Russia's war on Ukraine. 09.04.25
Operational situation
On the Kursk direction, Russian forces advanced along the road to the northwest of Guevo, attempted to advance north of Hornal, reach Oleshnia, advanced near Basivka toward Loknia, and continued attacks near Oleshnia, Guevo, Hornal, and Loknia. The 106th Airborne Division attempts to take fire control of the H07 Sudzha – Yunakivka highway using UAVs. The enemy captured Guevo, expanding its penetration in the Basivka area. The enemy is attempting to completely push units and subdivisions of the "Siversk" Operational-Strategic Group (OSG) out of the territory of Kursk Oblast and to create and hold a sanitary zone with a depth of up to 10–15 km from the state border on the territory of Sumy Oblast of Ukraine.
Ukrainian Defense Forces expelled an enemy raid group from Loknia, struck a warehouse complex intensively used by the enemy in Ozerki, Kursk Oblast.
Forward units of the 76th Air Assault Division and the 83rd Separate Air Assault Brigade, after crossing the Ukrainian state border north of Novenke, captured Basivka and are trying to advance toward Loknia and cut the H07 road in the area of Yunakivka. In this direction, the enemy has penetrated Ukrainian territory to a depth of up to 6 km. Assault units of the 106th Airborne Division and the 11th Separate Air Assault Brigade advance toward Gogolevka – the international automobile border crossing "Sudzha" and in the direction of Melovoy tract – Oleshnia. Assault companies from the 155th and 810th Separate Marines Brigades and the 177th Separate Marines Regiment, supported by several North Korean units, attack in the general direction of Guevo – Hornal in order to fully push Ukrainian Defense Forces units beyond the state border line in this area.
On the Belgorod direction, Russian forces slightly advanced southwest of Demidovka; the 34th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 49th Army advanced near Popovka. Fighting continues near Demidovka and Popovka. Up to two battalions of the 155th Separate Marines Brigade have arrived in the areas of Goptarovka – Romanovka and Grafovka – Prilesie to prevent further advancement of Ukrainian Defense Forces near Demydivka and Prilesie.
Ukrainian Defense Forces destroyed bridges near Grafovka and Nadiivka.
On the Kharkiv direction, Russian forces are trying to improve their tactical positions near Vovchansk, using underground communications for movement and storage of supplies.
On the Kupyansk direction, Russian forces attempted to advance southwest of Zakhidne, east of Petropavlivka, and attacked near Kindrashivka, Mala Shapkivka, Pishchane, Stepova Novoselivka, Bohuslavka, Kruhlyakivka, Novoplatonivka, Zahryzove, Pershotravneve, toward Shyikivka and Nadiya, and near Hrekivka and Olkhivka.
On the Lyman direction, the 144th Motorized Rifle Division of the 20th Army captured Katerynivka. Russian forces advanced northwest, west, and east of Katerynivka, northwest of Novolyubivka, and in Novу, attempting to take control of Torske; they attacked near Novomykhailivka, Ridkodub, Zelena Dolyna, Yampolivka, and Torske. The enemy is attempting to regain positions lost after Ukrainian counterattacks.
On the Siversk direction, Russian forces attempted to advance near Verkhnyokamianske along the ridge north of the settlement, and attacked near Hryhorivka, Bilohorivka, and Vasyukivka.
On the Kramatorsk direction, Russian forces attacked near Chasiv Yar, Kurdyumivka, and toward Bila Hora.
Ukrainian Defense Forces counterattack in the center of Chasiv Yar.
On the Toretsk direction, Russian forces advanced northwest of Toretsk, attempted to advance near Ozaryanivka, west of Panteleymonivka, and attacked near Toretsk, toward Dyliivka, Dachne, Druzhba, and toward Petrivka, Leonidivka, and Shcherbynivka.
Ukrainian Defense Forces are counterattacking on the western outskirts of Toretsk.
On the Pokrovsk direction, Russian forces slightly advanced on the northeastern outskirts of Shevchenkove, conducted an assault near Yasenove, and attempted to capture Bohdanivka, Troitske, and Orikhove.
Ukrainian Defense Forces slightly advanced west of Kotlyne and continue conducting local counterattacks along the entire direction to slow down enemy advancement and threaten its communications southwest of Pokrovsk; they repelled an assault near Sribne.
On the Novopavlivka direction, Russian forces attempted to advance west of Rozlyv, near Konstyantynopil, and attacked near Andriivka, toward Ulakly, Oleksiivka, and near Burlatske.
On the Huliaypole direction, the 57th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 5th Army advanced northwest of Burlatske toward Shevchenkove; the 37th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 36th Army is trying to advance north near Novyi Komar. The enemy attacked near Vesele, Skudne, Dniproenerhiya, Vilne Pole, Pryvilne, and toward Shevchenko.
