Clearing the way Russian forces are closing in on a Ukrainian village long blocking their path toward Dnipro
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 December 7, 2024
Ukrainian troops are trying to simultaneously defend three critical positions in southern Donbas: the city of Kurakhove, the village of Velyka Novosilka, and the southern outskirts of Pokrovsk. In a bid to halt advancing Russian forces, they’re launching counterattacks wherever possible. Yet Ukraine’s defensive lines are increasingly fragmenting into isolated pockets.
South of Kurakhove, Ukrainian units are nearly surrounded in the Sukhi Yaly River valley. Another group is locked in intense street battles within the city, which Russian forces are working to encircle from multiple directions.
South of Pokrovsk, Ukrainian forces failed to stop a Russian breakthrough, allowing Russian troops to advance 10 kilometers (over six miles) and cut off a key road in the region. Finally, in Velyka Novosilka, Ukrainian units are mounting desperate counterattacks to try to prevent Russian troops from encircling the village.
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Velyka Novosilka
Russian forces have advanced to the eastern outskirts of Velyka Novosilka, a key district center on the border of Ukraine’s Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia regions. For years, this village has blocked the Russian army’s path to a vast area southeast of Dnipro.
At the same time, another Russian contingent made a breakthrough north of the village, where they captured Rozdolne and attempted to cut off a critical road that connects Velyka Novosilka to Ukrainian rear positions near Novyi Komar. Ukrainian forces launched a counterattack in Novyi Komar and, according to sources from both sides, successfully pushed Russian troops out of the village.
If Ukrainian forces lose control of this road, units defending Velyka Novosilka will be at risk of encirclement and forced to retreat, similar to what happened in Selydove and other Donbas settlements. Russian troops have already begun launching direct attacks on the southern outskirts of Velyka Novosilka after seizing the nearby village of Blahodatne.
A gap has also emerged in Ukrainian defenses between Velyka Novosilka and Kurakhove. In the coming days, Russian forces will likely be able to advance from Rozdolne not only southward toward Velyka Novosilka but also northward toward the strategic Donetsk–Zaporizhzhia road.
Kurakhove
After weeks of intense fighting, Russian forces appear close to dismantling Ukrainian defenses around Kurakhove.
Russian troops now control the entire northern shore of the Kurakhove Reservoir (the city itself lies on the southern bank). They’ve advanced to the reservoir’s western edge, with Ukrainian sources reporting that Russian units are now at the dam on the Vovcha River in the village of Stari Terny. If Russian forces cross the river, they could launch an attack toward the Donetsk–Zaporizhzhia highway — the last supply route connecting Kurakhove to unoccupied Ukrainian territory.
South of Kurakhove, Russian troops have reached the village of Uspenivka, which lies along the sole supply route for Ukrainian forces in the Sukhi Yaly River valley. Ukrainian units are likely retreating hastily from the valley; within just a few days, they’ve lost the villages of Yelyzavetivka, Illinka, and Romanivka.
Within Kurakhove itself, Ukrainian forces are battling to repel direct Russian assaults. Russian troops have already seized all of the city’s eastern outskirts, characterized by low-rise buildings, as well as part of the high-rise central district.
Pokrovsk
After capturing the city of Selydove, located between Pokrovsk and Kurakhove, Russian forces spent several weeks advancing south toward the Kurakhove Reservoir. Now, however, they’ve turned westward.
Over the past two weeks, Russian troops captured the villages of Petrivka, Pustynka, and Zhovte, before unexpectedly breaking through to the Pokrovsk–Kostyantynopil–Velyka Novosilka road.
Russian forces are now advancing on Pokrovsk from the south, having captured Novopustynka and entered the village of Shevchenko, just six kilometers (3.7 miles) from the city. With another Russian grouping already positioned to the east, it appears the Russian command is orchestrating a coordinated effort to encircle Pokrovsk while simultaneously storming it. Unlike operations in Kurakhove and Velyka Novosilka, however, this effort is still in its early stages.
Chasiv Yar
After months of fighting, Russian forces have captured the main elevated area in Chasiv Yar, a strategic vantage point overlooking the surrounding territory from Bakhmut to Kostiantynivka. The Refractory Plant, where Ukrainian forces have established a heavily fortified position, sits atop this hill. In early December, Russian troops managed to occupy several structures on the plant’s southern side.
Ukrainian units are attempting to counterattack the advancing Russian forces, but their position in Chasiv Yar is becoming increasingly precarious. A second Russian strike group, building on the successes of neighboring units to the south, could soon approach the plant by advancing through the forest to the north and attacking Chasiv Yar from that direction.
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