Background
In late August to September 2024, after breakthroughs towards Pokrovsk, [13] [14] the Russian forces regrouped north, south and east of Kurakhove, attempting to encircle the Ukrainian troops - the current main focus of Russian forces in the city's direction. The fighting shifted to the nearby cities of Ukrainsk (located about 15km north of Kurakhove), Hirnyk and Selydove. Encirclement concerns are growing, particularly further south, where roads have become impassable and businesses have closed. The logistics have been heavily affected, with supply routes slowed and evacuation of the wounded becoming more challenging due to cut roads to Pokrovsk. The city population decreased to ~5,000 in September. [12] According to soldiers, fighting in the Kurakhove area is challenging due to the flat terrain. [13] By 16 October, Russian forces occupied the village of Ostrivske on the eastern bank of the Kurakhove reservoir, threatening Kurakhove with encirclement. [15] [16]
Russian forces entered the administrative limits of Kurakhove on the east bank of the Kurakhove reservoir, near Ostrivke, on 16 October, after becoming embattled during the capture of Ostrivske. From the east, the Russian forces then became active near Kurakhove proper on 29 October. [4]
Battle
During the month of October the Russian Army launched assaults towards the city of Kurakhove from three directions; from the city of Hirnyk in the north towards the Kurakhove reservoir, from Krasnohorivka in the east and from Vuhledar in the south. [17]
In the northern direction the advances of the Russian forces were accelerated with the capture of the city of Hirnyk by 29 October. [18] [19] This capture was followed by an assault on the neighboring town of Kurakhivka to the south and a push west of Hirnyk where Russian forces advanced into the village of Novoselydivka. [20] The Russian Ministry of Defense announced the full control over Kurakhivka on 2 November. [21] At the same time further south Russian forces started a three speared attack from Vuhledar northwards seizing the villages of Bohoyavlenka and Novoukrainka by 30 October. [22] [23] The advances continued in the northwest with the capture of Shakhtarske and Yasna Polyana a few days later. [24] It was reported by Bloomberg that, with the advances around Kurakhove together with the capture of Selydove, this week Russia was able to seize the most Ukrainian land of the year 2024 so far. [25]
In early November, an estimated 700–1,000 people remained in Kurakhove, and were living without basic utilities, while Russian forces stood under 3 kilometres from the city center. Many crucial facilities were destroyed by heavy shelling, with only one food store operational. Russian encirclement efforts of the city continued, and according to the city's head of police, its success would leave Kurakhove practically indefensible. [26]
On 11 November, the Kurakhove Reservoir [ uk ] dam, near the village of Stari Terny, was destroyed, causing water to flow into the Vovcha River [27] and posing a threat of flooding for residents of villages on the river. [28] According to DeepState, the Russian effort to reach the logistical routes near Kurakhove and surround the city was gaining momentum, and it was "only a matter of time" before the city was captured. [29]
On 14 November, Ukrainian military observer Kostyantyn Mashovets claimed that Russia had concentrated 70,000 personnel against Kurakhove, including units from the 41st and 51st Combined Arms armies. [8]
By 25 November, Russian forces had reached Pobiedy Street in central Kurakhove, also closing in on the salient southeast of Kurakhove. [30]
On 29 November, Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi announced that troop contingents in the Pokrovsk and Kurakhove sectors would get additional reserves, ammunition, weapons, military equipment, [31] calling it the most intense area of fighting on the front. [32] A few days later, Zelensky affirmed this, stating that the Donetsk direction requires significant reinforcements – appealing to Western partners to timely fulfill weapon delivery commitments. [33]
By 7 December 2024, Russian forces had taken control of the entire northern bank of the Kurakhove Reservoir, including the area around Stari Terny. Their push southward across the dam poses a serious threat to the last remaining supply route for Ukrainian forces in Kurakhove. The distance between Russian forward positions to the north and south of Kurakhove had narrowed to less than 10 kilometers, further reducing the gap needed to close the encirclement around the town. Intense fighting continued in the centre of the city. Russian forces likely also captured the village of Sukhi Yaly along the Sukhi Yaly River, which serves as the Ukrainians' defensive line within the salient of the southeastern sector of Kurakhove. Within the salient, the settlement of Illinka was occupied by Russian forces, and battles were ongoing on the outskirts of Romanivka and Uspenivka [ uk ]. [34]
On 12 December, the situation at the "Uspenivka pocket", the embattled sector southeast of Kurakhove, worsened. The villages of Yelyzavetivka, Romanivka, Veselyi Hai and Hannivka are located within a pocket – the sole supply line being fiercely embattled, guarded only by Ukrainian contingents in the partially controlled settlements of Trudove and Uspenivka. Russian forces tried to break through from all directions, focusing on Uspenivka, which was at risk of being completely surrounded. DeepStateMap.Live cited inaction and unclear actions by the Donetsk Operational Tactical Group, a lack of proper coordination, as well as a significant advantage of manpower on the Russian side, as reasons for the situation. [35] According to defence analyst Ian Matveev (Anti-Corruption Foundation), the escape routes in this pocket had been cut off and were being fought over. According to him, Ukrainian commanders kept their forces there despite the high risk, as their goal was to hold off the Russian advance as long as possible. Matveev questioned risking another potential encirclement at Kurakhove proper, as Ukrainian soldiers there are also "only one step away from being surrounded", though they did hold the industrial area and western limits of the city. [36] The same day, footage was published that confirmed further Russian advances in southwestern Kurakhove, and indicated that advances along the N-15 highway had been made prior to the entrance into the southern part of the city. [37]
On 13 December, the pocket around Uspenivka collapsed, and Ukrainian forces lost control over Uspenivka and the settlements east of it. Russian milbloggers said that some Ukrainian soldiers had been encircled in the process. According to the ISW, the closure of the pocket granted Russian forces the ability to begin assaults towards Dachne [ uk ], west of Kurakhove, and Zelenivka [ uk ], near Uspenivka. [38]
On 14 December, Russian forces made further advances inside Kurakhove, with their forces reaching the administration building in the western part of the city [39] and hoisting the Russian flag on it. [40]
