Donbas battles

Why Russia stopped assaults on Pokrovsk even though it has enough forces

NV learned from an eyewitness what has changed in the actions of the Russian army near Pokrovsk recently and what the Ukrainian Defense Forces are doing in response.

6 July, 04:05 PM

100+ Russian troops breach Kostyantynivka as commanders warn of possible city fall

At least a hundred Russian soldiers have infiltrated Kostyantynivka in Donetsk Oblast, advancing into the city center, as Ukrainian forces warn of an increasingly complex and threatening defensive environment, hromadske reported on June 12.

12 June, 01:32 PM

Latvia's acting FM mocks Russian army's advances in Ukraine

Latvia's acting Foreign Minister Baiba Braže delivered a sharp ridicule of Russia's military performance in Ukraine at the Lennart Meri Conference in Estonia on May 18, drawing a comparison that left little room for interpretation, according to the Foreign Ministry’s post on X.

18 May, 06:30 PM

Russian commanders convince Putin of fall victory in Donbas — FT

High-ranking Russian military commanders convinced dictator Vladimir Putin that their forces will capture the entire Donbas by the fall of 2026, prompting plans for expanded territorial demands, the Financial Times reported on May 13, citing Kremlin insiders and Ukrainian intelligence.

13 May, 12:19 PM

Moscow orders troops to reach Kramatorsk outskirts by May 30

The Russian command has set its troops the task of reaching the outskirts of Kramatorsk by May 30, a spokeswoman for the 56th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade of Mariupol reported.

10 May, 10:45 AM

Two conflicting orders make rotation impossible – Air Assault Forces representative

Col. Volodymyr Polevyi, chief of communications for the 7th Rapid Reaction Assault Corps of the Ukrainian Air Assault Forces, spoke with Radio NV on April 30 about the situation on the Pokrovsk-Myrnohrad axis and the contradictory orders coming from the top.

1 May, 04:55 PM

Russia increases mechanized assaults on frontline but achieves no major gains

Russian troops have stepped up mechanized and motorized assaults along the frontline in recent days, but these attacks have brought no significant success and are unlikely to enhance Russia’s spring-summer offensive, the U.S.-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its latest update on April 19.

20 April, 12:00 PM

Russian activity remains especially high near Pokrovsk, Syrskyi says

Russian military activity remains especially high in the Pokrovsk sector, where Ukrainian forces repelled about 260 Russian attacks over the past week, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi said on April 9 during a visit to the area of responsibility of the 7th Rapid Reaction Corps of the Air Assault Forces.

9 April, 06:52 PM

Russian forces trying to capture Kostiantynivka for nearly a year, General Syrskyi says

Russian forces have been trying to capture Kostiantynivka in Donetsk Oblast for nearly a year, combining small-group infantry assaults with massive drone strikes, Ukraine’s Commander-in-Chief Gen. Oleksandr Syrskyi said on April 7, after visiting the 19th Army Corps defending the Kostiantynivka-Druzhkivka agglomeration.

7 April, 02:10 PM

Ukrainian command probes Skelya Regiment over heavy losses near Pokrovsk

The Ukrainian military command is reviewing the actions of the 425th Separate Assault Regiment “Skelya,” which has been accused of organizing assaults that caused significant losses for the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the 7th Rapid Reaction Corps of the Air Assault Forces announced on April 2.

2 April, 03:10 PM

Captured Ukrainian soldier persuades two Russians to surrender

A Ukrainian defender, mortarman Volodymyr Aleksandrov with the callsign Pozytyv, was captured by Russian forces at the end of January 2026, but the man convinced the Russians to surrender to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the soldier told public broadcaster Suspilne Khmelnytskyi on March 11.

11 March, 01:55 PM

They'll start around May 9: Russia's stalled spring offensive and its possible outcomes — NV analysis

NV, together with military expert Viktor Kevlyuk, describes the three most likely scenarios for the spring-summer Russian offensive outcomes.

11 March, 01:29 PM

Ukraine's Donbas withdrawal may save up to a million Russian troops

Should Ukraine's Defense Forces withdraw from Donbas, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin will save between 300k and 1M of his soldiers, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said in an interview with Rai Italia on March 5.

5 March, 02:10 PM

Russian troops advance near Hryshyne in Donetsk Oblast

Russian invasion forces advanced near the villages of Markove and Rivne and inside the village of Hryshyne in Donetsk Oblast, the Ukrainian monitoring project DeepState reported on March 3, 2026, after updating its frontline map.

3 March, 06:03 PM

Russian assaults plummet near Pokrovsk in Donbas

Russia’s assault activity has dropped sharply on the Pokrovsk axis, signaling either severe understaffing and equipment shortages among Russian units or preparations for a new offensive, Ukraine’s National Guard’s Rubizh operational brigade reported on Feb. 26.

26 February, 06:04 PM

Pokrovsk has likely fallen, yet Russian momentum stalls — ISW

Russian forces have likely seized Pokrovsk in recent weeks — though the hollow victory has failed to yield the operational breakthrough the Kremlin desperately craved, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported on Feb. 25.

26 February, 11:38 AM

Russian forces advance in Kharkiv and Donetsk oblasts

Russian forces advanced near the village of Tykhe in Kharkiv Oblast and in four settlements of Donetsk Oblast, the DeepState monitoring project reported on Feb. 8.

9 February, 06:40 PM

Ukrainian troops withdraw from Siversk — General Staff

Ukrainian troops have withdrawn from the town of Siversk in Donetsk Oblast, the Armed Forces General Staff reported on Telegram on Dec. 23.

23 December 2025, 06:32 PM

Unauthorized edit to Ukraine frontline map triggers massive betting payout

An unauthorized edit to a widely used interactive map of Russia's invasion of Ukraine briefly showed Russian forces capturing a key point in the Donbas city of Myrnohrad, allowing a related bet on the prediction market platform Polymarket to resolve in favor of winners who stood to gain massive returns, 404 Media reported on Dec. 1.

14 December 2025, 01:23 PM

Ukraine's Armed Forces deny Russian claims of seizing Siversk in Donetsk Oblast

Russian statements about establishing control over Siversk in Donetsk Oblast do not correspond to reality, Ukraine’s Operational Command ‘East’ reported on Facebook on Dec. 10.

10 December 2025, 04:21 PM

Donbas battles

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