July 10-17 live war map: Russia deploys resources without achieving desired results

Two important processes are taking place simultaneously at the front. On the one hand, the Russians have already deployed strategic reserves in many areas, which were prepared for further advancement after a breakthrough in one of the areas. But there was no breakthrough, and the result needs to be shown immediately. Therefore, they are in a hurry and throw prepared and not fully ready reserves into the crucible of war. On the other hand, for the first time in 1.5 months, the number of clashes has gone down, by about 15% compared to the previous rather peak week, when there were more than 900 clashes. Together with the absence of breakthroughs by the Russian Armed Forces, this indicates that the enemy is unable to make any rapid advance, except for squeezing out Ukrainian positions by dropping the guided bombs. On the other hand, it is likely that some reserves are still preparing for the offensive at the end of July, and now they are choosing the best direction.

Siversky ledge

The frontline around Siversk has posed a major challenge for the Russians throughout the past three years. In recent weeks, the Ukrainian Armed Forces have successfully counterattacked in the directions of Lyman and the Serebryanske forestry. These trends have further intensified this week. Consequently, the aggressors have redirected their efforts, attempting to advance towards Siversk from the south, specifically through the villages of Vyimka and Rozdolivka. They managed to occupy the latter village, which had long been in the gray zone, by the end of last week. However, the Ukrainian Defense Forces continue to maintain positions on the outskirts of Rozdolivka. Another group has attempted to penetrate Vyimka, but they have faced continuous setbacks.

Toretsk trap for Russians

A month after the launch of a major offensive against Toretsk and New York, we can state that it was a failed false start on behalf of the Russians. Despite the initial successes, which were largely due to the factor of surprise and disorganization in the ranks of Ukrainian defenders, the Russians have not made any significant progress in the past two weeks. Yes, they entered the southern part of New York, but not only did they fail to make their way to the central area of the village, but the Ukrainian Armed Forces launched a counteroffensive and drove the occupiers back from several positions.

On the eastern outskirts of Toretsk, Ukrainian Defense Forces withstood all attacks, but the Russians advanced in the southern part, occupying several streets in the Zalizny district. Despite the fact that Toretsk is perhaps the only area where the number of battles has increased rather than decreased over the week, the Russians have had rather modest successes, considering the army that was preparing to capture this agglomeration. Frontal city battles in Toretsk significantly slow down the pace of the Russian offensive, and the lack of city coverage from several sides increases the number of Russian casualties in the frontal offensive. 

The expansion of the Yuriivka ledge to the west towards Ukrainian fortifications in Oleksandropil, which is currently under attack from both the south and east, could be a threat to the Ukrainian Defense Forces.  

Russia is betting on Pokrovsk front

To understand how heavily the Russians are investing in this area, we can compare the number of clashes with other parts of the front. For example, 59 battles took place as part of the offensive on Kupyansk, 61 battles on the front near Chasiv Yar, and more than 280 battles on the Pokrovsk front. The Russian forces are not only attacking along the entire length of this front, but are also constantly changing the focus of their attacks. In Karlivka, the Ukrainian Armed Forces managed to completely contain the occupiers, but a little further north, the Russians managed to make their way to Yasnobrodivka. It is not yet known whether the Ukrainian Armed Forces still hold positions in the village, but the Russian Armed Forces are also rapidly advancing to the coast of the Karlivka Reservoir.

However, at the moment, the Russian forces are more focused on storming the last fortified area on the left bank of the Vovcha River - Novoselivka Persha, which they have surrounded and are storming from three sides. Currently, the Russian troops are 500 meters away from the eastern outskirts of the village, but managed to enter the village from the north. The situation for the Ukrainian Armed Forces is extremely threatening. Although the Russians' haste to advance to the Vovcha River after almost complete occupation of Yevhenivka may play a cruel joke on them, as they are also caught in the middle of the fire, as the Ukrainian Defense Forces are still holding them back to the north, near Progress. It can be stated that the Russians finally managed to push the Ukrainian Armed Forces almost completely to the left bank of the Vovcha River, where Ukrainian fortified positions were previously prepared, 5 months after the occupation of Avdiivka. Now, only Novoselivka Persha is holding the line and preventing the Russian forces from freeing up resources to redeploy to other areas, such as Toretsk. 

To the north, on the Pokrovsk front, the Russian troops are simultaneously implementing two plans. First, to cut the Pokrovsk - Kostiantynivka road. To do this, they are storming Vozdvyzhenka and Lozuvatske. For a week, the Russian forces had little success near Vozdvyzhenka, so they redirected their resources to the south and managed to break through Ukrainian defenses and occupy Lozuvatske.

However, the assaults along the railroad tracks towards the village of Prohres are worse. Here they can pass between two reservoirs - Vovcha and Kazennyi Torts - without forcing the river and flank the Ukrainian Defense Forces, which will be defending along the riverbed. However, Ukrainian Defense Forces are currently holding back the Russian troops here, as well as in the area north of Ocheretyne. 

Southern front, occupation of Urozhaine

After several months of assaults, Russian forces managed to penetrate the central part of the village of Urozhaine, while the Ukrainian Armed Forces retreated to its northern outskirts. Additionally, this allowed the enemy to slightly improve their positions in the neighboring town of Staromayorsk. On one hand, Ukrainian Defense Forces lost two important villages in the Berdiansk direction, which were heavily contested during last year's counteroffensive. On the other hand, Russian invaders have long aimed to isolate this protrusion and conduct a thorough assessment of the outcomes of the counteroffensive. After six months of active assaults, the Russians managed to stabilize the frontline between Pryiutne and Urozhaine, but 80% of the territory liberated last summer remains under Ukrainian Armed Forces control. A similar situation is unfolding in the Tokmak direction, where Ukrainian Defense Forces withdrew from Robotyne but are holding the line, preventing further Russian advancement into Ukrainian territory.

The maps were created based on information received from the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ General Staff and other open and verified sources. At the same time, the maps are not as accurate as possible and only conditionally reflect trends in the combat zone.