The Russian forces failed to expand their success west of Avdiivka. All their mechanized assaults were mostly defeated. After withdrawing from Lastochkyno, the Ukrainian Armed Forces established a new defense line through the villages of Berdychi-Semenivka-Orlivka-Umanske but also halted the Russian advance to the east of this line. In particular, by using water and other landscape obstacles, the Ukrainian Defense Forces managed to break the Russian marching offensive.
Currently, active fighting continues on the eastern outskirts of Tonenke and in the southeastern part of Orlivka. The Russian troops also tried to break through in Berdych several times, but the Ukrainian Armed Forces pushed them back each time. Given that the Ukrainian artillery has resumed speaking loudly using a language that the Russians understand, their successes near Avdiivka likely come to an end.
This week, Russia concentrated excessive efforts to break through Ukraine's defenses around Chasiv Yar. For several days in a row, KAB guided bombs have been frequently attacking the city. The invading troops, suffering heavy losses, managed to push the Ukrainian forces from the eastern outskirts of Ivanivske. But Ukraine's military is taking countermeasures to drive the invading troops out of the village. Meanwhile, the Ukrainian Armed Forces managed to recapture several positions in the village of Bohdanivka. The battle for Chasiv Yar is likely to be as long as the battle for Bakhmut, as this town is the last obstacle for the Russians on the way to Kostiantynivka and Kramatorsk.
In Novomykhailivka, heavy fighting continues in the central part of the village, where the Russian army managed to break through from the south. However, they have not made any further progress for several days now, and the Ukrainian Armed Forces are gradually driving them out of the village with the help of Bradley.
At the same time, the Ukrainian Defense Forces managed to repel the Russian offensive from the north and eliminate the threat of a breakthrough into their rear. The Russians were partially driven out of Pobieda village, and the village itself has moved into the gray zone.
The situation in this frontline section has stabilized. In the first days of March, the Russian offensive on the village stalled, and Ukraine's heroes launched a counteroffensive, during which they regained a significant part of the lost positions, including all the outskirts of Robotyne. For the Russians, the offensive ended with significant losses and no changes on the front line. Nevertheless, we are likely to see new attempts to change the results of Ukraine's summer counteroffensive soon, not only near Robotyne, but also in the Berdiansk sector, near Staromayorske.
All the hysterical statements about the breakthrough of the Russians to Kupyansk and further to Kharkiv this week ended with the Ukrainian Armed Forces conducting a successful counteroffensive near the village of Tabaivka, which Russia captured in late January. As a result, the northern and western outskirts of the settlement are back under Ukraine's control, and positional fighting is currently underway in the village itself.
In the south of the region, Russia's army keeps attacking in the direction of the Zherebets River and the villages of Yampolivka and Terny. Over the past week, they managed to improve their positions by a hundred meters.
In 14 days, the Ukrainian Armed Forces shot down 14 of Russia's newest Su-34, Su-35, and A-50 aircraft. The last four caught fire in the sky on February 29 and March 1. Since then, KABs have been falling on the heads of Ukrainian soldiers less often, and round-the-clock scanning of Ukrainian airspace has stopped in the south. Air Force spokesman Yuriy Ihnat said the sky was clear. Even the temporary disappearance of the A-50 from Ukraine's sky opens up promising horizons. Russia is currently thinking about how to get out of this difficult situation.
Meanwhile, this week the Russians had a great "historic" achievement: they destroyed the first HIMARS and the first Abrams.
First, near Dzhankoi, the Ukrainian Armed Forces destroyed an air defense complex that included S-400s, several Buk SAMs, Pantsir, and Tor. It was supposed to protect the south of the peninsula from missiles and drones. After the defense was removed, Ukrainian troops continued to hunt for Russian aircraft and launched a series of strikes on airfields, including those in Saky, Yevpatoria, Hvardiiske, and Sevastopol. The consequences of these strikes are not yet known. In addition, a massive drone attack on Feodosia destroyed part of the oil pipeline. The logistics center of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in Mizhvodne was also hit.
Taking advantage of the fact that the Crimean Bridge was unguarded, some drones flew in its direction. The bridge was blocked. Explosions were heard.
Finally, in the sea near Kerch, five of Ukraine's maritime drones caught the newest and largest patrol ship, the nearly 100-meter-long Sergey Kotov.
Officials from six NATO countries — France, the Netherlands, Canada, the Czech Republic, Lithuania, and Latvia — have stated that they are more or less ready to send troops to Ukraine to help the Ukrainian armed forces. This coalition is likely to expand soon and move from words to deeds.
The maps were created on the basis of information received from the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, as well as from 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.