By November 2023, this counteroffensive had largely stalled in the east and Russia began making new offensive operations to capture territory, gaining control of Avdiivka and Marinka in Donetsk Oblast by February 2024.

[63] Pavlo Kyrylenko, the governor of Donetsk Oblast, stated that while the settlements of Nikolske, Manhush and Urzuf had been occupied by Russian troops, they had yet to capture any key cities, with the exception of Volnovakha.

However, the Ukrainian military denied conducting the attack and stated that it was "unmistakably a Russian rocket or another munition",[72] which was supported by an assessment of the Conflict Intelligence Team, an investigative journalism group.

[82] Haidai stated on 6 March that fighting was taking place on the outskirts of Lysychansk, Sievierodonetsk and Rubizhne, as Ukrainian units had fallen back to a new front line in order to avoid encirclement or a Russian breakthrough.

[86] On 22 March, the head of the LPR, Leonid Pasechnik, claimed that "almost 80% of the territory" of the Luhansk region was under separatist control, with Popasna, Lysychansk, Rubizhne, Severodonetsk and Kreminna remaining Ukrainian-held.

A senior U.S. defense official dismissed the purported deployment of the "older, unfit, and ill-trained" 3rd Army Corps personnel as being unable to increase Russia's overall combat power in Ukraine.

[170][171][172] On 9 September, Ukrainian forces reached the outskirts of Kupiansk and destroyed the main bridge over the Oskil river in the city center, limiting the ability of the Russian Army to retreat or to bring in reinforcements.

[199] In southern and western Donetsk Oblast, the battle of Marinka continued,[193] with DPR president Denis Pushilin claiming on 15 December that 80 percent of the city had been captured amid ongoing heavy urban combat.

Media, government officials, and eyewitnesses described the fighting in Bakhmut as a "meat grinder" as both Ukrainian and Russian troops reportedly suffered heavy casualties daily with negligible changes on the front line.

[206] Russian forces intensified their encirclement attempts of Bakhmut in the winter, as Wagner broke through Ukrainian defense lines in the salt-mining town of Soledar on 27 December, capturing Bakhmutske.

[208][209] The recapture of Soledar allowed Russian forces, spearheaded by Wagner fighters, to further flank Bakhmut from the northeastern direction and assert control over a portion of the T0513 highway towards Siversk.

Both the UK Defence Ministry and Ukraine's governor of Donetsk Pavlo Kyrylenko said the Russians were attempting a pincer movement of Bakhmut, enveloping the city from multiple directions and establishing fire control over most Ukrainian supply routes into it.

[219][220] Geolocated footage on 4 March showed Russian troops were advancing along both banks of the Berkhivka reservoir located about 4 kilometers northwest of Bakhmut, on the approaches to Khromove and Dubovo-Vasylivka villages, respectively.

[234][235] Further to the south, the grinding battle for Marinka had reduced the city to "post-apocalyptic" ruins as Russian ground units made minimal gains amid fierce urban combat with Ukrainian defenders.

[239][240] As Wagner fighters made gradual gains inside Bakhmut, Ukraine launched counterattacks on the southern and northwestern flanks of the city beginning around 10 May, resulting in Russian units abandoning positions near the Berkhivka reservoir and south of Ivanivske, on the approach to Klishchiivka.

[241] Ukraine's 3rd Assault Brigade reportedly partook in the recapture of 2 km of territory, in what Ukrainian commander Oleksandr Syrskyi called "the first successful offensive operation in the city's defense".

[240][242][243][244] Despite the Ukrainian counterattacks threatening their flanks, Wagner continued to advance inside the city and claimed to have fully captured it on 20 May, adding that they planned to withdraw from the front line and be replaced by regular Russian troops after finishing clearing operations.

[260] On 27 September, the Ukrainian military stated that "a maximum of several hundred" Wagner fighters had returned to Ukraine but dismissed their impact on the battlefield as negligible, describing them as a "remnant" force no longer fighting as a single unit—being instead dispersed throughout regular Russian units.

[262] By October 2023, Ukraine was waging an "active defense" on the Bakhmut axis after recapturing Andriivka and Klishchiivka, holding the line while conducting offensive operations to improve tactical positions when possible.

[20][263] In early October 2023, as Ukraine's larger counteroffensive nominally continued on other fronts, Russian forces began a localized offensive against Avdiivka, attempting to encircle the fortified city.

[269][273][274] On 13–14 November, Russian troops—including elements of the 98th Guards Airborne Division's "Storm" Division—advanced west of Yahidne, advancing along a tree line southwest of Orikhovo-Vasylivka towards Bohdanivka and securing new positions near the Berkhivka Reservoir in the process.

[279] Around 20 November, video emerged online of Russian forces reportedly targeting Ukrainian positions near Staromaiorske with RBK-500 cluster munitions fitted with UMPK glide bomb guidance kits.

According to The War Zone online magazine, the UMPK-fitted RBK-500s are considered highly effective against personnel and soft targets, making them a logical weapon of choice for Russia in eastern Ukraine, where fighting is dominated by trench warfare amid treelines and open terrain.

[282] General Oleksandr Syrskyi said Russian forces were using kamikaze drones and electronic warfare alongside assault groups supported by artillery to break through Ukrainian defenses on the Bakhmut front.

[305][306] On 14–16 April, Russian forces began expanding Avdiivka's northern flank, capturing the Zarya dachas and swiftly moving on to establish a foothold in Ocheretyne, creating a salient.

[317] On 6 April, Colonel-General Oleksandr Syrskyi–who succeeded Valerii Zaluzhnyi as Ukraine's commander-in-chief on 8 February–stated "Today, the fiercest battles are underway in the areas of Pervomaiske and Vodiane, as well as east of Chasiv Yar, where the enemy is trying to break through our defense lines.

The village is located just over 12 miles west of Avdiivka and lies on the approach to the T-05-04 road, one of the main supply routes for Ukrainian forces on the Donetsk front that links Pokrovsk, Kostiantynivka and Bakhmut.

Data compiled by Oryx indicates that Russian forces also lost 197 tanks, 661 armored personnel carriers (APCs), and 65 artillery systems larger than 100mm, while they had seized and recaptured 1,517 square kilometers of territory, "an area less than a third the size of Delaware".

The ISW reported that Ukrainian military observer Petro Chernyk claimed on 3 December that Russian forces are losing 1,700 troops per day and suffered 45,000 total casualties in November 2024 "as they attempted to maintain intensified offensive operations in eastern Ukraine".

[494] According to Lyudmyla Denisova, the Commissioner for Human Rights in Ukraine, four civilians were killed when a shell hit their home during the night of 9 March in the village of Slobozhanske, located in Izium Raion.