Russian troops advanced near eight settlements in Ukraine’s Donetsk region between Saturday and Sunday, according to the open-source Ukrainian battlefield map, Deep State.
According to Deep State’s Monday, 12:54 a.m. social media update, Russian troops had advanced near Chasiv Yar, Toretsk, Yantarne, Novovasylivka, Yelyzavetivka, Zelene, Zvirove, and Kotlyne in the Donetsk region.
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Chasiv Yar updates
Russian troops made gains north of Chasiv Yar, a Ukrainian city that Kyiv troops used as a core logistics hub during the Battle of Bakhmut in 2023.
Moscow troops are attempting to capture the local refractory plant and have made some gains, Viktor Trehubov, spokesperson for Ukraine’s Khortytsia Operational Group, told a Ukrainian news outlet on Sunday.
Chasiv Yar, a strategic target for Russia, has been heavily contested since the summer of 2024, with Ukrainian troops reported to have successfully repelled Russian attempts to gain a foothold there in October 2024.
Toretsk updates
In Toretsk, another key logistics hub for Ukrainian troops, Russian troops had gained a greater foothold within the city after Sunday, according to Deep State.
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On Monday, Ukraine’s 28th Special Rifle Brigade, citing drone footage, claimed that Russian troops, disguised as civilians, conducted reconnaissance and sabotage activities, Ukrainian media site Ukrinform reported.
A military expert told the Ukrainian news outlet TSN in October 2024 that the fall of Toretsk could allow Moscow to move against Kostyantynivka, one of Moscow’s strategic targets in its quest to capture the entire Donetsk region.
Near Pokrovsk
Russian troops were also seen advancing inside the village of Novovasylivka, approximately 14 kilometers (8.7 miles) southwest of Pokrovsk, a key defensive position for Ukrainian troops that remains under Kyiv’s control.
Russian troops also inched towards the outskirts of Zvirove, another village southwest of Pokrovsk.
South of Pokrovsk, Deep State reported that Russia made more gains near the village Zelene.
Approximately 10 kilometers (6 miles) west of Pokrovsk, Russian troops have captured areas across the country road T0406 opposite the village of Kotlyne without reaching the village itself, according to Deep State.
Other advances
Deep State also showed Russian advances at Yantarne, a village five kilometers (3 miles) south of the H15 highway connecting Ukraine’s Donetsk and Zaporizhzia regions. Russia claimed to have captured the village on Sunday.
Kurakhove, a key town for Ukrainian defenses, lies on the highway northeast of Yantarne and was reportedly captured by Russian troops on Jan. 6.
Russia announced the annexation of Ukraine’s Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions in October 2022 after holding what it called “referendums” in occupied areas of Ukraine, even though it had not occupied all of the four regional territories at the time.
At the time of publication, Moscow controls nearly all of the Luhansk region and is pressing toward remaining key hubs under Kyiv’s control in the Donetsk region.
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