Brief Frontline Report – July 3rd, 2025
Report by Marat Khairullin and Mikhail Popov.
Kharkov Direction
The Russian Ministry of Defense reports: "On the Kharkov axis, the settlement of Melovoe in Kharkov Oblast has been liberated through decisive combat actions." (Marked on the map with a Russian flag.)
The village of Melovoe (approximately 500 residents) is located near the Russian state border (Belgorod Oblast) on the right bank of the Kozinka River, a tributary of the Oskol River (it can't be seen on the map, but the Kozinka runs along the Russian/Ukrainian border next to Melovoe). On the opposite bank lies the Russian village of Butyrki in Valuysky District of Belgorod Oblast.
Melovoe stretches 6 kilometers along the Kozinka River (which marks the state border) and adjoins the village of Chugunovka (Chuhunovka) upstream. A large forested area borders the village's western outskirts.
While we can not know the exact operational tasks assigned by national leadership to Russian Armed Forces in this sector, we can outline several possible scenarios:
1. The liberated settlements of Topoli, Stroevka and Melovoe in Ukraine's Kharkov Oblast are forming a buffer zone along the state border that will likely expand both laterally (connecting the positions) and in depth to ensure security of Russian territory.
2. Velikiy Burluk - a key Ukrainian command and logistics hub for this axis - lies 22 km west of Melovoe. Access to it is protected by the village of Khatnoye (Ukrainian: Hatnoe), located 8 km from Melovoe. A likely next step would be advancing on Khatnoye, its liberation and establishment of a stronghold to threaten Velikiy Burluk. This would require supporting operations toward Ambarnoe village. Capturing Ambarnoe would enable creation of a fortified zone (Melovoe-Khatnoye-Ambarnoe) with control of strategic heights and ravines leading to the Ukrainian defensive area of Grigorovka (Hryhorovka)-Kolodeznoye-Mitrofanovka, effectively flanking it from the north to enable operations against Velikiy Burluk.
To the southwest (16 km from Melovoe) lies Kolodeznoye village, which, together with Grigorovka and Mitrofanovka, forms a Ukrainian defensive cluster protecting eastern and southern approaches. This entire sector is held by Ukraine's 151st Separate Mechanized Brigade (155 омпбр).
The terrain northeast of Grigorovka-Kolodeznoye-Mitrofanovka features advantageous ridgelines between the Verkhnyaya Dvurechnaya River and ravines (Tretyakov Yar, Krutaya, Popov Yar; you can see their locations marked by brown Cyrillic text as you move southeast from Ambarnoe) that could facilitate strikes against the Ukrainian flank and center. Any Russian push here would force Ukraine to commit reserves to this sector, potentially weakening other fronts - an opportunity Russian command would likely exploit.
Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk) Direction
The Russian Ministry of Defense reports: "Units of the "Center" Group have liberated the settlement of Razino in Donetsk People's Republic through active combat operations." (Marked by a Russian flag.)
The small village of Razino (Razyno on the map, approximately 150 residents) is located on the west bank of the Kazenny Torets River. To secure it, Russian assault units crossed the river, entered the village and cut the Sofiyevka-Novoeconomicheskoe supply route - splitting Ukrainian defensive lines near Rodinskoye and isolating the Vladimirovka-Yablonovka area (a prior Ukrainian reserve deployment zone) from Pokrovsk (Krasnoarmeysk).
By establishing control of the Kazenny Torets' left bank near Razino, Russian forces gain operational flexibility to develop offensives in three directions: north toward Novotoretskoye, west toward Rodinskoye, and south toward Novoeconomicheskoe. All three are suburbs of Pokrovsk, and advances along any axis would enable flanking maneuvers to cut off the city's outer defenses.
The ever tightening noose will progressively dislodge Ukrainian forces from Krasnoarmeysk.
8 years of concrete and steel, defensive buildup, by the Ukronazi's being dismantled by the best fighting force in the world today. May the bodies of the mercenaries of the west be buried in unknown graves and their memories be as dust in the wind.