Ukrainian marines advance to protect key flanks in massive operation

Today, the biggest news comes from the Novopavlivka direction.

Here, the Russians attempted to put a decisive end to Ukraine’s advance and take back the initiative. However, the Ukrainian marines were anticipating this and conducted a highly coordinated response, which caught the Russians fully off guard.

Ukrainians are currently launching a massive counterattack south toward Komar and Velyka Novosilka, after their wider counterattack in the Dnipropetrovsk region. As a result of this attack, Ukrainian forces are now only seven kilometers away from Velyka Novosilka, threatening to cut it off from supplies. To stop the advancing Ukrainian forces, the Russians attempted to outflank them and launched a breakthrough attack toward Filiia.

However, Ukraine's fortieth Marine Brigade conducted a coordinated counterattack, nicknamed Audit, to clear the Russians out before they could consolidate. The operation started with preparatory strikes targeting known Russian positions. First, artillery, FPV drones, and heavy bombers struck the Russian hideouts to reduce their manpower before the clearing started. Then, the marines moved in small infantry groups, using ghillie suits to covertly advance through the thick vegetation, without being spotted by Russian drones.

As contact was made with the first Russian dugout, the Ukrainian unit’s machine gunner quickly suppressed it with fire, while the other marines closed in on the Russians, wounding one Russian and forcing him to surrender. The captured Russian was quickly interrogated to get information about neighboring units and their whereabouts. Acting quickly on fresh intelligence, the Ukrainian’s advanced deeper and found a small shed, where they eliminated at least two Russians and captured their equipment. Another two Russians, who were hiding nearby in the forest, were also found and engaged. As a result, one of them was eliminated with a grenade, while the other decided to lay down his arms and surrender, rather than face certain death.

As the night approached and visibility dropped, the Ukrainians continued the operation with FPV drones equipped with thermal cameras and struck the sleeping Russians. During the day, heavy bomber drones and FPV drones continued to strike the Russians to cover the advancing marines on the ground, proving high coordination between units. During the operation, logistics units made approximately thirty deliveries by air, bringing supplies attached to drones with ropes. Additionally, unmanned ground vehicles twice carried three hundred kilograms of ammunition and heavier supplies, which couldn’t be brought in by aerial drones. During the counterattack, the Ukrainian marines eliminated at least a dozen Russian soldiers, captured three prisoners of war, and cleared five square kilometers, stopping Russian advances and infiltration towards Filiia.

As a result of this successful counterattack, the Ukrainians cut the Russian outflanking effort by attacking it in the rear and clearing them out of the forest. Now the larger Ukrainian offensive to the south is secure and primed to continue further towards Komar and Velyka Novosilka without fearing an attack from behind. As Russia’s foothold is now dismantled, they will be forced to use the same narrow forest line again to infiltrate or the mined open fields to try to push towards Filiia, which is held firmly by the Ukrainian marines.

Overall, this operation shows that Ukraine’s counterattacks are not just about reclaiming territory, but also about dismantling the Russian positions that could threaten future advances. By striking the flanking force before it could establish a foothold, the marines prevented Russia from turning Ukrainian momentum into a vulnerable, overstretched push. Just as importantly, the operation demonstrated how coordination between infantry, drones, artillery, and ground logistics can allow a smaller force to defeat an enemy without relying on large armored formations. If Ukraine can maintain this pressure, Russian forces may struggle to protect their own positions while simultaneously preparing attacks to stop the Ukrainian advance toward Velyka Novosilka.