Rusakov and the 14th Guards fought in Operation Little Saturn in the second half of December, during which the division captured Bokovskaya and Morozovsk, cutting off rail access to Stalingrad, then advanced towards Voroshilovgrad. During Operation Gallop, Rusakov succeeded to command of the division on 26 January 1943 as it advanced with the 3rd Guards Army. By 15 April, the division was relocated to the Belyi Kholodets area to take up defensive positions as a result of the German counteroffensive in the Third Battle of Kharkov. With the 57th Army of the Steppe Front, Rusakov led the division in the Belgorod–Kharkov Offensive, then in the advance into Left-bank Ukraine. In early September, after the capture of Merefa and the crossing of the Mzha River, the 57th Army did not see further offensive success. Rusakov, by then a colonel, was relieved of command of the division on 11 September for failing to timely comply with an order to capture Mikhailovka and Borki, and demoted to chief of staff of the 58th Guards Rifle Division.