Both Sides Confirm Russian Advance
At approximately 0430 EST, initial reports from Russian military bloggers began to claim that the Russian Ground Forces had seized control of Novomykhailivka, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine. The initial report from Polk15 reads below:
“The settlement of Novomikhailovka has been completely liberated from many years of Ukrainian occupation. The enemy is retreating to the south. Our troops began clearing the village.”
These claims were repeated until about 0530 EST when the first pro-Ukrainian sources began to confirm. DeepStateUA reported:
“The map has been updated! The enemy advanced in Novomykhailivka. Battles continue in Ocheretino, Pervomaisky and near Chasovoy Yar.”
BY 0600 EST some pro-Ukrainian sources began to back pedal, claiming instead that Ukrainian troops still controlled the outskirts of the settlement, controlling about 8% and still holding on against the Russians. ZNUALive reported:
“Enemy advance by 100 m in Krasnohorivka. Additionally, 200 m northwest of Pobyeda, where the enemy is trying to enter Georgiivka from the south, because the frontal attacks are repulsed. Novomykhailivka is not completely lost! Our garrison is present in two parts of the village – to the west and to the north of the Suhi Yala river. Yes, it is ~7-8% of the village area, but still. And yes, the village will most likely be lost, because it is impossible to keep the ruins for a long time.”
Significance
Novomykhailivka is a village in Pokrovsk Raion in Donetsk Oblast of eastern Ukraine, 39.8 km southwest of the center of Donetsk city. The village was home to the Miracle of Archangel Michael Church of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine. The village has been shelled since the beginning of the Donbass War in 2014 and was completely destroyed in January 2024 when the Marinka axis shifted South. The next Ukrainian strongpoint is Kostyantynivka about 2km to the West. While this village is not strategically important, this loss signals another step in the small incremental gains made by Russian Ground Forces in Donetsk Oblast as the Russians seek overmatch in arms and personnel.
