Russia Turns to 1-3-Man Infiltration Groups as Offensive Stalls Across Multiple Fronts

Russian forces continued offensive operations across several sectors of the front on Aug. 15 and 16 but failed to make confirmed advances.According to the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), Russian troops attacked in the northern Sumy region, northern Kharkiv region, the Kupyansk, Borova, Slovyansk, Dobropillya, Pokrovsk, Novopavlivka, Hulyaipole and western Zaporizhzhia sectors. Neither Russian nor Ukrainian sources reported ground activity in the Kherson sector on Aug. 16.JOIN US ON TELEGRAMFollow our coverage of the war on the @Kyivpost_official.Despite the broad pressure, ISW did not confirm a Russian breakthrough on any of these axes.Small infiltration groups probe Ukrainian positionsOne notable development was the continued use of small Russian infantry groups to penetrate Ukrainian defensive positions.The deputy commander of a Ukrainian battalion operating in the Sumy sector said Russian troops are using groups of just one to three soldiers to move between Ukrainian positions.He said the groups exploit grass more than 2 meters (6.6 feet) high, which makes them difficult to detect, while Russian forces continue aerial reconnaissance, counterbattery fire, remote mining and drone strikes.The Ukrainian officer also said Russian forces showed no signs of weapons shortages and were using drone attacks and remote mining to complicate Ukrainian logistics.Similar infiltration tactics were reported farther south. ISW said Ukrainian forces recently cleared Russian infiltrators from western Kostyantynivka, while Russian troops continued attempting to establish positions in contested areas. Other Topics of Interest US Military YouTuber Paid His Own Way to Cover Ukraine's Front Line Refusing outside funding to preserve his credibility, US veteran Justin Taylor spent two weeks in Ukraine, witnessing nightly drone attacks and life near the front line firsthand. Russian claims of advances remain disputedRussia also continued to claim battlefield gains that were not independently confirmed.The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that Russian forces had seized Kudiivka north of Kharkiv, portraying the settlement as a potential “gateway” toward Kharkiv city. However, a source reporting on the Russian Northern Grouping of Forces said Russian troops were fighting inside the settlement but had not established strongholds there.A similar discrepancy emerged around Vilcha, northeast of Kharkiv. Russian authorities claimed to have captured the settlement in December 2025, but a Russian source described it as a contested “gray zone” on Aug. 16. The source said Russian troops were entering the area without reliable information about minefields, leaving them exposed to Ukrainian artillery and drone strikes.ISW also reported on Russian claims of gains in the Oleksandrivka sector. Russian milbloggers claimed Moscow’s forces had retaken several settlements previously liberated by Ukraine, but ISW assessed that Ukrainian forces had liberated at least 626 square kilometers (241.7 square miles) of tactically significant territory in the area between January and August 2026.Russia intensifies strikes ahead of future offensivesAlthough Russian ground advances remained limited, Moscow continued to intensify its use of glide bombs and drones against Ukrainian positions and logistics.Russian forces repeatedly struck Slovyansk and other parts of the so-called Fortress Belt with FAB glide bombs, first-person-view (FPV) drones and Molniya-2 strike drones. ISW reported that Russia is conducting a battlefield air interdiction campaign designed to degrade Ukrainian ground lines of communication and prepare the area for future attacks on Slovyansk and Kramatorsk.Russian forces also used glide bombs against Dobropillya, including strikes reportedly targeting Ukrainian drone positions and temporary deployment sites.At the same time, Ukrainian forces continued striking Russian logistics and military infrastructure. Ukrainian troops hit Russian ammunition and equipment warehouses in the occupied Donetsk region and struck a railway bridge in the occupied Zaporizhzhia region that Russian forces use for logistics.Ukraine also targeted a Russian Bastion-M coastal missile system in occupied Crimea, which Russia uses to launch Onyx and Zircon missiles against Ukraine.Overall, ISW’s assessment shows that Russia continues to apply pressure across a wide section of the front, but the attacks have yet to translate into a confirmed breakthrough. Kyiv Post is Ukraine’s first and oldest English news organization, reporting since 1995. Its international reach – 97% of readers are outside of Ukraine – make it truly Ukraine’s global voice.