Russia’s war on Ukraine. 12.03.26
Operational situation
On the Northern Slobozhansky Direction, the 80th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 14th Army Corps fought for Chervona Zoria. Russian forces attacked near Sopych and Mala Korchakovka.
Forward units of the enemy’s “Sever (North)” Operational Grouping, having crossed the state border by 1–2 km, continue to consolidate in the border zone on Ukrainian territory in Sumy Oblast on the Hrabovske–Ryasne and Kolotylivka–Pokrovka directions, attempting to hold border terrain in the area of the villages of Pokrovka, Popivka, Vysoke, and Hrabovske. The enemy is attempting to bring Pokrovka fully under control and advance to Ryasne.
On the Southern Slobozhansky Direction, Russian forces attacked near Prylipka, Vovchanski Khutory, and Hrafske, in the direction of Zybine. The advance of forward units of the enemy’s “Belgorod-Kharkiv” Tactical Grouping has been halted for several weeks. Forward units of the 44th Army Corps and the 6th Combined Arms Army continue attempts to advance southward along the eastern bank of the Siverskyi Donets river in the general direction of Synelnykove–Symynivka. The Tactical Grouping command is attempting to create conditions for a further advance of the main forces in the direction of Vovchansk–Bilyi Kolodyaz, covering their western flank. Ukrainian Defense Forces counterattacks in the Prylipka area, which took place during fighting for the Synelnykove–Tsehelne–Vilcha–Lyman area, severely complicated the tactical situation for infantry groups of the enemy’s 128th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 6th Combined Arms Army that broke through to Hrafske and Symynivka; their logistics are extremely strained, being conducted through relatively narrow corridors under Defense Forces fire control from both flanks. The enemy is also unable to advance from the direction of Vovchansk in a southeasterly direction, as it is forced to conduct intense fighting on the southeastern outskirts of the city, where Ukrainian Defense Forces hold several positions.
On the Kupyansk Direction, Ukrainian Defense Forces clear the substation north of Kivsharivka and counterattacked near Oleksandrivka.
Russian forces attacked in the direction of Kupyansk, near Petropavlivka, Kucherivka, Novoplatonivka, and Cherneshchyna. The enemy’s theater command is redeploying the 1st Consolidated Motorized Rifle Regiment of the Russian Armed Forces Aerospace Forces from the Vovchansk Direction to the Kupyansk Direction. Assault units of the 153rd Tank Regiment and the 245th and 272nd Motorized Rifle Regiments of the 47th Tank Division failed to break through to Kupyansk-Vuzlovyi and thereby contribute to the dissection and elimination of the Defense Forces bridgehead east of Kupyansk. Units of the 27th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade and the 121st and 122nd Motorized Rifle Regiments of the 68th Motorized Rifle Division of the 6th Combined Arms Army were unable to roll up the Ukrainian defensive positions on both banks of the Oskil from north to south in the Kupyansk area.
On the Sloviansk Direction, Russian forces attacked near Lyman, Yarova, Drobysheve, Stavky, Dronivka, Rai-Oleksandrivka, Platonivka, Riznykivka, Kryva Luka, Zakitne, and Nikiforivka, in the direction of Pazeno and Yampil.
Ukrainian Defense Forces counterattacked near Svyatohirsk.
On the Kostyantynivka Direction, Ukrainian Defense Forces struck infiltration group positions east of Kostyantynivka, advanced north of Ivanopillya, southwest of Berestok, in the south of Kostyantynivka, and in the east of Illinivka.
Russian forces attacked near Kostyantynivka, Ivanopillya, Pleshchiivka, Berestok, Illinivka, Stepanivka, Rusyn Yar, and Sofiivka, in the direction of Novopavlivka.
On the Pokrovsk Direction, Russian forces attacked near Nove Shakhove, in the direction of Novyi Donbas, near Ivanivka and Hryshyne, in the direction of Shevchenkove, near Rodynske, Bilytske, Sukhetske, Myrnohrad, Kotlyne, Udachne, Novopidhorodnie, and Molodetske.
Ukrainian Defense Forces counterattacked from Vilne and struck enemy infiltration groups northwest of Udachne and in the northwest of Hryshyne.
