Today, there is interesting news from the Lyman direction. Here, Russians press forward and are rapidly burning through their forces, attacking Ukrainians from all sides. Holding an active defense, the Ukrainian Third Army Corps is hitting back hard, denying the Russians new territory and taking advantage of their most exposed positions to make new significant territorial gains of their own.

Battle for Torske

Russian forces continue to push towards Torske from all sides, but Ukrainian defenders from the 63rd and 60th Mechanized Brigades are defending proactively. They are preventing the enemy from consolidating or entrenching inside the settlement by targeting Russians during their deployment to the frontline.

Drone strikes and destroyed BMPs

In the nearby Serebryanski Forest, Russian troops have pushed deeper through its natural cover to move into Torske by maintaining as small a profile as possible and crawling past Ukrainian positions at night. However, the Russians failed to stay undetected throughout the day, and geolocated footage shows a Ukrainian tank firing at close range into their positions in the ruins of the settlement. The infiltrators tried to seek cover in the trees but were followed by the armored vehicle and eliminated with another series of devastating shots.

In another engagement involving rarely seen armored vehicles, Ukrainian FPV drone operators destroyed two Russian BMP-2 infantry fighting vehicles near Terny, trying to deploy assault groups to attack Torske from the north. Both vehicles became immobilized after hitting mines, and their surviving crew members and dismounted infantry were subsequently eliminated.

Impact of this engagement

• The loss of both BMPs and their crews halted any momentum the Russians hoped to build in that direction.
• It underscores the effectiveness of Ukrainian drone warfare in neutralizing even heavily armored targets before they can influence the battle.

Ukrainian command strategy

While Torske holds some tactical value, the Ukrainian command has made it clear they will not sacrifice their men to defend it at all costs. A mobile and active defensive posture is essential, prioritizing the lives of soldiers and maintaining the combat capabilities of brigades over clinging to a single defense line.

Russian weakness on the Zherebets River

Along the Russian bridgehead across the Zherebets River, the situation is very different. The Russians are overextended, and their most vulnerable positions are constantly under heavy Ukrainian fire without Russian artillery being able to respond without exposing itself on the bank. Russian soldiers have to move 15 kilometers on foot at a crawling pace to avoid immediate detection by Ukrainian drones, making any reinforcement attempts costly, slow, and any rapid response impossible.

Recapture of Ridkodub

Due to this, Ukrainians were able to conduct a counterattack and exploit the enemy’s weaknesses. Fighters from various brigades within the Third Army Corps recently recaptured Ridkodub, striking precisely where Russian forces were most exposed.

Geolocated first-person footage shows Ukrainian assault troops moving through tree lines and clearing them of forward enemy positions before moving into the rural buildings of the village. Videos from several different soldiers show in detail how the Ukrainian operators clear basement after basement, being guided in real time by drone operators and their officers in field headquarters. After killing, wounding, and capturing dozens of Russian soldiers, the Ukrainians take various enemy documents and weapons as intel and trophies and secure the area.

Key elements of the operation

• Use of a ground drone system to deliver ammunition and supplies to soldiers at night.
• Evacuation of a wounded comrade on the drone’s return trip, highlighting the adaptability of Ukrainian air and ground drone tactics.

Ridkodub is now fully cleared of Russian presence. Given the logistical difficulties for Russian forces — needing to move artillery, drones, and infantry across the river while avoiding constant Ukrainian surveillance — the enemy advance here has to start from scratch.

Ukraine retains the initiative

Overall, Ukrainian forces in the Lyman sector are solving their issues by not only conducting active defense and efficiently absorbing Russian attacks but also reclaiming ground whenever opportunities are created. This takes the initiative away from the Russians and prevents them from making gains in the area.

In our regular frontline report, we pair up with the military blogger Reporting from Ukraine to keep you informed about what is happening on the battlefield in the Russo-Ukrainian war.