Brief summary from the front on March 18, 2025

Soon, the bridgeheads near Ivanovka and Makeevka will merge into a single bridgehead. Report by Marat Khairullin with illustrations by Mikhail Popov.

Simultaneously with the destruction of Ukrainian Armed Forces units and the elimination of the Sudzha pocket, we are witnessing interesting developments on two other fronts. One of these involves coordinated actions in two directions—toward Liman and the Seversk sector near Belogorovka.

In the Liman direction (above), our forces are expanding the bridgehead on the right bank of the Zherebets River near Novolyubovka and Nevskoe. It appears that soon, the bridgeheads near Ivanovka and Makeevka will merge into a single bridgehead, significantly strengthening the position of our troops and creating conditions for further advances. These advances could target both the dominant heights of the ridge between the Oskol and Zherebets rivers and in the direction of Liman. Additionally, pressure will increase on the fortified area of Torskoe-Zarechnoye and towards the settlement of Stavki (Ставки, it's really small), located between Liman and Kolodezi (Kolodyazi). (Torskoe is not labeled on the map, but it is southwest of Zarechnoye.)

In the Seversk direction, the Russian Armed Forces have secured the dominant heights near Belogorovka and are conducting assault operations towards Grigorovka (Hryhorovka). The heights near Belogorovka allow control over several settlements and enable artillery strikes against AFU units in the Kremensky forests (within the Serebryansky forestry).

Active offensive operations are also underway near the settlement of Verkhnekamenskoe, with attacks being carried out from three directions: south, east, and north. Our units have achieved success here, securing and advancing within the settlement.

The progress and maneuvers on these two fronts pose a significant threat to enemy forces in the Kremensky forests, which are an extremely challenging area for offensive operations.

The second front mentioned in the introduction is the western part of the Zaporozhye direction, where the settlement of Stepovoe was liberated just yesterday. Active combat is ongoing near the settlements of Shcherbaky and Mali Shcherbaky. In the latter, our forces have secured the southern street and advanced to the road west of the settlement. Near Shcherbaky, a number of positions south of the settlement have been taken under control.

Control of this area opens a path to Orekhov from the west and disrupts logistics between Orekhov and the settlement of Kamenskoe (Kamyanske).

The expansion of our control near the settlement of Pyatikhatki is also influencing the situation around Kamenskoe, where Russian units have managed to improve their position.

There is an expansion of the zone of activity and drone strikes north of Kamenskoe, extending to the settlements of Kushugum and Balabino (Balabyne), located near the city of Zaporozhye. Additionally, increased activity of our aviation has been noted in this area.