ISW: Russian forces likely capture Kurakhove after two-month offensive

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported in its 26 December report that Russian forces have likely seized control of Kurakhove, Donetsk Oblast, following an intensive two-month offensive operation aimed at capturing the settlement and eliminating Ukrainian salient in the surrounding area.

According to geolocated footage from 24 and 25 December, Russian forces have advanced into western Kurakhove and reached a windbreak southwest of the settlement.

ISW assesses that Russian forces have likely advanced to the administrative boundaries of Kurakhove and seized the settlement and the fields south of settlement and north of Dalne,” the think tank wrote.

Russian military bloggers reported that elements of the Russian 5th Motorized Rifle Brigade (51st Combined Arms Army) have raised a flag over western Kurakhove. Additional forces, including the 51st CAA’s 110th and 114th motorized rifle brigades and the 20th and 150th motorized rifle divisions of the 8th CAA, Southern Military District, are reportedly attacking along the settlement’s northern and southern flanks.

Ukraine’s Khortytsia Group of Forces has acknowledged the loss of unspecified positions in the Kurakhove direction.

The captured settlement spans approximately 7.3 square kilometers. ISW notes that Russian forces intensified their offensive operations in mid-October 2024, with the first documented advances into the settlement occurring in late October 2024.

The Russian military reportedly deployed between 35,000 and 36,000 troops in the Kurakhove direction during recent months. These forces conducted numerous armored assaults within and near Kurakhove, likely sustaining significant casualties and armored vehicle losses during the operation.

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