Ukrainian defense forces are halting the Russian army's advance, according to the ISW
Over the past few days, Russian troops have continued offensive operations on several fronts, but have been unable to achieve any confirmed advances.
According to U.S. analysts, on August 15 and 16, Russian forces continued offensive operations in the north of Sumy Oblast but did not achieve any confirmed successes.
The ISW notes that the Russians use small infantry groups of one to three soldiers almost daily, attempting to infiltrate between Ukrainian positions.
One of the challenges for Ukrainian forces remains the tall grass, which in some places reaches over two meters. This makes it more difficult to detect small groups of invaders in a timely manner.
On August 15–16, Russian forces attempted to advance in the north of the Kharkiv region, but the Ukrainian Defense Forces halted their advance.
At the same time, the Russian Ministry of Defense claimed to have captured Kudiivka, north of Kharkiv, and attempted to portray the settlement as the “gateway” to the city.
However, the ISW does not confirm the Russian side’s claims. According to analysts, fighting continues in the Kudiivka area, and Russian troops have not established any secure strongholds there.
In the Kupiansk sector, Russian forces also conducted offensive operations on August 15 and 16 but did not achieve any confirmed advances.
Meanwhile, Ukrainian forces are holding their positions on the southern outskirts of Kupiansk.
In the Sloviansk sector, the occupiers also attempted to break through Ukrainian defenses, but the Ukrainian Defense Forces prevented them from advancing.
In addition, according to the ISW, Ukrainian forces recently cleared the area west of Kostiantynivka of Russian reconnaissance units.
Thus, despite the intensification of Russian assault operations on several fronts, as of August 16, no confirmed significant advances by Russian troops have been recorded in the aforementioned sectors of the front.
This is stated in a report by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
As of August 17, 2026, the total combat losses of Russian forces since the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine amount to approximately 1,468,760 service members.
As a reminder, two infantrymen from the 31st Separate Mechanized Brigade named after General-Horunzhy Leonid Stupnytskyi spent more than five months in frontline positions. Their story came to light after the brigade released a video about the soldiers.
