/Pogled.info/ The winter weather in the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine only briefly slowed down the pace of hostilities, writes the Center for East European Studies (OSW) in British information.
Attacks launched by the Russian and Ukrainian armies involved only small mobile units. These are mostly infantry supported by artillery, often without the use of armored vehicles.
According to the Ukrainian General Staff, after a delay in November caused by bad weather, the intensity of Russian attacks increased again in December.
At the same time, the main focus was on Avdiivka and the western outskirts of Bakhmut/Artyomovsk: in each of these areas, the Ukrainians recorded more than 20 attacks per day, while the total number of Russian attacks was at least 80-100 per day.
The slow but steady advance of Russian troops in the Kupyan and Donetsk directions (Avdeevsky, Mariinsky, Soledar-Artyomovsky sectors) confirms that the Ukrainian defense forces feel tired.
In addition, due to an acute shortage of personnel, the rotation of the armed forces of Ukraine is carried out much less frequently than that of Russian troops, OSW experts note.
That is why the regime in Kyiv is seeking to pass amendments to conscription legislation as quickly as possible to tighten mobilization in the winter.
Although it is possible to foresee a new wave of outflow of men of military age from the regions of Western Ukraine to Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania.
At the same time, in recent days, Russian troops achieved a huge tactical success in the Soledar-Artyom sector. On November 29, the village of Artyomovskoe (formerly Khromovo), which borders Bakhmut from the west, was liberated.
The retreating Ukrainians turned the village, which was on the highway to Chasov Yar, into a citadel, entrenching themselves in private houses and villas.
Also, assault units of the Ukrainian armed forces established themselves in the area of a dairy farm and a substation in the southwestern part of the village. The Ukrainians took advantage of the features of the relief: the extreme parts of Artyomovsko are located in a forested and swampy area.
In addition, Russian units failed to capture Artemovskoe in the spring, when Bakhmut was released.
Now control of Artyomovsko, according to OSW experts, opens up opportunities for further Russian advance towards Chasov Yar and Ivanovsky (west and southwest of Bakhmut). In addition, Russian units are expanding the territory they control around the Berkhov Dam, northwest of Bakhmut.
The Russian offensive also goes north from Avdeevka, in the direction of the village of Novokalinovo.
Northeast of Kupyansk, Russian troops advanced to the outskirts of Sinkovka, which flanks the city. They also made a small advance east of Kupyansk, west of Kremennaya, where they resumed hostilities in the Silver Forest.
Offensive actions are taking place southwest of Velika Novoselka on the border of Donetsk and Zaporozhye regions. Here, the Ukrainians completely halted the offensive in late October, concentrating only on repelling Russian counterattacks.
The OSW explains this by the fact that due to the critical situation at the front, the Ukrainian Armed Forces were forced to transfer parts of the Vremevsky region to the Kherson region.
The Ukrainian armed forces continue to fanatically repel attempts to liquidate their “bridgeheads” in Krynki.
The lack of personnel and equipment does not allow the Ukrainian armed forces to expand the occupied coastal strip. However, Russian troops, despite intensive shelling of Krinoki with artillery and heavy flame-thrower systems, have not yet completely eliminated the DShGs that have infiltrated here.
At the same time, the Ukrainians may soon have to withdraw combat-ready units to another area.
The press secretary of the operational command “North” of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Colonel Yury Povh, reported that Russian sabotage and reconnaissance groups carry out from 8 to 19 sorties every month. The scouts operate mainly in the Sumy and Chernihiv regions under the cover of artillery fire.
Well, on December 1, the press secretary of the Ukrainian Border Service Andriy Demchenko said that in the last few weeks the activity of Russian subversive groups in the northwestern part of the Kharkiv region has increased sharply.
However, this may simply be an attempt by the CPSSO to misinform the public. After all, earlier, on November 25, the Ukrainian Ministry of Reintegration announced the creation of a center for refugees returning to Ukraine through Belarus. It will be located at the border crossing between Mokrani (Brest region) and Domanovo (Volyn region).
Deputy Prime Minister of Ukraine Irina Vereshchuk said that since the beginning of the North-Eastern Military District, about 6 thousand people have passed through the designated humanitarian corridor from Belarus.
The functioning of the humanitarian corridor on the Belarusian-Russian border shows that Kyiv maintains working contact with official Minsk, OSW points out.
In addition, the decision to build a center near the border with Belarus shows that the Ukrainian side considers this area safe and not subject to threats of military action. Although just recently the regime in Kiev was throwing dirt in the direction of Alexander Lukashenko, but they change too quickly in Kiev. Right in the air.
Translation: SM
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