“Since the beginning of the day on December 25, 115 combat clashes have been recorded at the front, most of them in three directions in the Donetsk region, where Ukrainian forces are holding back massive attacks by Russian troops”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
“The enemy carried out 50 air strikes, dropped 108 guided air bombs. In addition, it used 4,060 kamikaze drones and carried out 2,792 attacks on populated areas and positions of our troops,” the summary reads as of 10:00 p.m.
Almost half of the battles were recorded in three directions in the Donetsk region – Kosyatntynivskyi, Pokrovskyi and Oleksandrivskyi.
“In the direction of Kostyantynivka, the occupiers stormed the positions of our defenders 14 times today near the settlements of Kostyantynivka, Oleksandro-Shultine, Pleshchiivka, Kleban-Bik, Shcherbynivka and Sofiivka.
The enemy made 26 attacks in the Pokrovsky direction. The occupiers tried to advance near the settlements of Chervyn Lyman, Rodynske, Myrnograd, Leontovichi, Kotlyna, Molodetske, Filia, Dachne, and in the direction of Novopavlivka, Novy Shakhovy, Kucherovy Yar, and Novoeconomy. There is currently one battle going on.
In the Oleksandrivsk direction, Ukrainian units stopped 14 attacks by the occupiers in the areas of the settlements of Privilne, Rybne, Krasnohirske, Zeleny Gay, Vorone, Yalta, Oleksandrograd and in the direction of Iskra, Vyshnevo, Yehorivka. There is currently one battle going on,” the message states.
Fighting also continued in the South Slobojan, Kupyan, Lyman, Slavyan, Kramatorsk, Gulyaipil, Orihiv, and Dnieper directions.
On December 17, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, said that the enemy had increased the group to the number of about 710,000 soldiers in order to conduct a strategic offensive operation.
According to him, Russian troops have been trying to capture Pokrovsk for more than 17 months, but Ukrainian units are holding the defense and intercepting the initiative.
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.