On the Oleksandrivka Direction, Ukrainian Defense Forces struck northwest of Filiya, liberated Novohryhorivka, and counterattacked near Hai. Fighting continues for Novohryhorivka and Berezove. Ukrainian Defense Forces struck a command post (presumably of the 114th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 51st Combined Arms Army) in Avdiivka and an ammunition depot in Shyroka Balka.
Russian forces attacked near Novopavlivka, Muravka, Novomykolayivka, and Novohryhorivka, in the direction of Verbove.
On the Huliaypole Direction, Ukrainian Defense Forces are clearing the southeastern outskirts of Rizdvyanka and counterattacking near Rizdvyanka, Vozdvyzhivka, and Pryluky.
Russian forces attempted to advance near Rizdvyanka, attacked near Huliaypole, Svyatkove, Varvarivka, Svyatopetrivka, Staroukrainka, and Verkhnya Tersa, in the direction of Vozdvyzhivka, near Zarichne, Zalizne, Hirke, and Myrne, in the direction of Huliaypilske.
On the Orikhiv Direction, Russian forces attacked near Prymorske and Stepnohirsk, toward Magdalynivka, near Luhivske, Bilohirya, and Shcherbaky.
Ukrainian Defense Forces struck enemy air defense system elements near Bahativka with UAVs, logistics depots near Pryshyb and Maryanivka, a UAV depot near Novozlatopil, the command post and depot of the 108th Air Assault Regiment of the 7th Air Assault Division near Pryshyb, fuel and lubricants depots near Berdyansk and Kuznetsivka, and a fuel depot in Berdyansk.
Supporting operation:
Ukrainian Defense Forces struck the “Kuibyshev-Azot” chemical plant in Toliatti, Samara Oblast; the “Metafraks” chemical plant in Hubakha; fuel depots in Dzhankoi and Azovske in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea; and the 64N6E radar of an S-400 SAM battalion in Sevastopol.
General conclusion:
On the Vovchansk Direction, Russian forces initially commit large numbers of poorly trained infantry to suppress the Ukrainian defense through numerical superiority, after which better trained but smaller units are committed to battle.
The shift by the “Zapad (West)” Operational Grouping command of the main effort axis from Kupyansk to the 47th Tank Division of the 1st Tank Army’s offensive sector has not led to a radical change in the situation on the direction.
Over a month of intense fighting, the enemy managed to advance 3.5–3.7 km in the direction of Stepova Novoselivka–Pishchane, operating along the railway leading to Kupyansk, but further enemy advance toward Kupyansk-Vuzlovyi, Kivsharivka, and Kurylivka was stopped. Individual enemy infantry groups periodically break through to the eastern outskirts of Kurylivka and attempt to consolidate on the northeastern outskirts of Kivsharivka but are unable to bring these areas under stable control. Enemy attempts to attack from north to south, in the directions of Lyman Pershyi–Zaoskillya, Lyman Pershyi–Kucherivka, and Vilshana–Petropavlivka, have been unsuccessful.
On the Sloviansk Direction, Russian forces use Mavic FPV drones to manage infiltration groups, providing these groups with GPS trackers and sending route coordinates to infiltrators’ mobile phones. Group logistics are conducted using ATVs, motorcycles, and minibuses. Ukrainian Defense Forces UAV operators strike Russian vehicles at a depth of 10 to 15 km behind the front line.
On the Sloviansk Direction, the majority of the enemy’s infantry are contract soldiers, primarily financially motivated, as stated by approximately 90% of captured enemy personnel.
Both Ukrainian and Russian forces are primarily focused on identifying and destroying strike UAV operators and UAV command infrastructure on the Kostyantynivka–Druzhkivka Direction. The enemy prioritizes strikes against Ukrainian logistics.
In the Dobropillya area, Russian forces are attempting to seize Dobropillya and Bilytske and have conducted unsuccessful assaults on both. The enemy is compensating for reduced ground attacks due to difficult terrain conditions by increasing the intensity of UAV and loitering munition employment.
