Situational update on the Krasny Lyman direction:The Ukrainian counterattacks north of Krasny Lyman are now entering their fourth month, as they come closer and closer to cutting off the Russian salient. Two pincers have been formed, which are both dangerously close to cutting the Russians off.
In the western part of the salient, Ukrainian assault groups have entrenched in the southern part of Shandrigolovo and are engaged in fierce battles for the main part of the village. Other forces have resumed assault operations from the north following earlier unsuccessful attacks, and are approaching the village from the north.
This has prompted the Russian command to initiate a partial withdrawal from their bridgehead west of the Nitrius River, with Ukrainian forces recapturing the now largely empty positions in and around Yarovaya, Alexandrovka, Karpovka, and Korovy Yar. This new, much more limited bridgehead will still apply pressure to Krasny Lyman from the north, and will be easier to withdraw from if they are unable to repel the Ukrainians from Shandrigolovo. Shortening the line of contact will allow Russia to re-allocate troops to more important parts of the sector, and help maintain the bulk of this crucial northern flank to Lyman.
Further east, Ukrainian forces continued their gradual advance south of Novoe, pushing south along the tactical heights and recapturing a series of important strongpoints situated along the high points, following several weeks of fierce and costly battles. Russia is now heavily bombing all of these lost positions with KABs to try prevent a further advance. From there, reinforcements are being sent in for deeper penetrations towards the northern outskirts of Kolodyez, as well as further east towards Ivanovka and the western bank of the Zherebets River.
If any further consolidation in this area is achieved by Ukraine, Russia will likely be forced to withdraw not only from their bridgehead west of the Nitrius River, but also from a large portion of the fields and tactical heights between the Nitrius and Zherebets Rivers, which they captured during a multi-stage offensive in 2025.
Furthermore, Ukrainian forces continued their counterattacks from the south, which have so far yielded them less success due to stronger Russian positions and constant Russian counterattacks. As a result of recent fighting, they were able to clear the rest of Stavky and nearby fields from earlier Russian infiltrations, reinforcing their thrust to the north into the forested gullies west of Kolodyez. These actions remain infiltrations for now, and a large grey-zone with intermingled and overlapping positions has formed in this area.
As of now, the closest point between Ukrainian pincers in the eastern part of this salient is around 6.2 km wide. The corridor between forward Ukrainian assault groups is just 2.6 km wide, however.
AMK Mapping
