Russian forces are maintaining momentum in Ukraine’s Donetsk region, making marginal gains near Bakhmut, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), whose maps show the latest situation on the front line.
Monday’s update from the Washington, D. C. -based tanksaid geotagged imagery showed marginal Russian advances east of Chasiv Yar in Donetsk as positional clashes continue northwest, west and southwest of Bakhmut.
A Russian army blogger said that Russia’s 11th Separate Guard Air Assault Brigade (VDV) had absolutely seized Ivanivske, the ISW had not noticed any evidence of this. Newsweek emailed the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.
The think tank’s update released Monday maps those Russian claims, as well as advances around Avdiivka, the Donetsk Oblast city captured by Moscow’s troops last month. These include advances at Orlivka and west of Tonenke.
The expert group added that positional clashes continue around Avdiivka, as well as west and southwest of Donetsk city, and no adjustments have been shown on the front line in this area, the ISW said.
The ISW also noted that Ukrainian and Russian forces had recently made marginal gains along the Kupiansk-Kreminna line on Monday, while in positional fighting further south in Zaporizhzhia Oblast, no adjustments were observed on the front line.
Meanwhile, on Monday, Russian forces attacked border areas and settlements in the Sumy region, firing 36 times and causing at least 181 explosions, the Sumy region’s army leadership reported, although they caused no casualties.
Russia has stepped up its attacks in the region in recent weeks, with the town of Velyka Pysarivka on the Russian-Ukrainian border being a major target.
Ukraine is waiting for more help from the Western military, with a U. S. program halted in the U. S. Congress. However, France announced that it would send 78 Caesar howitzers to Kyiv and increase its production of artillery shells, according to French Defense Minister Sébastien Lecornu.
He said Paris would also deliver 80,000 155mm artillery shells to Ukraine in 2024, up from 30,000 shells last year.
Away from the line, Kyiv claimed to have effectively carried out moves opposed to a Ukrainian shipment that Russian forces captured in 2014 when Moscow illegally annexed Crimea.
Ukrainian Navy spokesman Capt. Dmytro Pletenchuk said a Neptune missile strike hit the Kostyantyn-class landing ship Olshansky Ropucha, which is being dismantled in Sevastopol for spare parts.
This is the latest blow to Russia’s Black Sea fleet, a third of whose ships have reportedly been taken out of service due to Ukrainian attacks.
Brendan Cole is a senior journalist at Newsweek in London, UK. It focuses on Russia and Ukraine, specifically on the war unleashed through Moscow. It also covers other areas of geopolitics, adding China.
Brendan joined Newsweek in 2018 from the International Business Times and, in addition to English, is fluent in Russian and French.
You can contact Brendan by emailing b. cole@newsweek. com or following him on his X @brendanmarkcole account.