Clément Molin Profile picture
May 12, 2024 21 tweets 8 min read Read on X
#Kharkiv : a new front opened by Russia 🇷🇺

The Northern Corps created a few days ago with +/- a 50k army has launched attacks aiming to take Voltchansk and Lyptsi.

Lets look together videos, maps, claims and hypothesis on this new Russian offensive.

🧵THREAD🧵🇺🇦1/18 ⬇️ Image
First, where is this front located ?

Kharkiv is the seconth city of Ukraine, located ~35km from Russia. The frontline lies around the Siversky Donets river. This area was liberated by Ukraine on september 2022. Image
On this map by @Pouletvolant3 we can see that Russia has taken some villages in the grey zone. These may have been abandoned by Ukrainian territorial defense forces. Image
The first videos reaching us are somewhat reminiscent of the first months of the war of movement in 2022, but in a more cautious way. The infantry advances largely on foot, sometimes supported by BMPs which are targeted by Ukrainian suicide drones.
Thus, we have already some Russian losses on both sides of the border with Ukraine. Interestingly, it seems Ukrainian armed forces retreated from the border towns to prepared position a few kilometers away. Image
On the following videos, you will see Russian BMP's and infantry being targeted by drones. On the second one, there is a Ukrainian trench network abandonned by Ukraine.

Based on information shared by @Deepstate_UA and @UAControlMap, we can assure the following billages are under Russian controll : Strilecha, Krasne, Pyl'na, Morokhovets' and Oliinykove.

Borysivka is probably under Russian controll, no information. Image
It seems Russian forces are now attacking Hlyboke and Luk'yantsi where Ukrainian forces may have retreated.
42nd mecanized brigade is defending this direction, main Ukrainian defensive line is located east and west of Lyptsi. Image
On the Volchansk direction, the Russian army penetrated from several directions into the forest towards the small city.
The villages of Ohirtseve and Hatyshche are under their control, that of Pletenivka probably also. Image
Interesting to observe how the Russian infantry marches without being disturbed by Ukrainian artillery and drones.

For the moment, the Russian advance which began 3 days ago is not a breakthrough. Maximum penetration is 5km.
Why ?

The border between Ukraine and Russia is very long. They could've attacked on Chostka, Sumy or Okhtyrka direction but they choose Kharkiv.

3 main ideas : putting pressure on the city, extending the front, threatening Kupiansk. Image
Hypothesis 1 :

False attack north of Kharkiv, real attack betwee, Kupiansk and Tchouhouiv : enlarge the front and take kupiansk from the north, then secure all Siverski Donets banks. Image
Hypothesis 2 :

Secure ~10km buffer zone and dig positions : then wait to keep Ukrainian units busy here. Putting Kharkiv back under GRAD fire.

This is what we have for now. Image
Hypothesis 3 : do both

Secure northern Kharkiv oblast to force Ukrainian forces to deploy brigades there : threatening Kharkiv, Chuhuiv and Kupiansk. Image
What i think ?

There is one main defensive line for Ukraine. With a 50k force, Russia can't take Kharkiv, however, they will divert Ukrainian forces from Donetsk oblast and will be bombing Kharkiv. Image
So Kharkiv offensive is a double trap :

If Ukraine divert too much forces from Donbass, Russian summer offensive will breakthrough.

If Ukraine does not defend Kharkiv direction, Russian army will advance and capture large portion of terrain, even threatening Kupiansk.
So now, i will follow daily the situation on my account and on @atummundi's one (think tank account you should follow)

The situation is bad for Ukraine they will need more troops to defend this new front. Image
Finally, as always do not believe all these maps on Twitter : that's only speculation and false information.

There are some reliable mappers doing incredible work: for example, no one, even deepstate said they entered Vovtchansk.

18/18 Image
And of course i can add this firm image : a lot of Russian bombing. 3 Bridges on Siversky Donets river destroyed including the big one in Stary Saltiv.


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Confirmation of Russian presence in Hatyshche north of Vovtchansk.


Well now they may have entered the city according to Ukrainian officials.

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More from @clement_molin

Jan 25
Why is there a war ongoing in Sudan 🇸🇩 ?

Who are the actors, why are they fighting ? Is the conflict origine from money, gold, oil, power, religion or ethnicities ? Which foreign powers are involved ?

Here, you will find a general guide of the Sudan war :

🧵THREAD🧵1/24 ⬇️Image
When did it start ?

On april 15th 2023. Where ? In Khartoum, the capital city, unlike previous conflicts.

Sudan was already partly at war before, discontinuously since 1983 (1983-2005, 2nd South Sudan war, 2003-2020, Darfur war, 2011-2020, South Kordofan and Blue Nile war).Image
Who is fighting :

The Sudanese Armed Forces :

The SAF are based in Khartoum and Port Sudan; they defend the state's borders and internal stability. Their leader is Al-Burhan, and the military commanders are heirs to the military-Islamist regime of Omar al-Bashir (1989-2019).Image
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Jan 24
Que va-t-il se passer en Ukraine 🇺🇦 en 2026 ?

A partir de la situation actuelle et sans entrer dans l'éventualité de négociations/cessez le feu, voyons 6 scénarios de la poursuite de l'offensive russe, par rapport aux objectifs stratégiques de Moscou 🇷🇺.

