In brief: ISW recorded no confirmed Russian advances in several sectors on Nov. 3-4, with Ukrainian counterattacks reported across the front. However, the institute assessed that Russian troops had likely consolidated positions in northwestern Kostiantynivka. The findings follow an earlier assessment that Russia lost ground overall in October for a second consecutive month.
Russian assaults produced no confirmed advances in several frontline sectors on Nov. 3-4, as Ukrainian forces conducted counterattacks, according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The Washington-based think tank detailed the developments in its Wednesday, Nov. 4 assessment, which also identified signs of Russian consolidation inside Kostiantynivka.
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Fighting remains intense around Kostiantynivka
ISW assessed that Russian troops had likely consolidated positions in northwestern Kostiantynivka, citing geolocated footage, and repeated Ukrainian strikes against Russian positions.
Ukraine’s General Staff separately reported 201 clashes across the front on Tuesday, Nov. 3, including 24 Russian assaults on the Kostiantynivka axis.
Fighting covered positions near Kostiantynivka, Rozkishne, and Vilne, as well as approaches toward several neighboring settlements. Three assaults were still underway when that battlefield update was issued.
The Ukrainian military also recorded eight attacks on the Sloviansk axis and two toward Ukrainian positions on the Kramatorsk axis.
These sectors form part of Russia’s campaign against the remaining Ukrainian-held strongholds in the northern Donetsk region, where battles over urban positions and supply routes have continued for months.
Ukraine counterattacks across several sectors
Ukrainian counterattacks were reported northwest of Sumy, east of Sloviansk and Kramatorsk, near Dobropillia and south of Orikhiv.
ISW recorded no confirmed Russian advances in those sectors or around Huliaipole.
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A Russian military-linked source also disputed Russian control of Zarichne near Lyman, describing the settlement as contested.
The General Staff’s separate battlefield update described continued Russian attacks in southern Ukraine.
Ukrainian troops repelled six assaults on the Huliaipole axis, while Russian forces made three attempts to attack positions on the Orikhiv axis.
On the Lyman axis, Ukrainian forces had repelled five attempts to advance, with another engagement still underway at the time of the update.
The military reported no Russian offensive actions on the Kupiansk, Oleksandrivka, or Dnipro river axes during that reporting period.
Russia’s wider Donetsk offensive faces setbacks
The latest findings follow an ISW assessment that Russian forces lost ground in October for a second consecutive month, despite continuing offensive operations.
In its Sunday, Nov. 1 report, the institute said Russia had achieved marginal advances toward Dobropillia by committing substantial personnel and resources.
However, it assessed that capturing the town would not automatically enable sweeping advances across the Donetsk region.
ISW also said Ukraine’s Operation Vivaldi around Lyman had disrupted Russian efforts against the northern side of Ukraine’s fortified defensive belt, affecting Moscow’s broader offensive plans.
The institute assessed that Russian commanders had not adequately adjusted those plans following the Ukrainian operation.
At the same time, its Sunday, Nov. 1 assessment described limited, localized Russian gains around Huliaipole and the western Zaporizhzhia region. It also noted that Russia had still not completed the capture of Kostiantynivka more than a year after first infiltrating the city.
Ukrainian operations have disrupted encirclement attempts
Ukrainian forces have previously disrupted plans to encircle Druzhkivka and advance toward Dobropillia.
In September, Ukraine’s First National Guard Corps Azov said a nearly two-month operation had eliminated a Russian grouping that had accumulated in the area over the summer.
The corps said Ukrainian troops first isolated the Russian positions with firepower, preventing reinforcements from arriving, before assault groups moved in.
According to Ukrainian commanders, Russian units had been trying to reach logistics routes whose loss could threaten Druzhkivka and the wider Sloviansk-Kramatorsk area.
Ukraine’s General Staff also challenged Russian territorial claims in October, rejecting announcements that Moscow had captured Kostiantynivka and Oleksiievo-Druzhkivka or reached Kramatorsk’s outskirts.
Military spokesperson Major Andrii Kovalov said Russian military chief Valery Gerasimov’s account was “built on outright falsehoods, manipulations, and exaggerations.”
Kovalov said Ukrainian troops continued holding positions inside Kostiantynivka as fighting persisted.
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