Russian forces advanced in the region of Donetsk over the weekend, as the conflict with Ukraine continues to intensify, according to the Institute for the Study of War.
Advances were made in the towns of Leonidivka and Niu York, near the city of Toretsk, and in Krutyi Yar and Mykhailivka, near the city of Pokrovsk, the ISW said in its daily update on the war on Sunday. Russia’s gains in the region are significant, while Ukraine’s advances in Kursk, in Russian territory, which took place in early August, are a fraction of the size.
The Russian progress follows Ukraine’s drone attack on an ammunition and missile storage site in Toropets in Russia on September 18, in which it destroyed North Korean missiles and air defenses, in addition to Russian weapons, and caused a fire to spread throughout the region.
The following Newsweek map illustrates the changing front lines of Russia’s war in Ukraine, and how Moscow has continued to advance inside the Eastern European country.
Newsweek reached out to the Russian and Ukrainian defense ministries for comment via email.
The Ukrainian strike against the Russian military depot caused 30,000 tons of munitions to explode, and it likely destroyed two to three months of Russia’s ammunition supply, according to the Estonian Defense Forces Intelligence Center Head Colonel Ants Kiviselg, as reported by the ISW.
Russia gaining control of the towns near Pokrovsk is noteworthy, as it shows Moscow has continued to double down on its mission to gain control of the city since the Kursk invasion. Pokrovsk is important because it is not only a transport hub and central to Ukraine’s ability to send military materials to other areas in the region, but it is near the front line in the Donetsk region.
Ukraine previously halted Russia’s advances in Pokrovsk and regained part of Niu York on September 5, following Russia’s gain of 93 square miles in the Donetsk region in August.
A Ukrainian soldier near Toretsk, in the Donetsk region in Ukraine, on September 22. Russia recently made advances near four towns in the Donetsk region.
Evgeniy Maloletka/Associated Press
While Russia has advanced in these four key towns, the Kremlin has reportedly not been successful in Kursk, according to the Moscow Times.
Last week, Oleksiy Dmytrashkivsky, a Ukrainian official, told the outlet that Russian forces tried to attack from the flanks but were stopped, and said: “The situation was stabilized and today everything is under control, they were not successful.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recently went to visit the U.S. to brief President Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and others about Ukraine’s “Victory Plan.”
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