Russian troops fail to advance: Ukrainian successes near Kupyansk. Serhiy Zgurets' column

Frontline update: Kupyansk direction

The invading Russian forces failed to achieve their objective, suffering significant losses in personnel and equipment. Approximately 70 pieces of Russian equipment were destroyed, including tanks and armored personnel carriers, according to Yuriy Fedorenko, Commander of the ACHILLES Battalion of Ukraine's 92nd Separate Assault Brigade named after Ivan Sirko.

According to Yuriy Fedorenko, Russian troops managed to enter the village of Kruhliakivka, creating a wedge and attempting to expand it. While they achieved partial success, they were blocked by the Ukrainian Defense Forces, particularly the Bureviy First Operational Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine. After halting their advance and implementing countermeasures, Ukrainian forces were able to almost completely drive the Russian units out of the Kruhliakivka forest.

Zahryzove and Lozova remain key areas of concentration for Russian troops, who are attempting to expand toward Zahryzove and capture Lozova. While the Russians achieved partial tactical successes at the end of 2024, there have been no advances toward Zahryzove as of now. In Lozova, their efforts to capture the settlement have also failed.

“Recently, Russian troops used seven pieces of equipment, three of which left the combat zone and the rest were destroyed by the cooperation of the Ukrainian Defense Forces, including our battalion. This is the result of the joint work, because the front is impossible without the support of everyone who remains in Ukraine, works, pays taxes and supports the Defense Forces,” said Fedorenko.

In the direction of Kupyansk Livoberezhnyi, Kupyansk Vuzlovyi, and upstream, despite the assaults, Russian forces failed to advance a single meter. As for the Dvorichna, they managed to get to the right bank. They used boats, rafts and fog to cross, tried to conduct engineering reconnaissance, but were detected by Ukrainian Defense Forces, who threw them back into the Oskil River. As of today, Novomlynsk remains a Ukrainian village, the military said.

As for Dvorichna and Masiutivka, Russian forces are trying to use any convenient means to increase their presence, but the Ukrainian Defense Forces are inflicting systematic fire damage to prevent further advances.

Fedorenko explained which trends of the past year will be the most important for this year's events.

“Ukrainian private sector producers working in the defense industry were able to start manufacturing a number of components in Ukraine. We are gradually breaking away from dependence on China. Speaking of battlefield applications, in 2024, we learned to use our drones to shoot down Russian drones, mostly reconnaissance ones. We have also mastered the use of kamikaze wings. Some of them are not yet 'lancets,' but they are already effectively performing their tasks, in particular on the territory of the Russian Federation. We have developed a vehicle similar to the Lancet called Bulava. It was presented by the battalion, but it is not yet on the balance sheet, and we hope to receive it in the near future. In drones, this is automatic targeting and the development of technologies to work with AI drones. This will allow us to simultaneously deliver fire on one or more targets,” he said.

Communication between the manufacturers and the frontline is ongoing, and the Baba Yaga line bombers have undergone a number of modernizations. The current systems are significantly different from those of early 2024 in terms of protection against Russian electronic warfare, their capabilities and range.

Unmanned aerial vehicles always cause problems because it is a new industry, but Ukraine is making rapid progress, says Fedorenko. After all, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have gained the ability to strike deep into Russia with Ukrainian drones, attacking legitimate military targets and facilities that provide funding for the war against Ukraine. 

Digital dashboard of unit efficiency

Ukraine's Ministry of Defense is introducing a digital rating system to evaluate commanders' combat effectiveness, as announced by Deputy Minister of Defense Kateryna Chernohorenko. According to a government resolution, reports confirming enemy losses will be consolidated into a single dashboard designed to analyze the performance of individual units and the army as a whole.

This dashboard will serve as a centralized digital platform for tracking specific indicators of unit actions. The collected data will assess not only the effectiveness of personnel but also the performance of equipment and ammunition. This analysis will provide valuable insights into prioritizing the production and supply of critical weapons and resources.

This practice is already in place, with units using unmanned systems providing reports on successful strikes against the enemy. It is a sustainable system that allows for the evaluation of unit effectiveness and facilitates the allocation of more unmanned systems based on these results.

Overall, this is a positive step forward, especially if additional criteria for assessing commanders' effectiveness are incorporated into the dashboard indicators, along with data from the Delta system. This should include evaluations of not only manpower outcomes but also personnel survival rates and other key metrics. Commanders who achieve the best results on the battlefield will have the opportunity to advance in their careers.

Such assessments need to be shared not only within brigades, but also with other higher-level commanders. The Minister of Defense also noted that victory requires a deep analysis of experience and an honest understanding of mistakes. The Ministry of Defense inspections will work in the Land Forces to develop recommendations that will increase the efficiency of troop utilization and personnel training.

This is linked to the situation with the 155th Brigade Anna Kyivska, which was trained in France and exposed several systemic issues related to training, command, and coordination. Analyzing the experiences and lessons learned from training these brigades will provide a significant boost to improving troop management, training, and technology, offering an advantage through enhanced management practices and technological solutions.

Yuriy Fedorenko, commander of the ACHILLES UAV Strike Battalion of the 92nd Separate Assault Brigade named after Ivan Sirko, highlighted that after the appointment of the new Commander-in-Chief, representatives from specialized UAV units were convened to address systemic issues and explore potential solutions.

“Two key things were discussed, in particular, what characterizes a successful unit: a team of people united by a common idea and additional funding from donors, Ukrainian business and international investment. Accordingly, this was discussed at the meeting, and joint decisions with the Cabinet of Ministers, the Minister of Digital Transformation, came up with the idea of E-Marks, which made a significant improvement in the provision of the units. For example, thanks to these efforts, the Achilles Battalion receives 70% of its UAV equipment from the state and 30% from Ukrainian business and people. Positive solutions have their responsible people, but they are rarely talked about. We often discuss problems but forget about achievements. Just like we forget about the heroes of Ukraine,” he said.