In the Pokrovsk direction, Russian forces recently advanced and recaptured key trench strongpoints near the town of Shevchenko.

Russian forces from the 74th Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade advanced through the low-lying ground from their positions northwest of the village of Vidrodzhennia and recaptured previously lost positions in the windbreaks on either side of the railway tracks. Additional positions were captured in the forest plantations between the windbreaks and Shevchenko.

From there, Russian forces continued to push northeast, clearing out several trench networks and reaching the primary cluster of strongpoints southwest of the intersection between the two railway lines. They managed to enter these strongpoints, seizing the positions there, forcing Ukrainian troops to withdraw to the next network of trenches to the northeast.

In addition to this, Russian forces advanced along the forest plantations to the east in the direction of the village of Novoukrainka, and also captured the forest plantations further north of the ones which were initially captured between the railway line and Shevchenko.

The eastern flank of the Russian garrison in Shevchenko is now fully secured, significantly complicating any future Ukrainian attempts to enter the town from the east and get behind Russian positions there.

+ ~1.68km² in favour of Russia.

In the Novopavlivka direction, Russian forces continue to advance and have captured further positions in the direction of the village of Troitske.

Russian forces from the 90th tank division, reinforced in the rear by the elements of the 137th separate motorised rifle brigade, advanced west from their positions in the eastern part of the forest west of the village of Preobrazhenka and completed its capture.

Once this forest was secured, Russian forces pushed south from a treeline, entering another treeline, and are approaching Troitske from the north. Ukrainian forces maintain control of the southern part of the treeline, attempting to hold a buffer zone northeast of Troitske, however a weak point has formed in the fields between two treelines. This will likely be monitored and covered by Ukrainian drones.

+ ~0.26km² in favour of Russia.

Further information on the tactical situation around the village of Troitske - the second to last village before Dnipropetrovsk Oblast.

Ukrainian forces are holding a defence in two main areas - on the treeline north of Troitske, and the treeline northeast of Troitske. Both sides have likely have problems with supplies here.

Russia has recently brought in new forces from the rear in the form of elements of the 137th separate motorized rifle brigade and unknown units from the 51st separate army and 201st Rifle Division, while the 90th Tank Division continues to operate here as usual. This will complicate defensive operations for Ukraine as they are now further outnumbered and outgunned and likely struggle with supplying the treeline north of Troitske due to a 590-metre-long field between the village and the treeline, which is complicated further by the high activity of Russian FPV drones.

Russian forces on the other hand have to travel for 790 metres offroad, or 1km along the dirt road to reach their foothold in the northern part of the treeline northeast of Troitske.

Additionally, as a result of the recent advances here, a weak spot (yellow circle) has opened up for Ukraine, with their buffer zone now being cut into two pieces. Ukraine will likely cover this weak spot with drones to prevent Russian forces from using it as a route to gain a foothold in eastern Troitske.

Its possible that the situation in the nearby village of Bohdanivka (which Ukraine recently recaptured) will play a major role too, but this partially depends on Russia's tactics. If Russia chooses to attack Troitske from the treeline northeast of the village and seize the Ukrainian positions just outside the settlement, the positioning of the Ukrainian forces in Bohdanivka and to the north of it may complicate an advance into the eastern houses of Troitske.

On the other-hand, the "Bohdanivka effect" may not be as significant if Russian forces choose to attack along the treeline north of Troitske and enter the village from here, but that would involve crossing that 590-metre-long field before even attempting to gain a foothold, not to mention having to resupply their soldiers in the houses there against the Ukrainian garrison who would likely be in a better position inside the village itself, and certainly better than their position in the treelines outside the village.

There is obviously the possibility that Russia will choose to attack and recapture Bohdanivka first, before making any direct attempts to gain a foothold in and capture Troitske. But once again, the positioning of the cover (treelines and forest plantations) in Bohdanivka is not in Russia's favour.

