Ground Attacks and Counterattacks in Lugansk, Kharkiv, and Donbas Regions

The situation in Lugansk and Kharkiv regions

Russian troops made limited ground attacks northeast of Kupyansk and along the Svatovo-Kremennaya line on 11 May. Geolocation footage released on May 11 shows artillery units of the 6th Combined Arms Army (Western Military District) operating near Olshan (15 km northeast of Kupyansk).

The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian troops were conducting unsuccessful offensive operations in the area of ​​the Serebryansky Forest (10 km south of Kremennaya). On May 10, a Russian military blogger claimed that Russian forces carried out ground attacks near Masyutovka (12km northeast of Kupyansk), Stelmakhivka (15km northwest of Svatovoe), Makeyevka (22km northwest of Kremennaya) and Belogorovka (10km south of from Kremennaya).

Fighting in Donbas

Ukrainian forces continued to conduct localized counterattacks around Bakhmut on 11 May. Geolocation footage shows Ukrainian forces pushed back Russian forces from the T0504 Bakhmut-Vremen Yar section of the southwest Bakhmut.

Russian “military correspondents” claimed that Ukrainian forces advanced northwest of Bakhmut in the area of ​​Bogdanovka (6 km northwest of Bakhmut) and Khromovoe (immediately west of Bakhmut) after Russian forces retreated from positions north of Khromovoye. They also claimed that Ukrainian forces attacked Bakhmut to relieve pressure on the Bakhmut-Vremen Yar highway. One military blogger claimed that Ukrainian forces had reestablished positions south and southwest of Ivanovskoye (6km west of Bakhmut) and west of Klishchievka (6km southwest of Bakhmut).

Successful localized Ukrainian counterattacks likely held back Russian offensive efforts at Bakhmut by 11 May. Ukrainian officials reported that Russian forces carried out 15 ground attacks in Bakhmut and near Stupochki (13km southwest of Bakhmut), a marked decrease in the number of registered Russian ground attacks in the Bakhmut area. A Russian military blogger described the attack on Stupochki as risky.

Russian “military correspondents” criticized the Russian 4th and 374th motorized rifle brigades (2nd Army Corps) for leaving their positions northwest of Klishchievka during the Ukrainian counterattacks, and stated that the forces of the Wagner group had taken their former brigade positions to prevent deep penetration of Russian lines, presumably depriving the Wagner of personnel who might otherwise be assigned to offensive operations in Bakhmut.

Wagner owner Yevgeny Prigozhin claimed that his fighters needed to advance only 625 meters to reach the western entrance to Bakhmut, which suggests that Prigozhin is unwilling to completely abandon his goal of completing the capture of Bakhmut in favor of defense against local Ukrainians. counterattack.

It is reported that the volunteer battalion of the Republic of Tatarstan “Alga” (part of the 72nd motorized rifle brigade of the 3rd army corps) after the retreat on May 9 lost contact with social networks associated with personnel. Battalion “Alga” is one of two units of the 72nd brigade; there is no information about whether the second part of the brigade, the Molot volunteer battalion, was defeated or retreated.

On May 11, Russian forces extended limited ground attacks on the Avdiivka-Donetsk line. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Russian troops carried out unsuccessful ground attacks near Avdiivka, Maryinka (27km southwest of Avdiivka) and Novomikhailovka (36km southwest of Avdiivka).

A Russian military blogger claimed that Russian troops made minor gains west of Kamenka (5km northeast of Avdiivka) and northeast of Poprosnoy (3km southwest of Avdiivka), and continued ground attacks along the highway N20 west of Novobakhmutovka (9 km northwest of Avdiivka).

On May 11, Ukrainian forces reportedly carried out a limited and localized counterattack in the western Donetsk region. A Russian “voenkor” claimed that Ukrainian forces counterattacked and crossed the Shaitanka River near Novodonetske (12km southeast of Velyka Novoselka).

“South Axis”

On May 11, Russian troops shelled Ukrainian positions west of Huliaipole and the Kherson region. The Ukrainian southern operational command reported that Russian troops increased the intensity of shelling and fired 98 times on the western (right) coast of the Kherson region.

It is reported that against the backdrop of negotiations on the Black Sea Grain Initiative, Russian troops are becoming more active in the shelling of the Dnieper-Buzskaya mouth. Ukrainian military officials reported that Russian forces attacked Stanislav (33km southwest of the city of Kherson) and Kizomis (20km southwest of the city of Kherson) with seven KAB-500 guided aerial bombs and hit the target on civilian infrastructure in Zaporozhye with two S-300 missiles. A Russian “military commissar” said that fighting continues on Bolshoy Potemkin Island in the Dnieper Delta south of Kherson.

Russian troops are reportedly planning to “evacuate” personnel from the Zaporizhzhya Nuclear Power Plant (ZNPP) to Russia. The Ukrainian nuclear energy operator Energoatom said on May 11 that the Russian occupation authorities plan to “evacuate” about 3,100 people from Energodar.

Energoatom reported that the Russian occupation authorities are discussing the dismissal of 2,700 employees (and their families) of the Zaporizhzhya NPP who have signed contracts with the fake Zaporozhye NPP Operational Organization or another Rosatom company. Energodar said that Russian troops had banned ZNPP workers from leaving the city since the start of the occupation, and the Ukrainian General Staff noted that Russian troops had already deported several families of ZNPP workers from Energodar to the Rostov region. Earlier, ISW reported on the kidnapping of ZNPP employees by Russian troops in order to strengthen Russian control over the work of ZNPP.