On the Orikhiv direction, Russian forces advanced near Mali Shcherbaky, Shcherbaky, Stepove, Kamianske, and Lobkove. The enemy is attempting to keep Ukrainian Defense Forces logistics under UAV fire control from Zaporizhzhia to the east of Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
General conclusion:
The enemy grouping of forces on the Sumy direction is capable of conducting a limited-scale offensive operation (up to 10 km in depth and up to 30 km along the front) to create a buffer zone on the territory of Sumy Oblast. The group is not capable of breaking through a prepared defense, let alone advancing to the city of Sumy. It is also not capable of holding a buffer zone if it is created.
The composition, size, and combat readiness of the enemy’s Kursk Grouping of Forces allow it to conduct local offensive actions of tactical scale.
Russian forces have recently moved beyond the western outskirts of Toretsk and to the southwest of Toretsk near Panteleymonivka and Oleksandropil, which may prompt the Russian military command to reconsider the priorities of offensive operations to the northeast of Pokrovsk, should their forces achieve more significant successes in the Toretsk – Kostyantynivka direction.
The enemy has slightly advanced toward the border of Donetsk and Dnipropetrovsk Oblasts in recent weeks, especially to the west of Preobrazhenka.
Russian forces were unable to break through the defense of the “Khortytsia” Operational-Strategic Group (OSG) before the 20th and 150th Motorized Rifle Divisions of the 8th Combined Arms Army concentrated in the areas of Vozdvyzhenka and Toretsk, respectively. However, the Russian military command was forced to commit them to the operation prematurely to maintain operational tempo in these areas. As a result, Russian forces have not achieved significant success northeast of Pokrovsk and have only advanced 5–7 km north of Vozdvyzhenka over the past two months.
Russian forces attempt to cut the T0504 Pokrovsk – Kostyantynivka highway northeast of Pokrovsk, bypass Pokrovsk from the west, and attack in the direction of Novopavlivka. They have achieved local successes northeast of Pokrovsk toward the T0504 highway and southwest of Pokrovsk in the direction of Novopavlivka but try to advance south and southwest of Pokrovsk.
The Russian Aerospace Forces attempt to use Shahed UAVs in dense groups to strike targets simultaneously, whereas previously they attacked in dispersed combat formations to complicate air defense efforts. The enemy routs Shahed UAVs via different paths to concentration areas outside targeted cities, forming groups of 10–15 UAVs, and then launching attacks. The Russian Aerospace Forces have changed their UAV employment tactics, now loitering several kilometers from their targets at high altitudes before attacking in groups. The enemy has increased the number of UAV launch areas from three to five and focuses on targets closer to the border in northeastern Ukraine, leaving the Air Defense of the Defense Forces less time to respond.
The ongoing Russian offensive on Kostyantynivka from multiple directions underscores the enemy’s persistent efforts to capture the “fortress belt,” even though the offensive operation may take several years.
Ukrainian Defense Forces captured several Russian servicemen – citizens of China – near Bilohorivka (east of Siversk) and Tarasivka (northeast of Pokrovsk).
Change in the line of contact (LoC):
There were 161 combat engagements on various fronts.
On the Kupyansk direction, the enemy conducted two assault actions near Stepova Novoselivka and Zahryzove.
On the Lyman direction, the invading army attacked eight times near Hrekivka, Katerynivka, and Kolodyazi.
On the Kramatorsk direction, Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled three enemy attempts to advance in the areas of Vasyukivka, Chasiv Yar, and Kurdyumivka.
On the Toretsk direction, the enemy attacked 14 times near Ozaryanivka, Toretsk, and Leonidivka.
On the Pokrovsk direction, the occupiers made 42 attempts to dislodge Ukrainian Defense Forces from their positions in the areas of Kalynove, Yelyzavetivka, Lysivka, Shevchenko, Zvirove, Udachne, Uspenivka, Novooleksandrivka, Kotlyarivka, Bohdanivka, and Andriivka.
On the Novopavlivka direction, the enemy attacked seven times near Konstyantynopil, Rozlyv, Dniproenerhiya, and Burlatske.
On the Huliaypole direction, the enemy made an unsuccessful attack toward Vilne Pole. Additionally, the enemy carried out airstrikes on Huliaypole, Voskresenka, Maliivka, and Sichneve.
On the Orikhiv direction, two enemy assaults were repelled near Stepove.
On the Prydniprovske direction, the enemy carried out an airstrike on Kozatske.
On the Kursk direction, two Russian attacks were repelled. The enemy carried out four airstrikes.
In the Black Sea-Azov naval operational area, the enemy naval group on combat duty consists of:
Mediterranean Sea: 3 ships, including 3 cruise missile carriers; the total salvo is 26 cruise missiles.
Supporting operation:
There were no strikes.
