On Sumy Front, Ukraine Counterattacks Push Back Russians, Mirror Vivaldi Success

The lessons and benefits from Operation Vivaldi's success on the Lyman front are now being transferred to other sectors. 

On the Sumy front, Ukrainian special forces have launched a series of coordinated counterattacks which have surprised the Russians in this lightly held area, pushing them back. Just as at Lyman, this local tactical advance could become a broader offensive effort - and strategic opportunity - forcing the Kremlin to again redeploy troops from other areas to stem the threat. JL

RFU News reports:

Ukraine is beginning to turn local counterattacks into a wider problem for Russia on the entire Sumy front. The Ukrainians created a bridgehead for further operations while improving their tactical positions along the frontline in the Sumy direction. Ukraine’s Vivaldi Operation in the Lyman sector proved that carefully planned and executed counterattacks can catch the Russians off guard and roll back their advances. Russia might (be forced) to send reinforcements from the Donbas, to reinforce the less vital sector of Sumy in order to try to halt the Ukrainian advances. This would further weaken their offensive power and reduce their reserves, just as their rate of advance has already dropped significantly compared to last year.

On the Sumy front, Ukrainian forces are mounting counterattacks eastward after crossing the river. After fierce fighting in this sector, Ukrainian soldiers reentered the village of Kindrativka and pushed toward the rear of Andriivka, aiming to encircle the small settlement, while also retaking a series of treelines inside the village. This came days after Russian infiltrators were expelled from the forested area around Korchakivka. Here, the Russians managed to infiltrate the forest and take up positions there, which allowed them to accumulate and push westward.

However, the scale of Ukraine’s counterattack became visible after these Ukrainian clearing operations inside the forest. Notably, the Ukrainian advance didn’t stop, and further east they managed to fully clear the Russian presence in Marine, which the Russians had managed to infiltrate and gain a foothold in. Recapturing this village allowed the Ukrainians to push towards the village of Yunakivka, where they entrenched themselves in the southern part. As a result, they effectively created a bridgehead for further operations while improving their tactical positions along the frontline in the Sumy direction.

After this successful series of counterattacks, Ukrainian special forces of the one hundred and fortieth Special Operations Battalion operating in this sector released footage of their clearing operations. They wore ghillie suits and used the thick vegetation in the forest to conceal their movement during the raid to get as close as possible to the Russian positions without being detected by reconnaissance drones. After they managed to close in on the Russian dugout undetected, a fierce firefight erupted between the Ukrainian operators and the Russian soldiers.

The Ukrainians quickly suppressed the Russians with small arms fire, while tactically manoeuvring around them to encircle them while the Russians were pinned down. During this exchange of fire, one Russian soldier was killed, which prompted the Ukrainians to offer the remaining enemy soldier the chance to surrender. Heavily outgunned, the Russian soldier gave up, which allowed the Ukrainian operators to search the dugout and capture a phone, which can be used to extract valuable intelligence.

These Ukrainian counterattacks matter because, if they push the Russians back in the Sumy region, they could threaten a second Kursk offensive. Even the possibility of this happening again is critical for the Russians because, during the first Kursk offensive, Ukraine captured more than a thousand square kilometers of Russian territory, proving Russia is not as invincible as it portrays itself. Ukraine’s recent Vivaldi Operation in the Lyman sector also proved that carefully planned and executed counterattacks can catch the Russians off guard and roll back their advances significantly. Because of this, Russia might send reinforcements from more important sectors, such as Donbas, to reinforce the less vital sector of Sumy in order to try to halt the Ukrainian advances. This would further weaken their offensive potential and reduce their reserves, when their rate of advance has already dropped significantly compared to last year.

Overall, the real danger for Russia is that Ukraine is beginning to turn local counterattacks into a wider problem for the entire Sumy front. If Ukrainian forces keep forcing Russian units out of exposed positions, Moscow may have to spend valuable reserves simply to prevent a larger breakthrough from developing. That would create a difficult choice for Russia to either reinforce Sumy and weaken more important fronts, or accept the risk of another Ukrainian operation deep inside Russian territory. Ukraine does not need to recapture huge amounts of territory here to achieve a major effect because the threat of a breakthrough alone could force Russia to stretch its already limited manpower and reserves even further.