April 17-24 live war map: Tactical failures vs strategic achievements 

Ukrainian Armed Forces counterattack in Chasiv Yar

The pace of Russian advancement has somewhat slowed. They are consolidating their positions, while aircraft bombard the town and Ukrainian positions with cluster munitions. Additionally, the Russian forces are attempting to drive Ukrainian troops out of the last positions in Bohdanivka and fully seize Ivanivske. 

However, within a week, defense forces have completely nullified the results of their assaults. The Armed Forces of Ukraine carried out a devastating airstrike on Bahmut, targeting the command post of the 331st Airborne Regiment with a precision-guided missile. Approximately ten officers, including the commander, were eliminated, and several others were wounded.

Meanwhile, to the south of Ivanivske, soldiers of the Fourth Assault Battalion of the 92nd Brigade launched an offensive and pushed Russian forces out of previously captured positions. This will allow Ukraine to strengthen the crucial defense of Klishchiivka.

Post-Avdiivka front, crisis in Ocheretyne

On the southern Avdiivka front, the Russian troops suffered significant losses and failed to advance further west after occupying Pervomaiske. They also encountered resistance in defense near Yasnobrodivka and Umanske. Near Orlivka, they were unable to cross the Durna River, but their persistent attempts to do so near Semenivka and Berdychi appear to have paid off. Currently, Russia’s foothold is not extensive, so the Ukrainian Defense Forces have the opportunity to push them back across the river.

However, the Russian troops have shifted their main efforts to the northern flank. The advance towards Novokalynove and Keramik is ongoing. Ukrainian forces have managed to hold onto these villages, but the Russians are expanding their area of control to the northeast of them.

The situation in the town of Ocheretyne is the most dire, where the Russian troops breached defenses a week ago. The Ukrainian Armed Forces failed to halt this breakthrough, and over the past few days, Russian forces have advanced and occupied positions in the central part of Ocheretyne. Furthermore, with each passing day, they are expanding their wedge in the southwest direction and have effectively seized Novobakhmutivka. Russians have also begun attacking Berdychi from another flank – from the north.

This offensive along the dominant hill that stretches across Ocheretyne is quite threatening to the Ukrainian defense of Berdychiv, Semenivka, and Umanske on the right flank, and Novokalynove and Keramik on the left. Therefore, these days the fighting for Ocheretyne is quite intense. Our soldiers are not retreating and are holding back the invaders, and the Bradley battalion of the 47th Brigade, which is holding the line in the neighboring area of Berdychi, has arrived to reinforce the town's defenders. 

Ukrainian Armed Forces hold back powerful offensive at Vuhledar and Kurakhove directions

Unfortunately, Novomykhailivka's defense, in which Ukrainian heroes had been holding back the invaders since October 2022, has fallen. The village is almost completely occupied, and Ukrainian Defense Forces have retreated towards the next settlement, Kostiantynivka. The Russian Forces launched an active offensive against the village 7 months ago. During this time, having lost tens of thousands of troops and hundreds of armored vehicles, they managed to advance 13 kilometers west. This is too little to secure the Donetsk-Volnovakha-Mariupol railroad, and so the Russians want to build on their success.

They storm the entire frontline, from Mykilske to the recently captured Pobieda, but fail. Near Marinka, between Pobieda and Heorhiivka, the Russians occupied a part of the gray zone, moving their positions one kilometer to the west.

Fierce fighting continues in Krasnohorivka, where last week the Russian militants stormed the southern and eastern outskirts of the city. Ukrainian defense forces managed to partially drive the occupiers out of the eastern districts, but the battle for the southern part of the city is still ongoing.

Ukrainian Armed Forces prepare to de-occupy Crimea

5 American ATACMS missiles hit an airfield near Dzhankoi, where, in addition to aircraft and rotorcraft, an air defense division was stationed. As a result, 4 launchers of the latest S-400 Triumph, two S-300 systems, three radar stations, an unknown number of aircraft were destroyed, and an air defense ammunition depot was detonated. Particularly important is the elimination of the unique Fundament-M radar, which was the air defense control center in Crimea. According to its characteristics, it could track and direct air defense against 10,000 targets. But it could not stop ATACMS. Now the calculation of how many such missiles the Armed Forces would need to completely destroy the air defense in Crimea has begun.

In Sevastopol, missiles hit the unique ship Kommuna. Built in 1915 to salvage submarines, it was currently retrieving important elements of the former flagship of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, the cruiser Moskva, from the bottom. 

Strategic achievements over Russia

For the first time, Ukraine's Air Force, together with the Defence Intelligence and the Security Service, successfully ambushed and shot down a Tu-22M3 strategic bomber returning from an attack on Ukraine. The bomber was hit at a distance of more than 300 kilometers, and it flew over Russia for about a hundred more kilometers and crashed in the Stavropol Territory. 

The point is not even that Russia has about 30 similar aircraft left and cannot produce new ones, but that they will now be extremely cautious, so the number of attacks on Ukraine may decrease. In addition, 3 pilots were killed, which is a very small number for such a unique aircraft in the Russian Armed Forces.

The real breakthrough, however, was the drone strike on the Konteyner strategic nuclear cover radar station in Kovylkino, Mordovia. The station provided calculation and control for air defense launchers located all over Russia, especially those concentrated near Moscow, which were supposed to repel enemy heavy ballistic missiles. Without this station, it is impossible to intercept ballistic missile attacks. We hope that the 8 explosions of Ukrainian drones were enough to guarantee a sufficient level of damage to the Konteyner. In addition, Ukrainian air defense for the first time shot down 2 supersonic cruise missiles Kh-22 and one modernized Kh-32.

Dozens of Ukrainian drones have entered eight Russian regions. In Moscow, Belgorod, Bryansk, Kursk, Tula, Smolensk, Ryazan, and Kaluga regions, power substations, fuel storage facilities, and other critical infrastructure were exploded. For example, two oil depots burned down in the Smolensk region, one of which was the main transit hub for exports from Belarusian refineries. Another overstocked tank farm caught fire in the Voronezh region. In Kamensk-Shakhtinsky, Rostov region, drones set fire to a chemical plant that produces solid fuel for anti-aircraft missiles. And in Kazan, drones successfully attacked the Gorbunov aircraft factory, which produces Tu-22M and Tu-160M strategic bombers.

The maps presented are based on data from the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine and other reliable sources. While not entirely precise, they provide a rough indication of the situation in the war zone.