ISW: Ukrainian forces advanced in Kursk Oblast, near Toretsk and Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast

Ukrainian forces have achieved significant territorial gains within Russian territory and along the eastern front, according to the Institute for the Study of War’s (ISW) latest assessment.

New territorial gains highlight active Ukrainian defensive operations while Russia commits large forces to sustain its year-long offensive that has been slowly advancing in the east.

In Kursk Oblast, Ukrainian forces have successfully advanced southeast of Korenevo, establishing new positions along the strategically important Snagost River. Geolocated footage confirms Ukrainian military presence in Darino and Nikolaevo-Darino, marking a notable push into Russian territory. Additionally, Ukrainian forces maintain positions along the railway line south of Novy Put in the Glushkovsky Raion, west of the main Ukrainian salient. In a demonstration of their technological capabilities, Ukrainian forces successfully destroyed a Russian Strela-10 air defense system using a first-person view (FPV) drone in the region.

On the eastern front in Donetsk Oblast, Ukrainian forces have made significant progress in urban combat operations. In Toretsk, they successfully regained previously lost tactical positions in the central part of the city, with confirmed presence along Dzerzhynskoho Street. This advancement represents a reversal of earlier Russian gains in the area. Near Pokrovsk, Ukrainian forces demonstrated their offensive capabilities with a successful mechanized counterattack in the vicinity of the Novohrodivka Mine No. 1/3, challenging Russian control in the region.

Russian forces, meanwhile, have been focusing their efforts on securing Selydove, southeast of Pokrovsk. The ISW assessment indicates that this concentration on Selydove has come at a strategic cost, limiting Russian forces’ ability to maintain effective pressure directly on Pokrovsk, which remains their self-declared operational objective in this sector.

Russian President Vladimir Putin, speaking at a press conference during the BRICS summit in Kazan, attempted to project confidence in Russia’s military position, claiming that Russian forces have surrounded approximately 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers in Kursk Oblast. However, the ISW notes a significant omission in Putin’s statement: he failed to acknowledge that Ukrainian forces maintain control of sections of the border, which allows them to freely transit between Ukraine and the salient in Kursk Oblast, effectively undermining his claim of encirclement.

The Russian president also made what the ISW describes as a likely exaggerated claim about Ukrainian losses, stating that Ukrainian forces have lost roughly 26,000 personnel during operations in Kursk Oblast over “the past month and a bit.”

The ongoing operations in these areas highlight the dynamic nature of the conflict, with both sides continuing to engage in offensive and defensive operations across multiple sectors. The Ukrainian advances demonstrate their continued capability to conduct successful operations both within Russian territory and along the traditional front lines, despite Russian efforts to maintain control of occupied territories.

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