🧵THREAD🧵1/12 ⬇️Image
D'abord, je vous invite à relire le point de l'année dernière sur le même sujet, qui s'est avéré proche de la réalité

Ce ne sont que des hypothèses à partir de la situation actuelle, je ne dis pas que ça va se passer comme ça.
Quels sont les objectifs stratégiques supposés de Moscou ? Ils restent similaires :

-> Capturer le Donbass
-> Prendre l'ensemble du territoire sur l'Oskil
-> Eventuellement prendre Zaporizhia

-> Pour cette année, atteindre Kramatorsk, Sloviansk et Zaporizhzhia, nettoyer les dernières poches de l'Oskil.
Read 12 tweets
Jan 23
The war in Ukraine 🇺🇦 has changed so much that the differencies on the maps are sometimes measured in 5, 10, or even 15km !

A number of pro-Russian 🇷🇺 accounts use a flag, a lone dead soldier as proof of control (or perhaps it's pro-Russian propaganda or even their own imagination).

The result? Completely absurd maps that does not show the reality on the ground, and when an error is admitted, a Ukrainian counter-offensive that came out of nowhere is presented.

1/8 ⬇️Image
Thanks to this map, ukraineviews.org, we can see the difference between the areas of control according to the main mappers of the war in Ukraine. The maps are roughly half pro-Russian and half pro-Ukrainian.

Let's take the example of a specific area of ​​the front, southeast of Pokrovsk:

According to pro-Russian mappers, the Russian army controls the villages of Bratske, Vidradne, Hai and Oleksivka.

According to most pro-Ukrainian mappers (some are neutral), these villages are either in the gray zone or controlled by the Ukrainians.Image
What are the proofs to suggest something ?

For Bratske : A single video (!) dated January 8th, showing two Russian soldiers with a flag. Is this irrefutable proof of a Russian presence? Does it mean the Russians control the village (i.e., they have forces there and are using it as a base for launching offensives)?

As Playfra explained here: x.com/Playfra0/statu…, barbed wire has been placed in multiple villages along the front line in this sector. This directly contradicts the control lines of some mappers.

For Vidradne, not a single video confirms the Russian claims. For Hai, there is a video of soldiers with the flag from two months ago. Since then, the barbed wire in front of the village has been reinforced, yet several maps show the village as Russian. In Oleksivka, we have plenty of videos of Russians from before 2026. Since then, nothing. Where is the evidence of effective control?Image
Read 8 tweets
Jan 21
The Dnipro campaign, from Davydiv Brid to Krinky 2022-2025 🇺🇦/🇷🇺 -- PART 2 --

After the defeat in Mykolaiv, ukrainian counter-offensives in Kherson

PART 2 : Analysis of Ukraine's counter-offensives, april-november 2022 and cross river operations

🧵THREAD🧵1/23 ⬇️
If you didn't read the first part, you can find it here, it is from february 24th 2022 to march 29th 2022.

After losing the Battle of Mykolaiv, Russian forces retreated behind new defensive lines along the border of Kherson Oblast.

Russian forces arriving from the Kyiv Front took considerably longer than the first Ukrainian brigades sent as reinforcements. These brigades brought reinforcements that pushed the Russians back behind the Inhulets River and established defensive lines in front of Mykolaiv.Image
Read 23 tweets
Jan 18
Ukrainian 🇺🇦 forces continue to prepare important obstacle lines everywhere on the frontlines.

In the Donbas, we now have multiple "New Donbas Lines", as well as tens barbed wire lines, In Zaporizhzhia, there is now more and more of those barbed wire. Every progress will be costly.

▪️East and South of Kramatorsk, we can count numerous small obstacle lines. West of the city, we can count 3 large lines (the third one is being expanded north), each cut every 10km by a parallel line (I can count around 4 right now), forming small 10/5km rectangles.
▪️In the south, the Novomykolaivka line is now continuous, it is 100km long. East of it, it seems too late to build new lines, but ukrainian forces started to prepare multiple barbed wire lines west of their current defense, the Haichur river.
▪️North of the two defensive lines built in 2024 (the big lines looking south), we can see the first preparations for a third reinforced line that will probably join the Novomykolaivka and the Vilniansk ones, offering a retreat line north of Orikhiv.
▪️In the Pavlohrad direction, a third line in front of Vassylivka is being prepared. The first one is the unfinished line in front of Pokrovsk'e which continues in front of Prossiana, the second is the nearly finished one, which is the longest continuous line Ukraine has (it goes from Ternuvate to Kramatorsk, that's the big one going behind the main cities) and this third line is being prepared south of Vassylivka and west of the second.
▪️Despite the snow, a lot of construction is ongoing everywhere in Ukraine and new lines are getting ready. Every week Russia is waiting means more time and men to get through those lines.Image
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Here those "kill rectangles", the new portion we've been waiting for to connect Veliky Burluk line with Karkhiv one, the multiple barbed wire in front of Prossiana and a map of all Ukraine. Image
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Here a simplified view, with in yellow the main lines and in white secondary lines. Image
Read 4 tweets
Jan 18
En #Syrie 🇸🇾, les Forces Démocratiques Syriennes (dirigées par les Kurdes) se sont effondrées

Les milices arabes locales et l'armée syrienne sont entrées dans Raqqa et la région, avec une population syrienne en liesse.

Ce soir un cessez-le-feu est annoncé.

🧵THREAD🧵1/20⬇️Image
C'est presque un tiers du pays qui échappait encore au contrôle de Damas un an après la chute d'Assad.

Dans le nord-est syrien, les Forces Démocratiques Syriennes, dominées par les Kurdes (YPG/YPJ) contrôlaient un vaste territoire allant jusqu'à l'Euphrate et au delà. Image
Il faut dire que dans les 4 gouvernorats sous contrôle des FDS, tous sont à majorité arabe, en particulier ceux de Deir-Ez-Zor et Raqqa.

Les Kurdes, concentrés dans le corner du Nord-Est et à Kobané ne formaient qu'une minorité. Image
Read 20 tweets

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