Brief Frontline Report – June 26, 2025
Report by Marat Khairullin with illustrations by Mikhail Popov.
From the report of the Russian Ministry of Defense:
-Units of the "Center" Group continued their advance into enemy defensive positions and liberated the settlement of Novosergeevka in the Donetsk People's Republic.
-Through active and decisive operations, units of the "East" Group liberated the settlement of Shevchenko in the Donetsk People's Republic.
Yesterday we wished success to our fighters in these sectors - today we receive this news! The development of events follows the precise logic of the operational situation.
Novosergeevka
This small village (approx. 350 residents) in the responsibility of the "Center" Group is located on the right bank of the Solenaya River. Its liberation enables flanking maneuvers against the Udachnoe defensive area and relieves pressure near Kotlino. With subsequent advances toward Muravka, this also will pressure the Novopavlovka area - which is also being approached from the south - while supporting the Zaporozhye-Yalta-Zvezda (Zirka) triangle.
The operational flexibility allows the "Center" Group's command to adapt tactics to changing conditions while maintaining clear objectives. Recall that just months ago, enemy forces were preparing a flanking counterattack near Shevchenko (the one near Pokrovsk, there are several Shecvhenkos) to eliminate the Kotlino salient. Our fighters withstood all AFU counterattacks, exhausted them defensively, and now advance systematically - destabilizing enemy defenses through alternating flank strikes while the "East" grouping maintains pressure along the Yalta-Shevchenko line.
Shevchenko
This village (pop. 1,200) in the respinsibility of the "East" Group lies in lowlands near the Shirokaya Ravine connecting to the Voronaya River. It's notable for its lithium deposit located on its northeastern outskirts (0.8 km², 13.8 million tons of ore), and for hosting other rare earth elements: niobium, tantalum, beryllium, and rubidium.
This was a heavily fortified area with heights protecting its flanks. Its capture provides access to dominant heights along the Mokrye Yaly-Voronaya-Volchya watershed up to the border village of Voskresenka, located on the border between Ukraine and Russian territory. An offensive in this direction is possible, during which they will enter the village of Maliyevka (Dnepropetrovsk Oblast). As in the case of the Center group, the operational space allows for a number of solutions, depending on the situation. One of them is the approach to the village of Kamyshevakha and the partial cutting of the Ivanovka-Temirovka defense line into two parts.
Actually, niobium, tantalum, beryllium, and rubidium are all quite valuable. But the strict definition of rare-earths are lanthanides (f-block) because in the Mendeleyev's periodic table they appear next right to the alkali-earths (group 2) and have somewhat related chemical features. Even though somewhat more electronegative and less reactive.
On a different note - the map updates are excellent! At the moment, it looks as if SMO is clearing out the last vestiges of Ukrainians from that corner of the Donetsk Oblast. Instead of breaching full steam asap into the neighboring Dnepropetrovsk?
Thank you!