Clément Molin Profile picture
Sep 16, 2025 17 tweets 6 min read Read on X
In #Dobropilla, no one knows what's happening

It's been one month #Russia 🇷🇺 broke through the frontline in Dobropilla, central part of Donetsk oblast. After few days, this breakthrough was stopped and pushed back 🇺🇦.

Since then, no information has filtered :

🧵THREAD🧵1/17 ⬇️ Image
Since weeks, you can see multiple maps of encirclements, of double encirclement and imaginary offensives. However, no one really knows what is happening there, perhaps even both sides command.

Both armies are positionned behind its ennemy, this is why it is impossible to map it. Image
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After the Dobropilla breakthrough, I posted worrying threads. Indeed, Russia pushed during weeks hundreds of soldiers behind the lines.

However, the lack of exploitation and successful counter-offensive managed to push back part of russian advance in the area. Image
Most of the videos posted online are showing lone soldiers of one side or the other behing shelled in different places. It does not mean the area is controled by one side.

You have to understand new tactics : pushing between lines with no real control line.
My main mean to understand the situation is the use of satellite imageries. With them, I can proove that Ukraine pushed on the western flank of russian presence in different directions (+/- 3).

I mapped in yellow all russian airstrikes since august 11th. Image
Few interesting stuffs :

Ukraine continued to reinforce the hole in its defensive line recently (new barbed wire and dragon teeths. Image
With airstrikes during the month, we can see Ukraine brought large reinforcements to the Donbass Line (multiple airstrikes) and even pushed south of it.

On the west, they also tryied to push. Only the green area has not been bombed in one month : probably grey zone or russian. Image
Here, you can see how Ukraine pushed slowly on the treelines around Nove Shakove. You can see multiples airstrikes impacts slowly going east.

More information about this push :

Now I will show you a map that I'm not sure at all (maybe 30%). It shows something people like to see : lines.

I put places where we are ~100% sure Ukraine is (multiple airstrikes) and where Russia is also ~100% sure (no airstrikes, no burn marks). Image
Basically, positions could be like this. Yellow are ukrainian positions and orange russians.

One behind on the other, relying on drones to survivre, hiding in bushes, houses, trenches far behind their lines...

No one can map this accurately. Image
However, we can say something : analyse the broader situation.
Yes, Russia broke through the frontline in late august. They advanced 15km, establish small positions without supplies.

They even crossed the Donbass line, we have proofs of this, if it's not enough for people.
However, the infiltration was too large and Ukraine slowly took back terrain, at least to the defensive line and on the west.

Russia failed to consolidate anything. This is largely due to the large obstacles that are changing the frontline, and no one is talking about it. Image
The presence of large anti-tank ditches (filled with barbed wire) reinforced by large barbed wire lines and dragon teeths with barbed wire makes every movement very difficult.

In this case, it takes days of walk to reach the small holes in the defense, for both sides. Image
Thus, the situation hasn't mooved for a month there. Russia didn't made it to Pokrovsk or Dobropilla, pushing back for few months the final offensive on Donbass it was dreaming about.

Both sides continue to bring reinforcements. (an account to follow !)

Image
The drone warfare and the local terrain is making the area very difficult to understand. So : both sides are present in the same area, even them are probably not sure where they are.

Encirclements are probably happening, but their effects are none with drone supplies.
This situation is largely favorable for Ukraine that is temporarly pushing back russian forces in the area. It gives them precious time to prepare new defensive lines, that will be more and more difficult and long to cross.
A word on Pokrovsk'E. The situation there (south-west Donetsk, Zaporizhia and Dnipropetrovsk frontline) is getting very bad.

There is no (0) defensive line around Pokrovsk'e. They finally started to dig on the H15 highway, but farther west... I will talk about it later. Image

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More from @clement_molin

Jul 3
Let's dive in Russian 🇷🇺 war propaganda machine

Recently, new videos emerged of Russian soldiers showing their flag far behind the frontline.

What is important about that is the aim of these operations : to show to the Russian command.

1/9 ⬇️ Image
Russian flag videos are almost always the same. One or two Russian soldiers walk along the front line for weeks, evading Ukrainian detection.

Upon reaching the rear, they spend a day wandering through an entire village with their flag, while a drone overhead films them. Image
They are often not armed and will stay in the village for a long time, hidden in a basement, most of the time being found and captured/killed and sometimes go back to their lines.

These soldiers are not meant to disrupt Ukrainian rear but to create the illusion Russia controls an area.
Read 9 tweets
Jul 2
In June 2026, Russia 🇷🇺 launched 8 284 airstrikes, of which I managed to map 49%

This airstrike campaign is at the heart of Russian offensive strategy and one of the biggest challenge to the Ukrainian 🇺🇦 armed forces.