The “Tsentr (Center)” Operational Grouping command has been forced to significantly limit the scale of offensive operations on the Dobropillya Direction, primarily in the 51st Combined Arms Army’s offensive sector. It has currently concentrated its efforts in the 2nd Combined Arms Army’s sector, attempting to break through to the near approaches to Dobropillya from the south, operating primarily in the direction of Pokrovsk–Hryshyne. Meanwhile, the forces of the 51st Combined Arms Army, which sustained significant losses in previous fighting for Myrnohrad and the bridgehead on the Kazennyi Torets, have been forced to significantly limit their offensive operations, conducting sporadic attacks only in the directions of Rodynske–Shevchenko and Sukhetske–Bilytske, i.e. attempting to direct them as close as possible to the main effort axis of the 2nd Combined Arms Army’s Hryshyne–Novooleksandrivka thrust, covering its flank. On the Dorizhne–Novyi Donbas and Nove Shakhove–Vilne directions, the enemy has somewhat reduced attack intensity and in places halted entirely. Having reached the quarries south of Kucheriv Yar, the aggressor has made no concentrated attempts to seize Kucheriv Yar itself, periodically attacking northward with individual infantry groups. At the same time, the 2nd Combined Arms Army command of the “Tsentr (Center)” Operational Grouping is attempting to break through to Novooleksandrivka via Hryshyne and has achieved tactical success. After a month of fighting for Hryshyne, the army’s forward elements seized it and approached Novooleksandrivka from the east and south. The enemy is also continuing to advance in the direction of Udachne–Serhiivka, where its forward units have seized the mine north of Udachne and approached Serhiivka from the south. While the 2nd Combined Arms Army (27th Motorized Rifle Division, 15th and 30th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigades), reinforced by elements of the 41st Combined Arms Army, continues to accumulate assault infantry in its forward elements and conducts offensive actions on various sectors and axes, the 51st Combined Arms Army has effectively limited such actions to its left flank alone, adjacent to the 2nd Combined Arms Army.
Russian forces have reduced the intensity of guided aerial bomb strikes on the Pokrovsk Direction due to Ukrainian counterattacks on the Oleksandrivka and Huliaypole Directions, although previously the Pokrovsk Direction accounted for up to 25% of total guided aerial bomb strikes. Ukrainian Defense Forces maintain fire control over key roads and approaches leading to Pokrovsk, while Russian forces use the urban terrain to deploy units and conceal them for attacks on areas north of Pokrovsk and Hryshyne. The enemy lacks stable positions within Hryshyne. The enemy is transferring individual units from the Pokrovsk Direction to the Oleksandrivka Direction. The enemy’s UAV operational depth is limited to a zone of 15–20 km from the front line.
On the Orikhiv Direction, Russian forces are increasingly employing cheap Molniya UAVs to strike both Ukrainian frontline positions and rear areas.
The “Tsentr (Center)” Operational Grouping’s offensive toward Dobropillya does not today appear entirely justified from the standpoint of operational necessity, which is defined by the enemy’s priority of the Sloviansk–Kramatorsk Direction as the main objective of its summer offensive campaign. The envelopment and subsequent assault of Dobropillya will consume not only significant time but will divert considerable forces and assets that could be employed far more effectively in the context of the forthcoming offensive operation toward Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, on the Lyman, Sloviansk, or Kostyantynivka Directions.
To break through to Dobropillya and conduct its assault, Russian command will be forced to reinforce the “Tsentr (Center)” Operational Grouping, since this grouping, having not yet broken through to Dobropillya, is already forced to limit its offensive operations in scale and scope due to insufficient forces — for example, the 51st Combined Arms Army will already need to be very seriously replenished in order to restore its ability to advance on a more or less broad front, while the 2nd Combined Arms Army, after its breakthrough to the near approaches to Dobropillya from the south — during which it will also sustain significant losses — will in future require combat capability restoration measures, as will the 51st Combined Arms Army already now.
Change in the line of contact (LoC), directions of attacks and counterattacks:
There were 128 combat engagements on various fronts.
On the Northern Slobozhansky and Kursk Directions, Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled an enemy assault.
On the Southern Slobozhansky Direction, the enemy assaulted Ukrainian Defense Forces unit positions near Prylipka.
