The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reported on 30 August that Russian forces captured the village of Stelmakhivka in Ukraine’s Luhansk Oblast, marking a significant advance in their ongoing offensive operations along the Kupiansk-Svatove-Kreminna line.
According to the ISW, “Geolocated footage published on 30 August shows Russian forces raising a Russian flag in the center of Stelmakhivka (northwest of Svatove), indicating that Russian forces seized the settlement.”
Russian Ministry of Defense claimed on 29 August that Russian forces had taken control of Stelmakhivka.
The capture of Stelmakhivka appears to be part of a broader Russian offensive in the region. The ISW notes that “Russian forces continued offensive operations northeast of Kupiansk near Synkivka; northwest of Svatove near Stepova Novoselivka and Kolisynkivka and in the direction of Lozova; west of Svatove near Myasozharivka,” among other areas.
In addition to the advances near Svatove, the ISW reports on Russian progress in the Pokrovsk area. “Geolocated footage published on 29 August shows elements of the Russian 60th ‘Somali’ Motorized Rifle Battalion (1st DNR AC) raising a flag in the dacha area northeast of Karlivka (southeast of Pokrovsk),” the institute states, indicating recent Russian advances in this sector as well.
However, the ISW reports that some Russian claims of territorial gains remain unconfirmed. For instance, “Russian milbloggers claimed that Russan forces seized Hrodivka (east of Pokrovsk), Karlivka, and Halytsynivka (southeast of Pokrovsk) and advanced northwest of Novohrodivka, southeast of Karlivka, north of Halytsynivka, south of Memryk (southeast of Pokrovsk), and 550 meters deep within Mykhailivka (southeast of Pokrovsk).” The institute notes that it “has not observed confirmation of these Russian claims.”
The report also mentions ongoing Russian offensive operations in various locations, including “east of Pokrovsk near Zelene Pole, Vozdvyzhenka, Hrodivka, and Myrolyubivka and southeast of Pokrovsk near Karlivka, Novohrodivka, Marynivka, Mykhailivka, Ukrainsk, and Selydove on 29 and 30 August.”
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