🧵THREAD🧵1/20 ⬇️Image
With artillery and drones, airstrikes are the third phase of the Russian strike campaign.

These unguided bombs—the FAB-250, -500, -1000, and -1500—are fitted with a UMPK guidance kit and dropped from more than 50 km behind the front line.

Here you can see the results of those : Image
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The use of these guided bombs is steadily increasing, reaching a record high this month.

The accuracy of the FABs, which ranged from 10% to 30% last year (with "accuracy" defined as hitting something, such as a hedgerow, a village, or a forest), now stands at between 40% and 90%.Image
Read 20 tweets
Jul 1
Russian 🇷🇺 offensive assessment for June 2026

In June, Russia occupied 28 km2 and continued offensive operations in 7 directions out of 12. Russian forces took control of some neighbourhoods inside Kostiantynivka and advanced near Sloviansk.

My analysis :

🧵THREAD🧵1/13 ⬇️Image
Data above is from @Pouletvolant3 who has a strong regularity, using @Majakovsk73 data.

Below, Maps bases are from @M0nstas, with @Deepstate_UA and @AndrewPerpetua data.

The battle for Kostiantynivka has been ongoing for over 8 months.

Russian forces have been infiltrating the city's eastern, southern, and western sectors for several months; in recent weeks, they have—for the first time—managed to seize control of several neighborhoods, particularly in the west, and secure certain access routes to the city center.

Concurrently, Russian forces have launched a major propaganda campaign, showing flags across nearly the entire city and releasing videos showing their infiltration into most areas of Kostiantynivka.

Ukrainian forces maintain a presence throughout almost the entire city, although their hold on the southeastern and southwestern neighborhoods is increasingly threatened by the Russian advance into their rear. Fighting within the neighborhoods continues, and the Russian objective remains to seize control of the two roads supplying the city.

While the majority of Ukrainian assets—including drones and artillery—were evacuated in early June, the battle for the city (much like the earlier battle for Toretsk to the south) could drag on for weeks or even months until Russian forces achieve total control, enabling them to use the city as a hub for a northward push toward Drujkivka and Kramatorsk.

Overall, the battle for the city is lost, even though the Ukrainians still control more than a quarter of it—specifically the northeastern districts. It is important to understand that it is too early for Russian forces to use the city as a launch point for artillery or drone strikes; however, the initial drone units arriving in the coming weeks could intensify the threat to the northern supply routes leading to Drujkivka.Image
Read 13 tweets
Jun 30
In recent months, Ukraine 🇺🇦 continued to reinforce its fortifications across the country

6 months ago, Zaporizhzhia direction was lacking defensive preparation, it now has 5 defensive lines, which shows how fast Ukraine can adapt.

🧵THREAD🧵1/12 ⬇️ Image
Here in red are all the new fortifications built from january to jun 2026. Lines are stretching from Chernihiv to Odessa.

You can see priority was given to Zaporizhzhia and Dnipropetrovsk oblast. Image
Near Zaporizhzhia, are still digging new lines, with currently 5 lines protecting the city from the east.

Red are lines dug in 2026, yellow in 2025 and white in 2024 (mostly obsolete). Image
Read 13 tweets
Jun 29
Since early May, Ukraine 🇺🇦 targeted nearly 800 Russian 🇷🇺 trucks and vehicles on key logistical roads.

This strike campaign continue to be scaling, with strikes on railway infrastructure, bridges and the isolation of Crimea.

🧵THREAD🧵1/17 ⬇️ Image
Here is the video of the ~784 trucks and vehicles hit by the Ukrainians (mainly videos from the drones, since we can't always tell the difference with ground footage).

Strikes target military trucks, fuel trucks, cargo trucks, cars, buses and trucks closer to the frontline.
In total, I counted 784 trucks and vehicles hit by Ukrainian drones since early May.

🔹The per day average since May is 13
🔹May average is 7 (214 trucks)
🔹June average is 19 (570 trucks)
🔸Last 10 days average is 29 (295)

Read 18 tweets
Jun 18
Ukraine 🇺🇦 has now targeted around 500 russian 🇷🇺 trucks and vehicles during the last 48 days.

Mid-range strikes continue to expand across occupied territories, on roads, bridges and rear base. This continues to slow down russian offensive.

🧵THREAD🧵1/13 ⬇️
From tomorrow, I will be off for more than 1 week, which means there won't be any new map/airstrike/fortification/mid-range strikes update, apart from some small tweets.

I will however continue to follow the overall trends.
In total, I have 270 geolocated strikes on trucks and vehicles since january, most of those are from May to June.

The key Rostov-Crimea road remains the priority target, but roads in Donetsk, Luhansk and Kherson oblast have also been largely targeted. Image
Read 13 tweets

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