ISW: Russians make marginal advances near Toretsk, Kurakhove, deploy more fiber-optic drones

January 9, 2025

By Ukraine

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Russian forces secured marginal advances in three areas, while increasingly implementing signal-jamming-resistant drone technology in Ukraine, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported on 8 January.

For months, Russia has been pushing to capture the remaining parts of Donetsk Oblast in eastern Ukraine, with a focus on Pokrovsk, Kurakhove, Chasiv Yar and other Ukrainian strongholds.

In Kursk Oblast, Russian forces advanced into western Mykolaivka, northwest of Sudzha, and made marginal gains in Makhnovka to the southeast, as confirmed by geolocated footage, ISW says. Ukraine’s Special Operations Forces (SSO) reported repelling a Russian reinforced platoon-sized mechanized assault in an unspecified area of the oblast.

Map: ISW

In eastern Ukraine, Russian forces achieved marginal advances in northern and northwestern Toretsk, as evidenced by geolocated footage from 7 and 8 January. Additionally, footage from 7 January showed Russian forces advancing east of Dachne, west of Kurakhove.

Fiber-optic drones

A Ukrainian brigade spokesperson reported that Russian forces are increasingly deploying drones equipped with fiber optic cables, which provide resistance to electronic warfare interference. The spokesperson noted these drones are currently not in systematic use and have limitations, being slower and less maneuverable than FPV drones, making them vulnerable to small-arms fire.

Russian forces were first to successfully develop and integrate fiber-optic drones in Ukraine, while Ukraine has developed similar capabilities months later and reportedly is fielding such drones only now.

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