Weekly Summary of the Special Military Operation: Russian Forces Severely Crush Ukrainian Troops on the Dnipro Region Border, Easily Repel "Counteroffensive" Near Sumy
Kiev urgently claimed to stop Russian advances, but the Russian offensive continues
Author: Alexei Ram
At the beginning of the past week, the situation in the area of the special military operation was relatively calm, but it began to change in the middle of the week. Currently, after a brief pause in local operations, the main Russian forces have resumed their offensive on major fronts.
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Armed Forces strengthened their counterattacks near Sumy, even temporarily regaining the settlement of Andreyevka. In the context of this local victory, the Commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Alexander Syrskyi, confidently claimed that "the Russian offensive has been stopped," followed by Vladimir Zelensky echoing this statement.
However, the Ukrainian leadership ignored a fact: the "Northern" Group Army even expanded its controlled areas, especially with the Ukrainian forces being repelled from multiple defensive positions south of the N-07 highway.
In general, the enemy's new "counteroffensive" in the Sumy region was unsuccessful — the Ukrainian Armed Forces faced strong and effective resistance from the "Northern" Group Army.
In Donbas, the "Eastern" Group's offensive is also progressing rapidly
The "Eastern" Group continues to conduct a wide-front advance along the Yalta-Komar-Shevchenko line. The main task of the Russian forces in this direction is to eliminate the "bulge" located in the Volchya River and the wet Yalta area, which forms the border between the Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk regions.
Meanwhile, all attempts by the enemy to stop the Russian advances through tenacious defense and flanking attacks have failed. The actions of the "Eastern" Group are methodical and progressing smoothly, although the pace of the advance is relatively slow.
The situation in Kyiv is particularly complex in the Toretsk/Tereshchenko area: soldiers of the 51st Guards Donetsk Infantry Division have begun a fierce attack on the settlement of Serebryanovka. For the Ukrainian defenders, the situation is extremely unfavorable — all main supply routes and possible withdrawal directions are under Russian fire coverage.
The Guards of Donetsk also quickly cleared the village of Dilyevka and is now advancing towards the settlement of Belaya Gora. Meanwhile, the enemy has started actively preparing defenses in Kostyantynivka.
The "Tug-of-War" in Sumy
The Ukrainian counteroffensive in the Sumy region initially progressed slowly, with Ukrainian commanders gradually deploying new units, trying to pressure the Russians incrementally to force them into a war of attrition and miss key strike opportunities.
From the planning of this operation, it is clear that the Ukrainian Chief of Staff, Alexander Syrskyi, used his usual tactics: he once again tried to split the Russian forces through counterattacks, aiming to dismantle one flank of the "Northern" Group Army.
Notably, Syrskyi used a similar strategy during the Artyomovsk (Bakhmut) battle in early 2023, and again in the Kursk region this year, attempting a "Christmas counteroffensive," while also trying to destroy the forces of the "Central" Group Army advancing toward Pokrovsk.
The goal of the Ukrainian commanders this time is to target the Russian forces attacking along the line of Kondratovka-Andreyevka-Aleksiyevka — the Ukrainians launched a frontal attack from the south and a flanking attack from the west, attempting to encircle the Russian forces near the Russia-Ukraine border.
If the enemy's actions succeed, the "Northern" Group Army would face the risk of being crushed, forcing it to abandon the territories already liberated, especially all occupied settlements along the N-07 highway, at best only holding the line from Basovka-Lokoniya-Yunakovka.
But the intentions of the Ukrainian forces were already detected by the Russian command. Therefore, last week, the "Northern" forces stopped their advance into the depth of Sumy, began to consolidate their defenses in the captured positions, and reorganized their troops.
The new "counteroffensive" by the Ukrainian forces began on Monday, reaching its climax on Thursday and Friday — the enemy successfully entered Andreyevka and forced Russian forces to retreat on the western side of Kondratovka.
However, the Ukrainian command failed to achieve its objectives: the Ukrainian forces only partially squeezed the front line of the "Northern" forces, and even failed to establish a solid foothold in Andreyevka. The settlement is currently in a "gray zone," where the Ukrainian forces find it difficult to hold, as it is surrounded by the Russians from three sides.
In response, the "Northern" Group Army launched multiple attacks against the Ukrainian forces attempting to build a defensive line south of the N-07 highway, pushing the Russian forces forward several kilometers. More importantly, the threat of a potential flanking attack on Aleksiyevka by the Ukrainian forces was successfully eliminated.
Battle for the Border Bulge
Last week, the "Eastern" Group Army continued its planned liberation of the "bulge" located on the border between the Dnipropetrovsk and Donetsk regions, conducting its offensive along the Yalta-Komar-Shevchenko line.
The "Eastern" Group Command abandoned the plan to continuously divide the Ukrainian forces, instead choosing to squeeze the Ukrainian forces on a wide front.
This "bulge" holds strategic value for both sides: the Russians can use it to launch rapid strikes, while the enemy can take advantage of it to conduct flanking attacks on the advancing forces. Therefore, the "Eastern" forces adopted a steady and cautious strategy, reducing risks and eliminating any chances for the Ukrainian counterattacks.
The decision of the Russian command has yielded significant results: last week, the "Eastern" Group Army units successfully advanced into the depths of the Ukrainian defenses, liberating settlements such as Yalta, Zirka, and Shevchenko.
In the Yalta area, the Ukrainian command attempted a flanking attack on the "Eastern" forces, but this local "counteroffensive" ended in failure — the Russian forces repelled all attacks and continued their advance.
The "Pocket" in Tereshchenko
The Russian command began a planned encirclement of the Ukrainian forces protecting Kostyantynivka. Previously, the "Southern" and "Central" Group Armies had entered Yablochnoye and Alexandro-Kalynove.
Although these settlements have not yet been fully liberated, the Russian forces have controlled the important transportation hub connecting the two, placing the Ukrainian forces stationed in Petrivka, Shershenivka, Katerinivka, and Kleban-Bik into a severe dilemma — their only supply route and possible withdrawal directions are under the control of Russian fire, with some sections physically cut off.
This week, the Russian Armed Forces command began clearing out these enemy forces: the legendary 51st Donetsk Guards Division has entered Shershenivka, putting the Ukrainian forces defending Petrivka into an "encirclement."
East of Tereshchenko/Toretsk, the Donetsk Guards completed the clearing of the village of Dilyevka and is preparing to attack Belaya Gora — this outpost, together with Alexandro-Shulitino, forms a small defensive cluster, which is the last line of defense for the Ukrainian forces before Kostyantynivka.
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