Russian forces have advanced northeast of Siversk, geolocated video footage released on July 27 shows. The Ukrainian brigade that repelled the attack reported that the Russian forces used six tanks, three armored personnel carriers (APCs), six MT-LB armored fighting vehicles (BMPs), an armored recovery vehicle, 12 civilian vehicles, two buggies and 41 motorcycles.
This is according to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).
The Ukrainian group of troops "Khortitsa" reported on July 26 that Kiev forces had repelled a Russian motorized attack consisting of up to 80 unspecified armored and motorized vehicles northeast of Siversk, and geolocated video footage from July 27 likely shows a wave of the July 26 attack.
The Russians have long been trying to take Siversk and have been continuously attacking along the front line since at least the summer of 2024. They conducted a series of battalion-sized mechanized attacks towards Siversk in November and December 2024, but largely conducted slow, torturous infantry attacks in that direction.
They again intensified offensive operations towards Siversk in early summer 2025, and Russian bloggers began claiming in late June 2025 that sabotage and reconnaissance groups were operating on the eastern outskirts.
Recent Russian advances indicate that they may begin to launch more concentrated attacks on the city in the near future.
Russian forces appear to be using armored vehicles more frequently in some tactical attacks, after the use of armored vehicles has declined since the winter of 2024–2025. Publicly available footage shows that Russian forces have not conducted a large-scale mechanized offensive in Ukraine since April 2025. and have used motorcycles and buggies for attacks in the summer of 2025.
They have recently slightly increased their use of armored vehicles against Ukrainian positions and have conducted a series of smaller, platoon-sized mechanized attacks in Donetsk and Zaporizhia regions since early July 2025.
ISW has recently observed indications that Russia has temporarily reduced its consumption of tanks and armored vehicles over the past six months and appears to be slowly increasing its ability to renew Soviet-era armored vehicles while replenishing armored vehicle stocks by not committing armored vehicles in highly attritional attacks.
The Kremlin has reaffirmed its unwavering commitment to achieving its long-standing military goals in Ukraine, which amount to the complete surrender of Ukraine, undermining Russia's diplomatic position. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on July 27 that Russia must first fulfill the tasks of its war in Ukraine before resuming bilateral relations with Ukraine.
Peskov claimed that Ukraine and the West had rejected Russia's offers of dialogue. Kremlin officials, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, have consistently rejected U.S., Ukrainian, and European proposals to advance the peace initiative through dialogue and comprehensive ceasefire agreements.
Russia unilaterally imposed short-term ceasefires in the spring of 2025 that disproportionately benefited it during key political events, which the Kremlin then used as a weapon to accuse Ukraine of ceasefire violations.
Moscow has repeatedly stated that it seeks regime change in Ukraine, a fundamental restructuring of NATO’s Open Door Policy, and a reduction in Ukraine’s military forces so that Ukraine cannot defend itself in the future.
ISW continues to assess that Russia seeks to further delay the negotiation process in order to achieve battlefield victories and extract concessions from Ukraine and the West.
Ukrainian forces recently killed a Russian commander in the direction of Velikiy Burluk. The Ukrainian Group of Forces "Khortytsia" announced on July 26 that Ukrainian forces had killed Russian Colonel Lebedev), commander of the 83rd Motorized Rifle Regiment (69th Motorized Rifle Division, 6th Combined Army [VVA], Leningrad Military District [LVO]), operating in the direction of Velikiy Burluk.