“Since the beginning of January 8, 54 combat clashes have been recorded at the front, most of which occurred in the Pokrovsky and Gulyaipil directions, reports the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Ukrainian forces restrained the offensive, repelling dozens of attacks”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
“Today, the communities of border settlements, including Kucherivka, Studenok, Bila Bereza, Ryzhivka, Neskuchne of the Sumy region, were affected by enemy artillery fire,” the report says as of 4:00 p.m.
More than half of the battles were recorded in two directions – Pokrovsky in Donetsk region and Gulyaipilsky in Zaporizhzhia.
“In the Pokrovsky direction, the Russian invaders made 18 attempts to dislodge our defenders from their occupied positions in the areas of Nikanorivka, Chervyn Lyman, Rodynske, Myrnograd, Kotline, Udachne, Molodetske, Filia, Dachne settlements. The defense forces are holding back the onslaught and have already repelled 16 enemy attacks.
In the Gulyaipil direction, 10 combat clashes took place in the areas of the settlements of Solodke, Gulyaipole and in the area of Varvarivka. Two skirmishes are ongoing. Yulyivka, Rizdvyanka, Girke, Verkhnya Tersa, Lyubitske and Zaliznychne were hit by enemy airstrikes,” the message states.
Battles also continued in the North-Slobozhansk and Kursk, South-Slobozhansk, Kupyansk, Lymansk, Kostiantynovsky, Oleksandrivsk and Prydniprovsk directions.
According to the American Institute for the Study of War, Russian forces increased their average rate of advance in 2025 thanks to the new operational pattern, but did not achieve their priority objectives in the specified time frames.
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, the Russian troops have been trying to capture Pokrovsk in Donetsk region for more than 17 months, but Ukrainian units are holding the defense and intercepting the initiative.