Changes in the enemy disposition:
The enemy’s “Sever (North)” Operational Grouping on the Kursk direction includes the 44th Army Corps (22nd and 30th Motorized Rifle Regiments of the 72nd Motorized Rifle Division, 34th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade (mountain)), the 51st, 119th, and 137th Airborne Regiments of the 106th Airborne Division, the 237th, 234th, and 104th Air Assault Regiments of the 76th Air Assault Division, 56th Air Assault Regiment of the 7th Air Assault Division, 11th, 83rd Separate Air Assault Brigades, 61st, 155th, 810th Separate Marines Brigades, 177th Separate Marine Regiment, and up to four brigades of the Armed Forces of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (numerically equivalent to two brigades of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation). The strength of the enemy’s Kursk Grouping of Forces is up to 65,000 military personnel, up to 120 tanks, over 480 armored fighting vehicles, about 660 artillery systems and mortars, up to 180 multiple launch rocket systems.
The 22nd Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 72nd Motorized Rifle Division of the 44th Army Corps, the 40th Separate Marines Brigade of the Pacific Fleet, and the 177th Separate Marines Regiment of the Caspian Fleet are engaged in fighting for Guevo.
The 155th Separate Marines Brigade of the Pacific Fleet is defending in the area of Grafovka – Nadiivka.
The 41st Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 72nd Motorized Rifle Division of the 44th Army Corps operates on the Kharkiv direction.
The 27th Artillery Regiment of the 6th Motorized Rifle Division of the 3rd Army Corps operates near Predtechyne; units of the 217th Airborne Regiment and the 215th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion of the 98th Airborne Division operate near Chasiv Yar.
The 36th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 29th Combined Arms Army attacks near Bahatyr, the 40th Separate Naval Infantry Brigade of the Pacific Fleet attacks in Odradne.
The 430th, 656th Motorized Rifle Regiments, 200th Artillery Brigade of the 29th Combined Arms Army, and the 14th Separate SOF Brigade operate in the direction of Shakhtarsk.
The 291st Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 42nd Motorized Rifle Division of the 58th Combined Arms Army operates in the direction of Zaporizhzhia.
Possible operation situation developments:
The plan for the enemy's spring-summer offensive campaign in the Southwestern Theater of Operations may be as follows: a simultaneous breakthrough towards Kostyantynivka and Druzhkivka from the south and southeast (from the direction of Toretsk and Vozdvyzhenka), as well as from the northeast (from the direction of Chasiv Yar), followed by an advance towards Kramatorsk from the south while simultaneously advancing towards Slovyansk with the forces of the 20th and 25th Combined Arms Armies of the "Zapad (West)" Operational Grouping through Lyman.
In Sumy Oblast, key enemy objectives that could provide stability to a buffer zone may include the heights between Yunakivka and Khrapivshchyna, the wooded area to the northeast of Sumy from Radkivka to Mohrytsya, and the Psel River. Based on this, the enemy’s operational tasks in this direction may include taking control of the area of Bilovody – Loknia – Yunakivka – Yablunivka, seizing at least the eastern part of the wooded area west of Mohrytsya, and reaching the line of Velyka Rybytsya – Myropillya along the Psel River. The enemy may also attempt to break through from the border toward Vorozhba and Bilopillya and cut off the operational lateral route between Sumy and Novhorod-Siverskyi. The implementation of such a plan would require the enemy command to covertly deploy a strike force in the area of Tiotkino.
The command of the enemy’s “Zapad (West)” Operational Grouping has redeployed no fewer than two battalions of the 27th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 1st Tank Army from the south to the area of Lyman Pershyi and will seek to take advantage of a series of its tactical successes on the Kupyansk and Lyman directions. A regrouping of elements of the 2nd Motorized Rifle Division and the 4th Tank Division of the 1st Tank Army to the operational zone of the 20th Army on the Lyman direction has been carried out. These forces and assets are likely to appear soon on both enemy bridgeheads. The commitment to battle near Dvorichna of two to three battalions of the 27th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade, two battalions each of the 1st Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 2nd Motorized Rifle Division and the 423rd Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 4th Tank Division — in the direction of Katerynivka and Nove, in the area of the bridgehead on the Chornyi Zherebets River — should be expected. The manning levels and combat capabilities of the aforementioned battalions will be somewhat reduced.
Possible enemy courses of action on the Lyman direction may also include attempts to use the expansion of the bridgehead on the western bank of the Zherebets River near Ivanivka for the further capture of Lyman. The enemy may try to advance toward Karlivka from Nove and toward Drobysheve from Kolodyazi, attempting to reach and secure the Karlivka – Shandryholove – Drobysheve line while simultaneously intensifying the offensive near Torske and advancing on Lyman from the east.
