Who Would've Thought! Russian Units Join Ukrainian Counteroffensive! - RFU News

Today, the biggest news comes from the Novopavlivka direction.

Here, Russian fighters have returned to the battlefield, but this time, they are fighting for Ukraine. As the front shifts southwards, new footage shows how Russian soldiers are storming Russian lines, helping Ukrainians to accelerate counterattacks that now stretch across two regions.

As previously reported, Ukrainians started a counterattack in western Donetsk, where Ukrainian forces pushed back Russian units from exposed frontline villages near the Mokri Yali River. The aim was to collapse vulnerable salients, reset the frontline, and gain more favorable terrain, especially while Russian battalions were still overextended from their previous advances.

Now, a new player on the Ukrainian side has joined the fight. The Russian Volunteer Corps, a unit made up entirely of Russian citizens who rejected Putin’s so-called special military operation, has joined the battle on the Ukrainian side. Newly released footage shows the conducting of house-to-house clearing in Russian-occupied villages, targeting Russian positions with FPV drones, and capturing enemy troops and weapons. In one of the key engagements, the unit’s assault groups advanced through treelines near Andriivka-Klevtsove and engaged entrenched Russian positions. Bombers and tanks supported the push, while FPV drones isolated defenders by striking dugouts and movement corridors. By the end of the operation, the Russian volunteer Corps had taken sixteen Russian soldiers prisoner, with dozens more killed or wounded.

The volunteer unit was not operating alone, because Ukrainian special forces conducted a parallel assault in the same village, reportedly eliminating over 90 Russian troops and capturing 5 more. They also seized several Russian strongpoints near the settlement, likely forward observation posts, which gave them better fire control over the surrounding terrain. The footage now makes it clear: the attack began from the west, with special forces, softening up enemy positions and clearing the path for the main assault units to follow.

With early success confirmed, the Ukrainian command has now expanded the operation. The 225th Assault Brigade, best known for breaching Russian defenses during its successful offensive in the Kursk region, has redeployed and launched a new thrust further south. Combat footage from Vorone village shows the 225th using Bradley armored vehicles to engage Russian positions and clear treelines. This push appears to be aimed at eliminating Russian infiltration groups that had tried to bypass the frontline and threaten Ukrainian supply nodes near Sosnivka. According to reports, this southern thrust stopped what could have been a serious Russian breach. It is a clear sign that Ukraine is not only regaining ground but actively reinforcing weak points and stabilizing the entire sector.

What makes this so effective is that, first, Ukrainian units are relying heavily on drone-coordinated assaults, allowing them to strike Russian positions from the air before moving in with ground units. Second, the area offers unusually favorable conditions for Ukraine’s tactics, because the terrain includes open fields and light treelines that improve drone connectivity and provide clear sightlines. There are no deep gullies or dried riverbeds, terrain features that usually disrupt drone signals. Finally, the Russian positions here are poorly prepared, and because this was not a long-held front, Russian troops were never able to inherit solid fortifications. Their trenches lack top-down protection, making them highly vulnerable to drone-dropped munitions.

The result is that Russian forces have been forced into passivity because after Ukraine’s initial strikes, Russian soldiers had to retreat into underground dugouts and basements, reducing their ability to move or coordinate defense. Ukrainian footage shows several Russian positions taken almost intact, with defenders surrendering rather than holding ground.

Overall, Ukraine’s counteroffensive in this sector is not only regaining territory, but it is also systematically undoing months of slow Russian gains. Once again, Russian units appear to have hit their operational ceiling, as seen in Sumy; they can advance through weaker positions but struggle to hold ground under pressure. That this collapse is now being accelerated by Russian nationals themselves from the Russian Volunteer Corps, which adds a powerful symbolic layer. And with the 225th Brigade, which broke through Russian lines in Kursk, reinforcing the front, Ukraine is turning battlefield momentum into political messaging.