Russian forces attacking Ukrainian positions near Siversk suffered devastating losses on or before 12 March 2025, with fewer than half of their vehicles returning from the assault, Forbes says.
The Luhansk Operational Tactical Group reports that on or before 11 March, at least 41 Russian vehicles, likely from the 3rd Army Corps, attacked positions held by Ukrainian 30th and 54th Mechanized Brigades and 81st Airmobile Brigade east of Siversk along the border between Donetsk and Luhansk Oblasts. Ukrainian defenders used mines, drones, and artillery to repel the assault, with only 18 vehicles returning to Russian lines, many of them damaged. The attack reportedly resulted in 159 Russians killed or wounded.
This defeat highlights a broader pattern across the eastern front, where Russian offensives have stalled or reversed despite recent success in Kursk Oblast.
“Yearlong Russian offensives around Chasiv Yar, Toretsk and Pokrovsk have all lost momentum as Russian losses exceeded the Kremlin’s capacity to generate fresh troops and vehicles,” Forbes reports. Ukrainian forces are now counterattacking in all three sectors, regaining territory that cost Russia “tens of thousands of troops and thousands of vehicles.”
Seven months after Ukrainian forces crossed into Russia’s Kursk Oblast, creating a significant salient in western Russia, Ukrainian troops have withdrawn back across the border. However, Forbes notes this retreat should not be interpreted as a sign of Ukrainian weakness elsewhere on the front of Russia’s 37-month full-scale invasion.
Military analysts suggest Russia concentrated its elite forces in Kursk, particularly the Rubicon Center of Advanced Unmanned Systems drone group. According to Forbes, Rubicon’s attacks on Ukrainian supply lines in Kursk starting on 25 February ultimately catalyzed the Ukrainian withdrawal.
“The concentration of forces in Kursk may have depleted Russian field armies farther south—and afforded Ukrainian brigades the chance to reverse some Russian gains,” Forbes says.
With operations in Kursk concluded, Russia’s elite Rubicon drone group may redeploy to the eastern front, potentially shifting the balance of power again. However, Forbes reports that “the Russians are trying to advance along several axes in the region, and Rubicon can’t cover all of them,” suggesting that “it’ll take more than one elite drone group to restore Russian momentum in Ukraine.”
Related:
- Russia forms infantry units from nuclear forces, deploys them to Toretsk
- Russian troops enter Sudzha in Kursk Oblast and cross into Ukraine to sever supply routes
- Russia advances in Bilohorivka, last outpost of Luhansk Oblast
- Frontline report: Ukraine thwarts triple Russian breakthrough attempt at vital Siversk supply hub
- Frontline report: Ukraine’s drones decimate Russian motorbike assault, leaving single survivor
- Russians fuel motorcycles for one-way attacks on Ukrainian positions in Donetsk Oblast
