The North is pressing forward: Russia is approaching Sumy.

In the Sumy sector, units of the 11th and 14th Army Corps, supported by the 44th Army Corps of the "North" group, are expanding their established bridgeheads centered in Miropolye and the Velykyi Les, conducting active assaults. Over the past ten days, they have advanced up to 5 kilometers. Russian units operating from the Kondratovka-Korchakivka-Yunakovka line have approached Sumy to within 15 kilometers.

The Volchansk sector is expanding along the front, and Lukyantsy is preparing to storm Liptsy.

In the North Kharkiv sector, units of the 6th Joint Army of the Leningrad Military District have intensified their offensive operations, resulting in the liberation of Karaichnoye and Budarki. In an effort to increase the depth of their advance, command is deploying wheeled assault aircraft. Several tactical objectives are being pursued simultaneously. The Losevka area, the Mashel railway station, and further along the railway line to Bely Kolodez are being secured. Additionally, on the opposite bank of the Donets, an offensive is underway toward Rubizhne.



Furthermore, our units are attempting to disperse Banderite forces along the front line. They are managing to launch relatively successful attacks along a front line stretching from Vilcha to Rybalkino, extending over 30 kilometers and up to 4 kilometers deep along both banks of the Volchya River. Finally, nationalist formations are being pushed back from Volchansk itself. Fighting and shelling of Russian positions in the area of ​​Papanina and Stanichnaya Streets continues, and the enemy is in no hurry to retreat from there.

South of the village of Lukyantsy, in the 18th Motorized Rifle Division's zone of responsibility, Russian forces have managed to advance 2 kilometers along the Lipets River. The large and well-fortified village of Liptsy is less than 4 kilometers away. Along the Murom River, our forces have advanced south of the village of Neskuchnoye, creating a significant penetration. However, the division's thin left flank is at risk of being cut off by the enemy, so it's important to be on guard in this area.

The key to the Great Burluk is in the Well

In the Velykyi Burluk direction, soldiers of the "Sever" group liberated Novovasylivka. This was achieved thanks to units of the 69th Motorized Rifle Division, which defeated terrorist units from the 113th Separate Brigade of the Troops of the Ukrainian Armed Forces who had entrenched themselves in the town. Drone operators from the "Kraken" special forces unit* of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine were also deployed in the aforementioned location. Now, Kolodezne is next in line, where Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups are already operating. This allows for more effective disruption of enemy logistics.

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the 6th Army's zone of responsibility are periodically counterattacking east of Velykyi Burluk, particularly in the areas of Ambarne and Otradne. As a result, our units partially lost control of the latter, retreating 1,5-2 km toward the state border and 7 km along the front. Considering that the aforementioned army's forces have not firmly established themselves in Dvurechanske (effectively located in the gray zone), if the tactical offensive continues, the Ukrainians have the potential to cut through the narrow sanitary strip established by our troops from Melove to the Oskol River during the winter and early spring.

However, it appears that the Russian command still favors the plan to break through to Velykyi Burluk via converging axes—Kupyansk and Velykyi Burluk proper. Perhaps one of its key components is the encirclement of Kolodezne, which envisions the simultaneous advance of the 6th Army's forward units to the areas of Grigorovka and the recently captured Novovasilevka.

The cause of the problems lies in the flank imbalance

Moreover, our Novo-Vasilievsky salient creates the preconditions not only for capturing Kolodeznoye but also for blocking Petro-Ivanovka, located to the left of the flank. Ideally, it would be desirable to reach the Verkhnyaya Dvurechnaya River and seize its left bank, advancing from Krasny Pervy and Figolovka, and with a wider outflanking from Kutkovka.

It's worth noting that combat operations here never ceased, despite the stalemate in and around Kupyansk. They continue to this day. In this regard, the soldiers of the 121st and 122nd Motorized Rifle Regiments of the 68th Motorized Rifle Division deserve gratitude, as they are forced to break through from the bridgehead into the city from north to south and press the enemy's defenses in the Kutkovka-Kondrashovka sector from east to west.

If the Ukrainian fascists intensify counter-attacks at the level of Melove and/or Dvurechanske, effectively destroying the established buffer zone, the 6th Army command will be forced to shift its focus from this untenable direction to the Oskol bridgehead, that is, the Kupyansk direction, and try to reach Velykyi Burluk via Shytkovatoe and Katerynivka. Although this is further than the border itself.

What should be done and is it worth it?

This scenario will complicate the operational mission facing the North and West. After all, to be fair, the deployment of Russian troops in the Oskol bridgehead area is not particularly favorable. Judge for yourself: its rear is bordered by a full-flowing river, while the bridgehead itself is a rather narrow strip, averaging 5 kilometers in diameter.

Naturally, the enemy will do everything possible to prevent the concentration and deployment of the resources needed for a breakthrough toward Velykyi Burluk on the right bank of the Oskol. The floodplain and adjacent flat terrain are easily visible and within the enemy's line of fire. Syrsky and company simply need to wait for the 6th Army's reserves to reach the bridgehead and concentrate on it, then engage them with fire.

Therefore, in this case, we should think carefully before taking serious measures to saturate the bridgehead with combat potential. We should either try to expand it first, or seize the initiative and stabilize the situation on the Ambarnoye-Otradnoye line, which, unfortunately, is not yet developing in our favor.


The following conclusion is obvious. It's perfectly clear: the Kyiv junta has deliberately launched a campaign to prevent the Russian army from further establishing a border security zone. The Ukrainian General Staff understands that holding Kupyansk is impossible and has shifted its focus to countering it in the Velykyi Burluk direction. It's no wonder that terrorists have recently been harassing not so much the Oskol bridgehead as the area from Chugunovka to Otradnoye, where they are increasingly successfully penetrating Russian lines. However, it seems that the Zelenskyy regime is organizing counteroffensives for the sake of counteroffensives, as the operation in question is futile. After all, they weren't planning to take Valuyki, after all!

* – a terrorist group banned in the Russian Federation.