Russia continues to shell the entire Kharkiv area, including the city itself. Russians in Kozacha Lopan are forcibly deporting Ukrainian citizens to Russia using the excuse of possible future Ukrainian attacks. Today Russia launched a failed assault into Dementiivka (1).
Russia has suffered absolutely huge losses attacking Dementiivka over the past few weeks, including losing large numbers of special forces from just about every branch of their armed forces, including brigade deputy commanders and chiefs of staff from the Spetsnaz.
In the Izyum area there have been semi-official statements from Ukraine talking about an ongoing offensive. This doesn’t necessarily represent a change in what is happening on the ground, but rather the confidence of various civilian leaders.
I believe Ukraine is actively attacking several towns at the moment, but I have very little news or facts so I cannot say anything more. Today Russia sent reconnaissance towards Mazanivka (2).
The Siversk area is primarily an ongoing artillery duel. Russia is trying to leverage their capture of Berestove to move west, but yesterday they were crushed trying to attack Ivano-Darivka and today they have been stopped in their tracks trying to move towards Vyimka (3).
The Bakhmut area has a lot of heavy ongoing fighting. Russia is trying to push north into Yakovlivka, but they are making little ground (4). There is heavy ongoing fighting around the Knauf Gips factory in Soledar (5). Russia is trying to attack towards Bakhmut from Pokrovske (6)
Russia has captured Vershyna and they are attacking Zaitseve from the east (7). Russia captured Semihirya and they are now attacking Kodema from the east (9). The attacks on Kodema from the north east (8) and south east (10) were both destroyed by Ukrainian artillery.
It is possible Russia captured Travneve today, but I could not find proof so I have left it contested. Russia may have also captured Bakhmutske (just south of Soledar), but I could not find proof so I did not change the map at all in that area.
In the Donetsk area there is heavy Russian artillery and large Russian assaults. Russia is attacking Krasnohorivka from two angles (11,12), but the attacks were repelled.
Russia is attacking Avdiivka from the south (13,14) but they are primarily focused on heavily bombarding Ukrainian defenses with the hope of turning them to rubble to assist future assaults.
Around Pisky, the Russian attack was halted (15) after Ukrainian reinforcements arrived. The reinforcements reportedly included both infantry and artillery.
In Marinka, Russia appears to have captured a significant amount of ground after extremely heavy shelling (16).
In the Hulyaipole/Velyka Novosilka area, Ukraine launched a small attack south from Neskuchne. I am not sure where they attacked, but I assume it would be Blahodatne (17). It is possible they are attacking Storozheve. It is unknown whether this attack was successful.
Russia attacked north towards Dorozhnyanka and Kostyantynivka (18) and there is ongoing fighting. Russia heavily shelled Kostyantynivka today.
In Zaporizhzhia Russia attacked Nesterianka (19) and towards Shcherbaky (20) and Stepove (21). There is ongoing fighting in all three directions.
Russia is moving a significant amount of equipment from Mariupol to Berdyansk (22).
In Rovzivka (23), Russians forced farmers to store their hay in a public area after forcibly taking their normal storage locations in order to store Russian weapons and vehicles. Today, Russia torched this stored hay.
In the Kherson area, Russian forces banned boats from going on the Dnipro River, apparently in fear of people sabotaging the bridges and barges.
Additionally, there was a weird story regarding Russia deploying Cechens to the left bank of the Dnipro river with the order to “at all costs to prevent an arbitrary abandonment of their positions by Russian servicemen".
This rumor is being spread by the Russians themselves, probably the FSB, with the purpose of telling Russian soldiers that they have no choice but to fight in Kherson. "You can rule by fear or you can rule by love." Basic mafia tactics. Al Capone could at least blame his syphilis
Tonight, Ukrainian forces reportedly fired HIMARS near the rail bridge that crosses the Dnipro river (24).
A Russian attack towards Bilohirka was repelled (25). Ukraine probably controls Bilohirka, but I have kept it contested for now.
I dunno if I am going to do an update today. I don’t see news worth reporting on. Everything is basically the same as yesterday. It seems the biggest stories today were things I reported on like 3 days ago.
Like, today, Russia attacked all the same towns as yesterday. Especially around Bakhmut. Yakovlivka, Soledar (cluster munitions, too), that one street in Bakhmut, Zaitseve, Vershyna, Kodema. They shot butterfly mines into Krasnohorivka. Attacked Avdiivka, Pisky, Marinka.
Ukraine is still attacking south in Zaporizhzhia with no notable gains. What is noteworthy is that Russia reinforced all of the areas Ukraine has been attacking and then counter attacked north and Ukraine stopped that attack and began moving south again.
Today Russia launched two large bombardments of Kharkiv, one in the morning, one in the evening. In the morning they targeted primarily administrative buildings and industrial areas. Tonight they appear to have targeted civilian areas.
North of the city, the situation is more or less status quo. There is fighting along the line of contact, and evidence that Tsupivka and Velyki Prokhody are now firmly contested whereas before I had them listed as weakly Russian controlled.
Ukraine needs hundreds of howitzers. 600, 700, 1000. Russia is firing a many thousands of rounds per day into each settlement in the Avdiivka area. Pisky, Avdiivka, Marinka. We’re talking 20,000 shells per day. Concentrated firepower. Ukraine needs counter battery fire asap
US, NATO needs to be sending this. It doesn’t need to be cutting edge guns. It doesn’t need to be m777 or caesars or himars. They just need guns. They can be old guns.
The m198 would be fine. The United states has hundreds that they don't even use anymore. Just send them. I don’t understand why this stuff isn’t in Ukraine already.
In the Kharkiv area there was a standard exchange of artillery fire, particularly around Sosnivka and Kozacha Lopan. Russia attempted to attack Dementiivka (1) and Bairak (2) but both attacks were repelled.
The Izyum area is getting increasingly confusing as there is little news but hints of changing control over various areas. It is possible that Ukraine has captured both Sulyhivka and Dovhenke. For now I have kept Sulyhivka as a gray area and Dovhenke as under Russian control.