Russian troops are advancing in the Kupyansk, Lyman and Bakhmut sectors to capture new settlements in the Donetsk and Kharkiv regions, said the Commander of the Ground Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi.
What are the nearest targets of the Russians in the three sectors where the enemy is advancing
The enemy's offensive continues on the Kupyansk, Lyman and Bakhmut directions. The Bakhmut direction remains extremely important for the Russian occupiers. They focus their main efforts there and use the most capable units of the airborne assault troops, marines and the "Sturm Z" and "Sturm B" units formed from former criminals to conduct assault operations. The enemy's goal in this area is clear - it is an attack on Chasiv Yar, then on Kostyantynivka, Druzhkivka, Sloviansk, Kramatorsk with further reaching the borders of the Donetsk region, said Oleksandr Syrskyi.
The commander added that in the Lyman sector, Russian occupation forces started constant shelling of Ukrainian troops' positions in the Makiivka and Ternivka directions. Combat actions continue in the Siverskyi sector.
The occupiers are actively using equipment during their assaults, which is constantly destroyed by Ukrainian defenders, Syrskyi noted.
At the same time, "daily assault actions by Russian troops in the area of Synkivka to capture it and create a foothold for a further offensive on the city of Kupyansk do not stop, he added.
The situation is difficult. We have to fight in conditions of enemy superiority in both weapons and personnel. However, commanders and staffs monitor changes in the situation 24/7, analyse the actions of the enemy and their troops, and make effective management decisions to strengthen defence and destroy the enemy. The commanders and I have made a number of decisions on ways to destroy the enemy directly in the combat areas, he added.
Syrskyi said that in all three directions Ukrainian troops are holding the line and destroying the enemy, so the enemy suffers heavy losses, which it replenishes with reserves of assault battalions formed from former prisoners.
Despite the daily losses in personnel and equipment, the Russian occupiers continue to conduct offensive operations.
During the first half of December, the enemy lost about eight thousand servicemen in the area of responsibility of the Khortytsia operational-strategic group. In addition, more than five hundred pieces of enemy military equipment were destroyed or damaged. Among them: 67 tanks, more than a hundred armoured combat vehicles, 77 cannons and mortars of various calibres. Unlike the aggressor, the Ukrainian defence forces are trying to succeed thanks to well-thought-out combat planning and the effective use of artillery, mortars, attack drones and small arms. However, the lives of our soldiers are of the highest value to us. Minimising losses is always a priority when planning operations, Sirskyi said.
