If my suspicions weren't already quite high yesterday that Ukraine plans to launch the next phase of their offensive shortly, they sure are now. Ukraine's military shared yet another "shh" video, normally done right around the time a major operation is due to begin, as a reminder to their citizens to not share the movement or location of Ukrainian troops. This has also had a bit of a cooling effect on cideos bwing published from the last couple of days; a lot of reported advances from yesterday still remain unconfirmed.
For instance, the alleged liberation of Zherebyanky along thr Zaporizhzhia front is still unconfirmed. Some footage has emerged, showing a battle taking place directly to the north od Zherebyanky. In my mind this means it is likely still under Russian control, but Ukraine at least managed to advabce somewhat into the plateau region. Russian sources also claim to have expelled Ukraine from Pyatykhatky yet again, but with a lack of evidence backing that up, I think it is likely that the battered village is still either under Ukrainian control or is controlled by neither military.
The front near Robotyne seems to be stalemated for the time being. Nee satellite imagery shows an expansion of the areas subjected to heavy bombardment, but it's not clear if these are new developments, or several days old. Regardless, Ukrainian forces still seem ti be stuck on thr outskirts of the town, unable to enter Robotyne itself despite being quite close.
Ukraine, however, seems to have had a bit more success along the south Donetsk front. I think at this point it is probable that the reported liberation of Pryyutne was premature, as there is still no footage from the village itself showing it to be under Ukrainian control. Some reports have listed it as contested which while plausible, i find unlikely due to its small size. However, Russian sources pretty universally agree that Russis hss lodt ground between Pryyutne and Staromaiorske. Pryyutne on its own is fairly important, and will likely be abandoned once Ukraine closes in on Staromaiorske, if Ukraine hasn't already retaken Pryyutne.
Russian milblogger Rybar has reported an interesting development along the Dnipro, a claim which I have not seen addressed by anyone else. Reportedly, a Ukrainian reconnaissance grouo crossed the Dnipro east of the Antonovskiy bridge, and entered the town of Krynky. If Ukrainian troops did indeed make the landing and establish a beachhead here, it would fully be on the east bank of the Dnipro, a step up from their othrr operations in the area which currently are all, technically, on river islands. NASA's FIRMS also reported a large number of heat anomalies in the area, but it's worth stressing that these were all seemingly in forests and fields; especially given the time of year, wild fires are common, so its not necessarily indicative of Ukrainian shelling the area in support of the alleged landing. This will be an area to keep an eye on over the next day or two, to see if there is any corroboration or confirmation of Rybar's reports.
Ukraine's advances in the Klishchiivka srea have slowed down, at least based on what is publicly available. Pro Ukrainian sources largely point to a consolidation of territory that Russia has revebtly lost, such as part of the large fortifications nesr the suburb, as well as the forest strips to the west of Klishchiivka. Some have suggested that Ukraine advanced by a kilometer in the area, but I think its possible that they are merely talking about sreas which they have now firmly secured. Regardless, it seems as if Ukraine is gearing up to push into Klishchiivka itself, as Russia seems unwilling to abandon the suburb despite its location in a valley. Ukrainian forces will be able to attack the town with a height advantage, with both naturally occurring and constructed fortifications bolstering their positions. Russia fighting for the suburb instead of retreating to a more advantageous area seems like a foolish decision to me, but it does appear to be their planned course of action.
North of Bakhmut, Ukrainian forces have stepped up their bombardment of Russian positions within the suburb of Yahidne. There were no further advances reported towards Berkhivka today, but Russia's position in the area is certainly not one that I envy. Russia's lines here will be strained whether or not they like it; they have no goid options if they are unable to push Ukraine back from the edge of Berkhivka. For now, Ukraine seems content to secure their newly acaiired positions while they soften up Russian defenses.
In the Luhansk front, Russian sources claimed thst Ukraine actually went on the offensive, reportedly attacking away from the Zherebets river and towards the Svatove-Kreminna line. However, it doesn't seem as if any territory changed hands. Russia had a little bit of success in the Novoselivske area, securing the entirety of Kuzemivka and pushing into and around Novoselivske. However, Ukraine still controls the majority of Novoselivske.
Zelenskyy visited first Slovakia, then Turkey today. Slovakia pledged to help Ukraine domestically produce military equipment, while Turkey promised that they would support Ukraine's goal of joining NATO, a signal made even stronger when compared to their open discontent with Sweden. To see such a strong embrace of Ukrainian membership in NATO was a little surprising to me, given that Turkey still maintains ties with both Russia and Iran (although their relations are certainly complicated).
The United States officially announced that they will provide Ukraine with cluster bombs, until domestic production of minitions reaches the desired levels (allegedly some time next spring). President Biden expressed that this was a decision he had thought a lot about, and the United States immediately received blowback from a number of countries and international organizations, because cluster munitions have a fairly high rate of munitions which fail to immediately explode, leading to long term civilian casualties years after hostilities have ended. However, neither Ukraine nor Russia have shown any qualms about using such munitions against the other, and other countries have already supplied Ukraine with cluster munitions as well. Unfortunately, they are a component of the war, and the decision by the United States won't be changing that. If Ukraine sticks to using them against defenses in rural area (which they have signaled that they will do with thr American-provided cluster munitions), hopefully the chance for future civilian casualties will be slow. In addition, many of these areas are already extensively mined, and will require significant efforts to clear up after the war regardless. Russia has hurled such munitions straight at cities, but if Ukraine sticks to trenches and minefields, the humanitarian impact should be comparatively small.