On the Kupyansk direction, the enemy attacked 3 times in the direction of Novoplatonivka and Podoly.
On the Sloviansk Direction, 13 enemy attempts to penetrate the defense near Drobysheve and Cherneshchyna, and to advance in the area of Zakitne and toward Rai-Oleksandrivka and Dronivka were stopped.
On the Kostyantynivka Direction, the enemy carried out 22 attacks near Kostyantynivka, Ivanopillya, Illinivka, Berestok, and Sofiivka.
On the Pokrovsk Direction, 24 enemy assault actions were stopped in the areas of Bilytske, Nykyforivka, Rodynske, Myrnohrad, Kotlyne, Udachne, Muravka, Novopidhorodnie, and Novoplatonivka.
On the Oleksandrivka Direction, the enemy attacked 3 times in the areas of Ternove, Zlahoda, and Dobropillya.
On the Huliaypole Direction, 21 enemy attacks took place in the areas of Huliaypole, Novoukrainka, Zaliznychne, Tsvitkove, and Myrne.
On the Orikhiv Direction, one combat engagement took place with the enemy near Stepove.
On the Prydniprovske Direction, Ukrainian units repelled an enemy attack near Bilohrudyi island.
Changes in the enemy disposition:
The 1st Battalion of the 238th Artillery Brigade of the 8th Combined Arms Army shells Ukrainian positions and UAV command posts in Illinivka with reconnaissance support from the 10th Tank Regiment of the 20th Motorized Rifle Division of the 8th Combined Arms Army and the 77th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 7th Military Base of the 49th Combined Arms Army. The 72nd Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 3rd Army Corps, the 103rd Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 150th Motorized Rifle Division, and the 1194th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 4th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 3rd Combined Arms Army strike in Kostyantynivka.
The 120th Separate Marine Infantry Battalion of the Baltic Fleet operates in the direction of Dobropillya.
The 90th Tank Division of the 41st Combined Arms Army operates on the Oleksandrivka Direction; the division’s 6th Tank Regiment has sustained heavy losses. The division’s 30th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion operates in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.
The 14th Separate SOF Brigade strikes near Lyubytske; the 37th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade of the 36th Combined Arms Army strikes near Vozdvyzhivka and Rizdvyanka; the 5th Separate Tank Brigade of the 36th Combined Arms Army operates in the direction of Vozdvyzhivka.
Possible operation situation developments:
The enemy has begun preparations for this year’s summer campaign. Two offensive operations should be expected starting from the end of April 2026 — the Sloviansk-Kramatorsk and the Orikhiv-Zaporizhzhia operations. The disruption of the enemy’s summer offensive will lead to a prolonged loss of offensive capabilities, depletion of resources, and will provide a real chance to end the war. The Lyman, Sloviansk, and Kostyantynivka Directions are acquiring strategic significance, as the enemy’s military-political leadership is urgently requiring several convincing operational victories that can be presented as victory in the entire war.
The enemy “Sever (North)” Operational Grouping will continue to operate simultaneously along the Northern Slobozhansky Direction, the Southern Slobozhansky Direction, and the Velykyi Burluk Direction and will attempt to seize as large an area as possible in Sumy Oblast and Kharkiv Oblast with the aim of subsequent political bargaining for their exchange for territories in Donetsk Oblast that the enemy will be unable to seize.
On the Southern Slobozhansky Direction, in the Vovchansk area, the enemy “Belgorod–Kharkov” Tactical Group will continue attempts to break through along the eastern bank of the Siverskyi Donets in the southern direction and advance as far as possible in the Vovchansk–Bilyi Kolodyaz direction. Attempting to advance in the general Vovchansk–Staryi Saltiv direction, the Tactical Group command will try to secure the right flank of its main forces, which will advance toward Bilyi Kolodyaz.
