Brief frontline summary – May 18, 2025
The enemy's defense in the Bogatyr - Dachnoe - Alekseevka strongholds is crumbling at the seams. Report by Marat Khairullin with illustrations by Mikhail Popov.
Active movements by the Russian Armed Forces are observed along the entire line of combat contact on the Donetsk axis: from the city of Dzerzhinsk (Toretsk) to the settlement of Bogatyr.
In the northern sector (Dzerzhinsk), there is intense activity along the Druzhba-Konstantinovka railway line. An assault is underway on the Dyleevka railway station.
Further south, at the junction of the Pokrovsk and Konstantinovka sectors, advances are being made toward the settlement of Romanovka, located on the H-20 highway.
The network of Ukrainian Armed Forces strongholds in the Gnatovka–Zarya–Staraya Nikolaevka area is being cut off from supplies. This area will likely fall entirely under RF control in the coming days.
Simultaneously, an opportunity has emerged for our assault groups to push into the rear of the Shcherbinovka–Petrovskoye sector, roughly 4 km in a straight line. According to all forecasts, the line of combat contact will soon stabilize along the Alexandropol–Shcherbinovka line.
Shifting westward along the line of combat engagements, the right flank of the Pokrovsk axis has become increasingly active.
RF assault groups have secured positions on the outskirts of the settlement of Novaya Poltavka and advanced northeast of Malinovka, enveloping the AFU stronghold network in the Novaya Poltavka area from the west and threatening encirclement. This is forcing the enemy to retreat northward.
(Note: According to Mikhail Popov, Malinovka and Novaya Poltavka are only half liberated.*)
On the left flank of the salient, the settlement of Malinovka remains isolated from coordination with AFU units near Novaya Poltavka. Both enemy fortified areas (Malinovka and Novaya Poltavka) are now vulnerable to flanking attacks.
Russian Defense Ministry statement:
"Servicemen of the 29th Guards Combined Arms Army of the 'East' Group have liberated the settlement of Bogatyr on the South Donetsk axis during active offensive operations, raising Russian flags."
This is a major blow to the enemy’s defenses on the southern sector of the Donetsk axis.
The Bogatyr–Dachnoe–Alekseevka stronghold cluster was the primary obstacle following the destruction of the Ugledar–Konstantinovka–Andreyevka sector. (Dachnoe is slightly to the northwest of Zeleny Kut. You'll see it on the next map below.)
With the liberation of Bogatyr, the enemy’s defense in this node is considered breached. The next objective is Alekseevka. Neutralizing this area will allow RF forces, without fear for its right flank along the Volchya River, to advance along the road toward the settlement of Komar, enveloping the enemy’s defensive sector of Otradnoye–Komar–Fyodorovka from the north.
In summary, we see how the tactic of "small cuts" and stretching the enemy’s reserves thin across the entire frontline is yielding tangible results.
Translation Note: When Russian is written by hand, the "г" (when typed) looks like a backwards "S," and the "и" looks like our "u." Also, the typed Russian "т" looks like a western "m" when it is written by hand. Lastly, the "д" turns into something that looks like a "d" in Russian script as well.
For each killed Russian soldier, the UK/US "deciders" must pay with 10 their own lives.
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