{
  "id": 2103485,
  "title": "Russia and Ukraine are sending assault groups deep behind enemy lines, blurring the front line",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/russia-and-ukraine-are-sending-assault-groups-deep-behind-enemy-lines",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-20T08:49:13.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Meduza (English)",
    "slug": "meduza-english",
    "url": "https://meduza.io/en/feature/2026/08/20/russia-and-ukraine-are-sending-assault-groups-deep-behind-enemy-lines-blurring-the-front-line"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine has evolved, with attacks now originating from deep within enemy territory. Small assault units are infiltrating enemy lines, sometimes covering distances of up to 10 kilometers, to create instability and disrupt their adversaries' defenses. This strategy leaves these units isolated from main forces, requiring minimal supply lines. The battlefield has become increasingly fluid, with neither side maintaining stable control over towns or roads. In recent weeks, Ukrainian forces have made gains in the Kramatorsk area, capturing Kostiantynivka and pushing towards the village of Oleksiievo-Druzhkivka. However, Russian forces have not been able to significantly advance in this region over the past fortnight. Meanwhile, Russian forces have opened a rear attack on Ukrainian troops near Chasiv Yar, forcing a retreat along the Siverskyi Donets–Donbas Canal. Russian troops have also pushed forward along the Kazenyi Torets River, nearing Druzhkivka, while another group fights for Dobropillia, the largest settlement in the northwestern Donetsk region. The front line near the borders of the Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, and Dnipro regions has seen the most intense raids, with both sides battling to control scattered settlements and small towns. The Ukrainian offensives in the Haichur and Mokri Yaly valleys aimed to slow Russian progress eastward, but the Russian Vostok group has been stalled for months. Now Russian troops have resumed their advance, utilizing a new tactic of deploying assault units similar to those used in past guerrilla warfare.",
  "summary": "The nature of the war has changed once again. Not only in the rear, where the intensity of mutual strikes has increased and warehouses belonging to online marketplaces and other businesses have often become targets. There have also been changes at the front, in tactics. Traditional infiltration by small groups has reached a new level. Now assault units try to slip through undetected not for…",
  "key_points": [
    "Russian and Ukrainian forces deploy assault groups deep behind enemy lines.",
    "Units infiltrate up to 10 kilometers to disrupt defenses.",
    "Battlefield becomes increasingly fluid with no stable control."
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 3,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Euronews",
        "title": "Banderol, Russia’s new low-cost weapon testing Ukraine’s air defences",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/banderol-russias-new-low-cost-weapon-testing-ukraines-air-defences",
        "published": "2026-08-20T10:29:09.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Euromaidan Press",
        "title": "Russia stops mass-producing Kinzhals amid accuracy problems, but 50 missiles remain ready for Ukraine",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/20/russia-stops-mass-producing-kinzhals-amid-accuracy-problems-but-50",
        "published": "2026-08-20T10:59:11.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}