In the Kupyansk area, Russian forces will intensify operations along the Pishchane–Kurylivka line and further toward Kupyansk-Vuzlovyi, as well as along the Kolisnykivka–Hlushkivka line and further toward Kivsharivka and Kupyansk-Vuzlovyi. The 6th Combined Arms Army of the enemy “Sever (North)” Operational Grouping will advance simultaneously on three directions: toward Staryi Saltiv, Velykyi Burluk, and in the Kupyansk area. The army’s troops will attempt to advance from the Dvorichanske bridgehead in the Krasne Pershe–Novovasylivka and Dvorichna–Ridkodub directions, attack in the Milove–Ambarne direction with the aim of capturing the latter and will try to outflank from the north and south the defensive strongpoint of the 16th Army Corps of Ukrainian Defense Forces in the Kolodyazne area. The 2nd Motorized Rifle Division of the 1st Tank Army will attempt to eliminate the bridgehead of the 16th Army Corps of Ukrainian Defense Forces on the Oskil east of Kupyansk.
On the Sloviansk Direction, the command of the enemy’s 3rd Combined Arms Army has an immediate task to reach the Mykolaivka – Nykanorivka line with its main forces, that is, to reach the near approaches to Sloviansk from the east, and reach the Vasylivska Pustosh – Vasyutynske line with part of its forces, that is, the near approaches to Kramatorsk from the east.
On the Kostyantynivka direction, the enemy “Yug (South)” Operational Grouping will attempt to seize the Druzhkivka–Kostyantynivka agglomeration by enveloping the flanks of Kostyantynivka, while simultaneously breaking through to the near approaches to Druzhkivka, after which it will seize Kostyantynivka by assault and push Ukrainian Defense Forces out of the Druzhkivka area under the threat of encirclement. Enemy forces will advance toward the Malotaranivka–Semenivka–Bilokuzmynivka–Komyshuvakha area north of Druzhkivka. Ukrainian Defense Forces will be forced to withdraw from the area between Kostyantynivka and the Kleban-Byk Reservoir under the threat of encirclement to the area north of road T0504, which will slow the assault actions of the enemy’s 3rd Army Corps in Kostyantynivka.
On the Dobropillya Direction, in the near term the enemy will attempt to break through to the northwest, striking with the adjacent flanks of the 2nd and 51st Combined Arms Armies and breaking through to the Novohryshyne–Dobropillya (village)–Chernihivka–Shevchenko area, i.e. reaching the near approaches to Dobropillya city from the south. In the operational zone of the “Tsentr (Center)” Operational Grouping, Russian forces can no longer simultaneously break through to Dobropillya from the south, southeast, and east, meaning they are already forced to accomplish this task sequentially. It is likely that the 2nd Combined Arms Army will first break through from the direction of Pokrovsk to the near approaches to Dobropillya from the south, after which the main effort of the “”Tsentr (Center)” Operational Grouping command will shift to the 51st Combined Arms Army’s sector, which will break through to the city from the east and southeast, following which the assault on Dobropillya will begin.
The 51st Combined Arms Army’s attempts to advance north of Biletske, envelop Dobropillya from the east, and simultaneously break through to the Dobropillya – Kramatorsk road will become increasingly difficult to pursue in combination. The army’s main strike direction will shift to the south of Biletske, but the overall tempo of the offensive in the other sectors of its bridgehead will decrease.
Should Ukrainian Defense Forces continue advancing south along both banks of the Yanchur river and reach the Uspenivka area, the enemy’s 5th Combined Arms Army will be forced to halt its offensive and redeploy its right flank to face north to avoid a breakthrough by the Defense Forces’ 10th Army Corps into its rear. The army’s troops will have to withdraw from positions north of Huliaypole (along the Khaychur river). The situation for the enemy’s “Vostok (East)” Operational Grouping may deteriorate further if Ukrainian Defense Forces break through to Temyrivka, in which case a gap of up to 8 km along the front will open between the 5th and 36th Combined Arms Armies.
On the Prydniprovske direction, the command of the enemy’s “Dnepr” Operational Grouping will continue trying to take control of most of the island zone in the Dnipro delta in the direction of Kherson, will try to create a tactical bridgehead on the right bank, and to eliminate the tactical bridgeheads of the 30th Marine Corps of Ukrainian Defense Forces in the area of the automobile and railway bridges near Antonivka.