Of course, some may look at the map update I made showing the Russian advance along the treeline north of Troitske and think that this is the route that Russia is going down, however prior to this advance, Russia was not exerting much pressure on Ukraine's northern flank of Troitske, which allowed for easier defensive operations elsewhere near the village. This new advance may simply be the age-old tactic of stretching, probing and pressuring the front with the goal of collapsing it westwards, and in this case - away from the more difficult obstacles.

And yes, I know, this doesn't take into account the topography of the area. That will have an effect too, but I don't want this post being any longer than it is now lol

By the way, I need to thank you guys for all the support lately, it's been really amazing. I appreciate all of your kind messages, comments and DMs. It really motivates me to continue my reporting journey.

I truly love what I do, and I am so glad I have the opportunity to not only do what I love but also share it with all of you, who actually appreciate it!

I'm looking forward to improving and making my content as informative, useful and reliable as I can.

Possible launches of Storm Shadow Cruise Missiles from Ukrainian Su-24/MiG-29s over Mykolaiv in the direction of Crimea.

Launch maneuvers were confirmed west of Kherson City. It is unclear if these are simulated, of glide-bombs or of Storm Shadows.

The roads around Sevastopol Bay have been closed due to the threat of missiles.

No missiles have arrived in Crimea yet. These launches were likely simulated.

The aircraft are returning to their home air base. No threat of missiles.

At least one Russian KAB glide-bomb hit the Dniprovskyi district of Kherson City just now. A Russian reconnaissance drone was filming the strike from over the Dnipro River.

We will probably get a video soon.

The moment of the Russian KAB glide-bomb strike on Kherson City.

Russian Su-34s targeted the village of Bahatyr, Donetsk Oblast with 11 FAB-500 glide-bombs, one after another.

Forward Russian units have reached the outskirts of Bahatyr, as the village is subjected to daily glide-bomb, MLRS, artillery and drone strikes on a level rarely seen for a settlement of its size.

Unidentified cruise missile towards southern Odesa Oblast. It may hit Zmiiny Island.

Disappeared in the vicinity of Zmiiny Island. It likely hit Ukrainian forces there.

Russian forces from the 33rd Motorised Rifle Regiment (20th Guards Motorised Rifle Division) have achieved a localised breakthrough southwest of Kostyantynivka.

Map updates will come later.

Regarding the Russian soldiers in Pokrovsk:

Around 12 hours ago, Russian forces entered the city. Differing reports are emerging on whether a foothold was established in the first houses of the Parkoviy Micro-district in the southern part of the city, on Pavla Popovychna street (48.251033, 37.166207).

Radov, a more conservative Russian mapper, reports that it was either a sabotage and reconnaissance group, or soldiers who simply got lost. He stated that the Russian soldiers were killed.

Meanwhile, most Russian sources are reporting that storming operations on the city have actually begun, with Russian forces gaining a foothold after several attempts. One source (Condottiero) reported that the attacks are on the company-level, and that Russian tactical aviation is supporting the attacks inside the city.

No major Ukrainian source has commented on the matter yet.

Footage showing the moment of the assassination attempt on Serhiy Sternenko has surfaced. The SBU, who was escorting him, managed to prevent his murder and arrested the attacker: a women armed with a "Makarov" PM pistol.

Serhiy Sternenko is well known in Ukraine for his fundraising efforts for FPV drones which are sent to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He has reportedly fundraised over 176,000 drones since the beginning of the war.

He was also the former head of the Odesa Regional Branch of Right Sector. For reference, the Right Sector contains Right-wing to Far-right Ukrainians and was initially formed as a paramilitary confederation of several ultranationalist organisations. Russian State TV has repeatedly described the Right Sector as "Neo-Nazi," while the Associated Press said back in 2014 that they "found no evidence of hate crimes," but they did consider them a "radical ultranationalist group".

This is the fourth attempt on Sternenko's life so far, with the last one being in 2018. Sternenko blamed this attack on Russia.