“During the day of January 16, 164 combat clashes took place at the front, most of them in the Pokrovsky and Gulyaipil directions, where Ukrainian forces repelled dozens of attacks”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
“Yesterday, the enemy carried out 71 air strikes, dropped 189 guided air bombs. In addition, it carried out 3,644 attacks, including 49 from rocket salvo systems, and engaged 7,621 kamikaze drones for destruction… Aviation and missile troops and artillery of the Defense Forces hit six areas of concentration of enemy personnel and equipment, as well as ammunition depots of the Russian invaders,” reads the morning summary.
Half of the battles took place in two directions – Pokrovsky in Donetsk region and Gulyaipilsky in Zaporizhzhia.
“In the Pokrovsky direction, our defenders stopped 49 assault actions of the aggressor in the areas of the settlements of Shakhove, Nikanorivka, Rodynske, Pokrovsk, Myrnograd, Kotlyna, Udachne, Molodetske and towards Filia.
In the direction of Gulyaipil, the Defense Forces repelled 31 attacks by Russians in the areas of the settlements of Solodke, Gulyaipole, Dorozhnyanka, Zelene and in the direction of Varvarivka,” the message states.
Battles also continued in the North-Slobozhansk and Kursk, South-Slobozhansk, Kupyansk, Lymansk, Slavyansk, Kramatorsk, Kostiantynovsky, Oleksandrivsk, and Orihiv directions.
Read also: The Russian army intensified its attempts to infiltrate north of Pokrovsk – the 7th Corps of the Russian Army
The Russian army broke through to the north of the Pokrovsk city boundary and was able to gain a foothold there, the DeepState project reported on January 11. A “wedge” appeared on the map of hostilities in the direction of Rodinsky, which already extends beyond the city limits.
Pokrovsk – a city with a population of about 1,250 people (estimated by 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 last year.