“As of 4:00 p.m. on December 8, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported 87 combat clashes at the front, more than half of which took place in three directions of the Donetsk region”, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
№Today, the communities of the settlements of Huta-Studenetsk, Bohdanov of Chernihiv region were affected by the fire of enemy artillery and mortars; Neskuchne, Stukalyvka, Iskriskivshchyna, Ryzhivka, Bezsalivka, Bobylivka, Shalygine, Hirky, Bunyakyne, Chernatske, Brusky, Studenok of the Sumy region,” the summary says as of 4:00 p.m.
More than half of the battles were recorded in three directions in the Donetsk region.
“In the direction of Kostyantynivka, the enemy tried 15 times to penetrate our defenses near Oleksandr-Shultyny, Pleshchiivka, Shcherbinivka, Yablunivka, Rusyny Yar and towards Sofiivka.
In the Pokrovsky direction, since the beginning of the day, the Russian occupiers have made 25 attempts to dislodge our soldiers from their occupied positions in the areas of the settlements of Shakhove, Fedorivka, Rodynske, Chervyn Liman, Myrnograd, Pokrovsk, Kotline, Udachne, Molodetske, Dachne and towards Novopavlivka. The defense forces are holding back the onslaught and have already repulsed 22 attacks.
Ukrainian defenders stopped 11 assaults by enemy troops in the Oleksandrivskyi direction. The enemy is trying to advance in the areas of Zeleny Gai, Sichneve, Verbove, Rybne, Krasnohirske, and Vyshneve settlements, another battle is ongoing,” the message states.
Fighting also continued in the South-Slobozhansk, Kupyansk, Lymansk, Slavyansk, Gulyaipilsk, and Orihiv directions.
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.