There have been 78 combat clashes at the front since the beginning of the day – the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine

Since the beginning of the day on December 7, there have been 78 combat clashes between the Defense Forces and the Russian military at the front, according to the operational report of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The command says that in the North-Slobozhansk and Kursk directions, the Russian army carried out 79 attacks on the positions of Ukrainian troops and populated areas.

“On the Yuzhno-Slobozhansk direction, the Defense Forces repel two Russian attacks. The enemy is trying to advance in the Vovchansk region. Russian troops did not conduct offensive operations in the Kupyan direction,” the General Staff noted.

At the same time, in the Lymansky direction, the Russian army carried out seven attacks on the positions of Ukrainian units near the settlements of Grekivka, Derilove, Zarichne, Myrne and in the directions of Oleksandrivka and Stavkiv. One collision is ongoing.

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine emphasized that in the direction of Kostiantynivka, Russian troops carried out 13 assaults in the areas of Aleksandro-Shultine, Pleshchiivka, Shcherbynivka, Yablunivka, and in the direction of Kostiantynivka, Ivanopil, Novopavlivka, Sofiivka, and two skirmishes are ongoing.

“In the Pokrovsky direction, the Russian invaders made 27 attempts to push the Ukrainian defenders from their occupied positions in the direction of Novy Shakhovy, Novy Donbas, Bilytskyi, Rodynskyi, Myrnograd, Molodetskyi, Novopavlivka and in the areas of Novoeconomy, Kotlyny, Udachny, Dachny. The defense forces are holding back the onslaught and repulsed 21 attacks, six clashes are still ongoing,” the operational summary states.

At the end of November, the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) noted in its report that Russian propaganda is spreading the statements of Russian President Vladimir Putin, trying to create the impression that the Ukrainian front line will allegedly “collapse soon.” But, according to analysts, these statements have no basis and are aimed at forcing Ukraine and its Western allies to agree to the Kremlin’s terms, which Russia is unable to achieve militarily.

On December 1, the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation announced on its resources the alleged capture of Pokrovsk. Donbas Realiy (a Radio Liberty project) has collected statements and data refuting the occupation of the city.

Pokrovsk – a city with a population of about 1,250 people (estimated by the local authorities at the end of October, before the start of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation – more than 60,000) – is an important road and railway junction and was under threat of encirclement by Russian troops for most of the year.