Pokrovsk under pressure

As Ukraine expands its foothold in the Kursk region (despite Russian reinforcements), Moscow’s offensive in Donbas picks up speed

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 August 23, 2024

Despite the arrival of Russian reinforcements, the Ukrainian offensive in Russia’s Kursk region continues apace. Ukrainian forces are trying to expand their foothold along the border while also pushing deeper into Russian territory. Meanwhile, Russian troops have broken through Ukrainian defenses in the Donetsk region, to the south of Pokrovsk and in the Toretsk area. In fact, the Russian offensive has not only persisted after Ukraine’s incursion into the Kursk region but has even gained significant momentum.

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Russia

The Kursk region

The heaviest fighting in the Kursk region is taking place along the Sudzha-Kursk highway (near the village of Martynovka), the Sudzha-Lgov highway, and around the large district center of Korenevo, which blocks the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ (AFU) path westward toward Rylsk.

Ukrainian troops are attempting to bypass Korenevo from both the south and north. In the south, they’ve taken control of at least part of the village of Snagost and entered Komarovka. In the north, they captured Olgovka and then advanced northward from there toward the Korenevo-Lgov railway. There’s still no continuous front line near Korenevo, and Russian troops are using ambush tactics and attempting to halt Ukrainian mobile groups with drone strikes.

The AFU are continuing their efforts to isolate the area south of Korenevo, which lies between the border and the Seym River. Ukrainian air and missile strikes have damaged all three bridges across the Seym in this area; Russian engineering units set up pontoon bridges, but these were also bombed. The likely goal of this air operation is to prevent Russian troops from concentrating near the district center of Glushkovo, from where they could potentially launch a flank and rear attack on the Ukrainian group near Korenevo.

Northeast of Korenevo, Ukrainian forces were unable to hold the area around the settlement of Kauchuk or advance through difficult terrain toward the settlement of Kromskiye Byki on the Sudzha-Lgov highway. The highway itself is blocked by Russian forces to the south, near Malaya Loknya, where heavy fighting is ongoing.

North of Sudzha, Ukrainian forces are trying to bypass Russian defenses in Martynovka and on the Sudzha-Kursk highway from both sides. Martynovka has likely changed hands several times. West of the highway, Ukrainian mobile units were stopped near Russkoye Porechnoye and Nechaev; east of the highway, they became bogged down in battles for Russkaya Konopelka but managed to bypass Martynovka from the east.

South of Russkaya Konopelka, the AFU’s attempts to expand their foothold along the border east of Sudzha have been unsuccessful. Russian reserves arriving in the area halted the Ukrainian advance several kilometers from Sudzha. (At least one unit of the 11th Guards Air Assault Brigade is operating in Russkaya Konopelka; in the spring, this brigade was part of the assault on Chasiv Yar.) Russian forces are now attempting to counterattack Ukrainian positions in Borki and the village of Spalnoye.

How the situation develops going forward will depend on whether Ukrainian forces can capture Korenevo, which blocks key roads needed for an offensive toward the Lgov-Rylsk highway. Without securing Korenevo, Ukraine’s foothold in the Kursk region remains vulnerable to a future Russian counteroffensive. The gradual buildup of Russian troops east of Sudzha is also a significant concern for the Ukrainian command.

Ukraine

The Pokrovsk front

A month after Russian forces broke through along the Avdiivka-Pokrovsk railway, they unexpectedly shifted their main attack from Pokrovsk — a critical logistical hub for Ukrainian forces in central Donbas — to the south, targeting the cities of Selydove and Kurakhove. These cities are crucial for supplying the southern Donbas front, including Vuhledar, the Krasnohorivka area, and Marinka.

On August 22, Russian forces launched an assault on the city of Novohrodivka, the last major settlement before Selydove. They’re also attempting to bypass Novohrodivka from the east.

On the one hand, this offensive appears promising for the Russian command — Russian forces have already captured Marinka and Krasnohorivka and approached Vuhledar from both the south and east. A push toward Kurakhove could potentially lead to the complete collapse of Ukrainian defenses in southern Donbas.

On the other hand, however, the southward repositioning of the main Russian forces gives the Ukrainian command an opportunity to strengthen the defense of Pokrovsk itself. For now, some of the Russian forces near Pokrovsk are tied up in the assault of Hrodivka, a village that shields Pokrovsk from the east.

Toretsk

Russian forces have almost entirely captured the settlements of Druzhba, Pivdenne, Pivnichne, and Zalizne, which lie to the south of Toretsk. Advancing from Druzhba and Pivnichne, Russian troops have reached Toretsk itself and begun an assault on its southeastern outskirts.

Southwest of Toretsk, Russian forces have taken control of most of the settlement of Niu-York. It’s unclear whether they’ve already captured the large industrial area of the Phenol Plant on its northern outskirts. However, fighting has already spread further north of the plant, near the village of Nelipivka. If Ukrainian forces remain in Niu-York, as Ukrainian sources claim, they are now almost completely surrounded.

Chasiv Yar

Several Russian units, or parts of them, that attempted to storm Chasiv Yar and its surrounding villages in the spring have now been redeployed to Russia’s Kursk region. For example, the previously mentioned 11th Guards Air Assault Brigade, which was fighting between Bakhmut and Chasiv Yar, has now been spotted east of Sudzha. Additionally, several soldiers from the 200th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, which fought northeast of Chasiv Yar in the spring, were captured by Ukrainian forces near Sudzha.

Russia’s 150th Guards Motor Rifle Division, which was engaged near Bakhmut in the spring, is now actively involved in the offensive near Vuhledar. It replaced the 155th Guards Naval Infantry Brigade, which has since reappeared near Kharkiv in Ukraine, in Russia’s Belgorod region, and, with an unclear number of troops, west of Sudzha in Russia’s Kursk region.

The fact that the Chasiv Yar front has become a source of reserves for the Kursk front and others might suggest it’s now a lower priority for the Russian command — at least until the neighboring Toretsk is captured. Nevertheless, this hasn’t stopped the 98th Guards Airborne Division and its affiliated units from continuing their direct assault on Chasiv Yar. Russian forces have managed to expand their foothold on the western bank of the Siverskyi Donets–Donbas Canal within the city. Earlier, in the spring and early summer, Russian forces captured the microdistrict east of the canal using the same approach: amassing troops in residential areas and then launching a decisive attack.

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