.

In Kursk, Ukrainian forces recaptured Russkaya Konopelka, following 2 days of assaults. This opens up the surrounding fields for further advances, as they head towards the next row of villages to the northeast.

In Toretsk, Russian troops captured the remainder of the residential area in between the forests, which I’ve spoken about previously. Russia is getting closer and closer to the slag heap south of the prison, which if captured, could provide a critical height advantage for the remainder of the battle for Toretsk.

Down in Kostyantynivka, following the Russian capture of the southern warehouses and east of the town a few days ago, Ukrainian positions reportedly collapsed, resulting in the Russian capture of the main part of the town. Ukrainian sources seem to be quite mixed on this, as reports from soldiers in the 79th Air Assault Brigade (operating in the town and surrounding area) have been talking about a deteriorating situation for weeks, incompetent command, lack of troops, etc., whilst other sources claim Ukraine still maintains control, although they are retreating. Given we have visual evidence of Russian troops on the far western side of the town, uncontested, and no fighting visible, I’m of the opinion it is under Russian control. This doesn’t mean Kostyantynivka is completely captured as Russian sources claim, as the small residential suburb on the north side of the river is part of the town, and still under Ukrainian control.

To the south, Russian troops captured the remainder of the fields south of the main road, between their 2 previous advances. Ukrainian troops in this area (31st and 72nd Mech) are suffering from numerous problems, and are struggling to contain Russian advances.

On the Oskil River front, battles continue around the village of Pishchane (middle red dot). On the north side, Ukrainian troops counterattacked, and managed to retake some of the fields Russia took a little over 2 weeks ago.

At the same time, Russian troops made more progress to the south, crossing the stream and capturing several fields, threatening to cut off Ukrainian troops further east. Interestingly, Russian and Ukrainian progress in this area was almost equal (in km2), and happened on the same day.

Back over to Toretsk, Russian assault groups made further progress along the main road, capturing more residential buildings. Ukrainian troops in the prison just south of here will likely be forced to pull back, as they at risk of being cut off if Russia advances just 250m southwest.

In Niu-York, Russian assaults group made some small progress west, capturing a couple of fields near Panteleimonivka. The goal of their advances here is to assault this village from an angle where there are no defence (as they were built facing south), and thus cut off Ukrainian positions around Oleksandropil.

Back onto the Pokrovsk front, and Russian progress has continued. On the north side, the remainder of central Hrodivka has been captured, as mentioned in Picture 1. Additionally, Russian troops have also cleared the remainder of Nikolaevka, meaning there are now no settlements between Russia and Myrnohrad. There have been several Russian claims that fights are already taking place for the southern streets of Myrnohrad, which isn’t true. Its likely clashes will begin here soon, however the initial reports of battles are referring to heavy Russian shelling of the trench systems just south of the city, being the last line of defence Ukraine has left before the battle truly begins. Russian troops do have a viable route into the city through the forests, which is likely where they will first advance from (pic below).

Next to Novohrodivka, Russian troops confirmed control of the slag heap, and mine complex, which naturally fell under their control once Ukraine retreated from the town.

To the south, Russian assault groups have quickly taken over the slag heap, mine complex and wastewater area, as well as capturing the first buildings on the northern side of Selydove, officially marking the start of the battle for the city. You can see some of this in the drone video of the previous mine complex being captured. Russian assault groups have rapidly taken over the park area and several blocks of apartments, as Ukrainian resistance is completely disjointed, with no coherent strategy by whatever parts of the 78th Air Assault Regiment, 117th Mechanised Brigade, and various Ukrainian rearline units (mechanics, logisticians, command staff) are in the town. I’ll expand on this in a comment below, Selydove is likely to go the same way as Novohrodivka, with a quick capture due to insufficient Ukrainian units, continuous Russian pressure, and no clear plan on how to structure the defence of the city.

Around Vuhledar, Russian forces have opened up a new direction of attack, capturing a large section of fields west of Pavlivka, as well as another field and some trenchlines north of Mykilske. The area around Pavlivka has seen little to no movement in over 1.5 years, as initial Russian attempts to take Vuhledar in 2022 failed, and Ukraine was unable to break Russian positions around Pavlivka and the fields to the south. With Russia reactivating this section of the front, it is likely their command is considering an operation to capture Vuhledar, which was one of the goals of their advances in the area east of here. Russian troops now have several areas they can cross the Kashlahach River from, which would be the precursor for an operation to encircle Vuhledar. They may also choose to advance further northwest towards Prechystivka, in order to cross the river further away from Ukrainian defences built around Vuhledar, however this isn’t necessary, as Ukrainian troops in this area (was 72nd Mechanised Brigade) are quite understrength