Russian operational losses from 24.02.22 to 12.03.26
Personnel - almost 1,276 760 (+780);
Tanks – 11,766 (+3);
Armored combat vehicles ‒ 24,197 (+20);
Artillery systems – 38,319 (+58);
Multiple rocket launchers (MLRS) – 1,681 (+1);
Anti-aircraft warfare systems – 1,329 (+1);
Vehicles and fuel tanks – 83,034 (+243);
Aircraft - 435 (0);
Helicopters – 349 (0);
UAV operational and tactical level – 173,068 (+2,102);
Intercepted cruise and other missiles – 4,403 (0);
Boats/ships – 33 (0).
Humanitarian + general:
According to the Air Force Command, on the night of 12 March Russian occupying forces attacked Ukraine with 94 strike UAVs of various types, including Shahed, Herber, and Italmas. More than 60 of the launched drones were Shaheds. As of 09:00, air defense in the north, south, and east of the country shot down and suppressed 77 enemy drones. Hits from 16 strike UAVs were recorded at 11 locations, and debris fell at one location. The attack is ongoing, with several enemy UAVs remaining in Ukrainian airspace.
According to Menska community and the State Emergency Service, at one o’clock in the morning on 12 March Russian occupying forces attacked the community in Chernihiv Oblast. A 15-year-old girl was killed in the strike, and her parents were injured. Damage to two residential buildings was also recorded.
On the night of 12 March, Russian forces attacked Kherson Oblast. At around 10:00, a hospital in Kherson was shelled, injuring three people, one of whom was hospitalized. At 10:30, a 47-year-old woman in Bilozirka came under fire and was hospitalized with blast trauma and shrapnel wounds. At 11:40, in Zelenivka a couple (aged 61 and 60) was injured in a strike on the yard of a private house; their condition is assessed as moderate.
According to Deputy Prime Minister for the Reconstruction of Ukraine Oleksiy Kuleba, on 12 March a Russian UAV struck a railway station in Sumy Oblast. The explosion damaged diesel locomotives, railway tracks, and the station building. An enemy UAV also attacked railway infrastructure in Mykolaiv Oblast, where a diesel locomotive was damaged. There were no casualties in either attack.
According to State Emergency Service Kharkiv Oblast spokesperson Yevhen Vasylenko, overnight Russian forces attacked the central part of the town of Zolochiv with UAVs, damaging administrative, commercial, and residential buildings. While State Emergency Service units were working at the scene, the enemy carried out repeated strikes, damaging a fire and rescue vehicle and injuring six rescuers. Two of them were hospitalized with blast trauma. In addition, three hours later the Russian army struck another State Emergency Service vehicle that was responding to a call; no personnel were injured.
According to Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration head Ivan Fedorov, two patrol police officers sustained shrapnel wounds during a Russian attack on Zaporizhzhia on Thursday. Another enemy strike on the city left 15,958 residential consumers and 38 commercial consumers without electricity, while 25,473 consumers remain without heat supply.
According to Zaporizhzhia Oblast Military Administration head Ivan Fedorov, Russian forces struck Komyshuvakha in Zaporizhzhia district. The attack damaged residential buildings and a man was injured.
According to the Kharkiv City Council, on the night of 12 March part of Kharkiv was left without electricity. The cause was a Russian attack on a transformer substation in the Kyivsky district of the city.
According to Dnipropetrovsk Oblast Military Administration head Oleksandr Hanzha, Russian forces attacked Nikopolsky, Synelnykivsky, and Kryvorizky districts with UAVs and artillery more than 50 times. In Nikopolsky district, private houses, an enterprise, and a petrol station were damaged; a 78-year-old woman and an 18-year-old boy were injured. In Synelnykivsky district, fires broke out as a result of shelling and two men (aged 58 and 60) were injured, one of whom is in serious condition. Infrastructure was damaged in Hrushivska community of Kryvorizky district.
According to the Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture of Ukraine, a technical oil spill into the Dnister river occurred as a result of the Russian attack on the Dnister hydroelectric power plant on 7 March 2026. On 10 March, oil slicks were detected in the area of the village of Liadova in Vinnytsia Oblast. The contamination spread downstream into the territory of Moldova, including the area of the village of Naslavcha. The ministry notes that the incident poses a transboundary environmental threat.
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