Ukraine holds its ground in Russia’s Kursk region as defense crisis in Donbas grows
Like our earlier reports on the combat situation in Ukraine, this article takes stock of the recent developments on the battlefield based on open-source information. Meduza has condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine from the very start, and our detailed military analyses are part of our commitment to objective reporting on a war we firmly oppose.
Our map is based exclusively on open-source photos and videos, most of them posted by eyewitnesses on social media. We collect available evidence and determine its geolocation markers, adding only the photos and videos that clear this process. Meduza doesn’t try to track the conflict in real time; the data reflected on the map are typically at least 48 hours old.
Key updates as of September 7, 2024
The Russian army is continuing to build on its recent gains near Pokrovsk in Ukraine’s Donetsk region. Despite the city’s logistical importance to Ukrainian forces, the Russian command has yet to launch a direct assault, opting instead to redirect its main forces southward.
This maneuver has caused a serious crisis in the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ (AFU) defense in southern Donbas. Facing potential encirclement, the AFU will likely be forced to withdraw from the salient near the village of Nevelske (north of Marinka and Krasnohorivka), a position they’ve defended for more than a year against numerous Russian attacks. This could endanger the city of Kurakhove, which is a key supply hub for the entire southern Donbas and no less important than Pokrovsk.
To strengthen defenses around Kurakhove, the Ukrainian command has likely redeployed troops from nearby Vuhledar — another fortified area that has endured years of Russian assaults. The Russian command reacted quickly to the weakened front, launching a strong offensive to the north, east, and west of Vuhledar.
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Ukraine
Pokrovsk
Nearly two weeks ago, Russian forces halted their push north toward Pokrovsk and Myrnohrad, redirecting their main forces southward and reaching Selydove. However, it seems even this city wasn’t the offensive’s main target. Over the past week, after capturing the village of Karlivka on the Donetsk–Pokrovsk road, Russian troops advanced even further south, seizing the villages of Halytsynivka and Dolynivka.
This placed a substantial Russian formation (no smaller than a motorized rifle brigade) in the rear of Ukrainian troops holding a salient deep in the east, close to the outskirts of Donetsk. From this position, the AFU can shell Donetsk itself, a crucial supply hub for Russian forces across the Donbas region.
The center of this Ukrainian position is a heavily fortified area situated on elevated terrain near the village of Nevelske, which commands the surrounding landscape. Although Russia’s Defense Ministry claimed to have captured Nevelske back in March, in reality, the AFU still controls its outskirts and the strategic high ground.
The area around the village is defended by the 59th Motorized Brigade, which has repelled dozens of Russian assaults and maintains fire control over the Donetsk–Pokrovsk highway, regularly destroying Russian supply trucks and armored vehicles. Securing this road would significantly improve the Russian command’s ability to supply its forces near Pokrovsk and Selydove.
It seems unlikely that Nevelske will be encircled — the slow pace of the Russian advance gives Ukrainian units time to withdraw before risking entrapment in a “pocket.” So far, there are no signs that the 59th Motorized Brigade is leaving the area. However, as Russian forces advance southward from Halytsynivka, likely bypassing cities like Ukrainsk and Hirnyk, it will become increasingly difficult for Ukrainian troops to retreat with all their equipment. There’s also the possibility that Russian forces to the south, near the captured town of Krasnohorivka, could join the offensive.
Vuhledar
Vuhledar is another key stronghold the AFU have held for years, despite regular Russian assaults, and has served as the cornerstone of Ukraine’s defense in southern Donbas.
In recent months, after failing to capture Vuhledar through attacks from the south, Russian forces have shifted their focus to breaking through from the east — and they’re getting close. Russian troops have cut off the northern road to Vuhledar and are now assaulting key defensive positions: the village of Vodyane and the Pivdennodonbaska 1 coal mine.
In early September, the Russian army launched an unexpected attack west of Vuhledar, capturing the village of Prechystivka and cutting off the road to another crucial point in Ukraine’s defense of southern Donbas: Velyka Novosilka. This advance threatens both settlements and their garrisons, as Russian forces are slowly progressing toward Velyka Novosilka from the south.
Toretsk
After capturing the industrial settlements to the east and south of Toretsk and reaching the city’s outskirts, Russian forces have slowed their advance. This may be due to resistance from Ukrainian reinforcements brought into the city, as well as the growing distance between Russian troops and their supply bases and artillery positions in Horlivka.
It seems Russian forces have been unable to capture the Phenol Plant in Niu-York, which could have served as a key position for launching an attack on Toretsk from the south and southwest. At the same time, Russian troops have launched attacks on Toretsk from the east, advancing from the villages of Klishchiivka, Andriivka, and Ozarianivka, located south of Bakhmut.
Russian forces are also continuing their attempts to cross the Siverskyi Donets–Donbas Canal in and around Chasiv Yar, aiming to establish several stable bridgeheads on its western bank. From these positions, they could exert pressure on Chasiv Yar, which could help support the assault on Toretsk. However, the offensive near Chasiv Yar has been limited by the redeployment of a significant portion of Russian forces to the Kursk region. At the same time, AFU defenses around Chasiv Yar have also been weakened as the Ukrainian command redeployed combat-ready units to the Pokrovsk area.
Russia
The Kursk region
Ukrainian forces are applying pressure along three key routes: Sudzha–Kursk, Sudzha–Lgov, and Sudzha–Rylsk. They’ve had success in two of these directions. However, near Korenevo, along the Sudzha–Rylsk road, and further south in the Glushkovsky district, the Ukrainian offensive has stalled. The AFU were forced out of part of the village of Olgovka on the northeastern outskirts of Korenevo.
After weeks of fighting, Ukrainian forces captured Malaya Loknya on the Sudzha–Lgov road and advanced a few kilometers north, though the next Russian defensive position at Kromskiye Byki appears solid for now. Likewise, Ukrainian troops captured Martynovka, near the Sudzha–Kursk highway, which they’d reached in the early days of the offensive. However, their progress along the highway is being hampered by strong Russian defenses in Bolshoe Soldatskoe and surrounding areas.
Despite this, Russian forces have yet to fully stabilize the situation in the Kursk region. The AFU are still holding on to the initiative and the hope that their attacks will force the Russian command to divert more resources from its offensives in eastern Ukraine.
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