Ukrainian Defense Forces may launch an offensive in the direction of Lyman Pershyi – Horobivka – Tavilzhanka, which, if successful, will lead to either the enemy's rapid retreat from the Dvorichna bridgehead or its encirclement there. Such a development would result in the loss of combat capability of the entire enemy's 6th Combined Arms Army.
The operational plan of the 8th Combined Arms Army on the Kostyantynivka direction is to envelop the tactical group of the "Khortytsia" OSG, which is defending south of Kostyantynivka between Oleksandropil and Tarasivka from the flanks. The enemy aims to encircle and destroy this group or, if unable to do so, force it to withdraw from the area south of Kostyantynivka in a northwestern direction under the threat of encirclement. The ultimate goal of these actions is a two-pronged breakthrough from the southwest and southeast toward the area of Stepanivka – Berestok – Pleshchiivka – Yablunivka, followed by a simultaneous assault on Kostyantynivka from this area and from the direction of Chasiv Yar. After the reaching the Poltavka–Pleshchiivka line, the enemy’s 3rd Combined Arms Army, reinforced by an airborne forces group, will attempt a rapid breakthrough from the bridgehead on the Siverskyi Donets–Donbas canal in the Chasiv Yar area, advancing from the northeast toward Kostyantynivka.
On the Zaporizhzhia direction, in the near future, the command of the enemy’s 58th Army may expand the section of its offensive actions along the front, counting on the reinforcement by elements of the 42nd Motorized Rifle Division returning from the Kursk group of forces.
Russian operational losses from 23.02.22 to 09.04.25
Personnel - almost 927,580 (+1,270);
Tanks – 10,576 (+4);
Armored combat vehicles – 22,021 (+10);
Artillery systems – 25,912 (+52);
Multiple rocket launchers (MLRS) – 1359 (0);
Anti-aircraft warfare systems – 1,127 (+1);
Vehicles and fuel tanks – 43,345 (+118);
Aircraft - 370 (0);
Helicopters – 335 (0);
UAV operational and tactical level – 31,973 (+56);
Intercepted cruise missiles – 3,145 (0)
Boats/ships – 29 (0).
Humanitarian + general:
Since the evening of April 8, Russian occupiers attacked Ukraine with 55 strike UAVs of the Shahed type and decoy drones of various types. As of 8:30, the downing of 32 strike UAVs has been confirmed. 8 enemy decoy drones were lost from radar (without negative consequences). Due to the enemy attack, Kharkiv and Dnipropetrovsk Oblasts were affected.
In the evening of April 8, Russian forces launched a massive drone strike on Kharkiv. Preliminary data indicates more than 20 successful strikes on the city. Impacts occurred in at least four districts. Fires broke out, and four people were injured.
As a result of the night shelling of Dnipro, eight people sought medical help, two of whom are being treated on an outpatient basis, and six remain in the hospital.
Late in the evening of April 8, residential areas of Kramatorsk came under a massive drone attack. 3 people, including a child, were injured.
On April 9, around 08:30, Russians shelled Shyroka Balka in Kherson Oblast, an artillery shell hit a residential house, and a man was killed.
On April 9, as a result of continued shelling in Donetsk Oblast, two people were killed, and two more were injured. In the village of Bahatyr of the Velykonovosilkivska community, Russian shelling took the life of a 50-year-old man. In Kostiantynivka, a 40-year-old woman was killed. A resident of Siversk and a resident of Lyman were injured. Both settlements sustained serious destruction due to enemy fire.
In Kupyansk, a man was injured by an anti-personnel mine and was hospitalized. Also, in the Snihurivska community of Mykolaiv Oblast, a tractor struck a mine during spring fieldwork.
Since February 2022, due to massive Russian strikes and pinpoint attacks, 63,000 energy infrastructure facilities in Ukraine have been damaged, according to the Ministry of Energy.
Since the beginning of the full-scale Russian invasion, 186 Ukrainian artists and 102 media workers have been killed in Ukraine.
In Donetsk Oblast, under Ukrainian government control, around 283,000 civilians remain, of whom 21,500 are children. In communities of Donetsk Oblast classified as active combat zones, 202 children still remain. Mandatory evacuation in the oblast continues.
Counterintelligence of the Security Service of Ukraine detained two agents of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB), who were preparing explosives for terrorist attacks against eight city council members of Kamianets-Podilskyi, Khmelnytskyi Oblast. Enhanced security measures have been introduced in the city.
In the territory of Donetsk Oblast controlled by Ukrainian authorities, 131 frontline settlements are without water, gas, or electricity.
The leader of the “Donetsk People’s Republic,” Denis Pushilin, issued a decree regarding the implementation of the conscription plan for residents of the occupied part of Donetsk Oblast into the Russian army, including residents of occupied Mariupol. The document states that citizens born between 1995 and 2007 are subject to conscription.