RUSSIAN PERSPECTIVE

Russian forces wipe out Ukrainian command post in Zaporozhye area over past day

Russian forces destroyed a Ukrainian army’s integrated command post in the Zaporozhye area over the past day in the special military operation in Ukraine, Russia’s Defense Ministry reported on Wednesday.

"An integrated command post of the Ukrainian army’s 10th army corps was destroyed near the settlement of Volnoandreyevka in the Zaporozhye Region," the ministry said in a statement.

"A radar station of an S-300 anti-aircraft missile system was destroyed near the settlement of Artsiz in the Odessa Region. Near the settlement of Serebryanka in the Donetsk People’s Republic, command posts of the Ukrainian army’s 67th mechanized brigade and the National Guard’s 31st brigade were eliminated," the ministry specified.

Russian forces repel two Ukrainian attacks in Kupyansk area over past day

Russian forces repelled two Ukrainian army attacks in the Kupyansk area over the past day, the ministry reported.

"In the Kupyansk direction, two attacks by assault groups of the Ukrainian army’s 54th mechanized brigade were repelled by active operations of units from the western battlegroup with the support of aircraft and artillery fire near the settlement of Timkovka in the Kharkov Region," the ministry said.

In areas near the settlements of Zagoruikovka in the Kharkov Region, Novoyegorovka and Stelmakhovka in the Lugansk People’s Republic, Russian forces inflicted damage on amassed manpower and military equipment of the Ukrainian army’s 38th mechanized and 68th jaeger brigades, destroying as many as 30 enemy troops, two armored combat vehicles and three motor vehicles, it said.

"In counter-battery fire, the following targets were destroyed: a US-made M114 howitzer, an Msta-B howitzer, a Gvozdika motorized artillery system and a D-44 field gun," the ministry reported.

Russian forces eliminate 60 Ukrainian troops in Krasny Liman area over past day

Russian forces inflicted damage on Ukrainian army units in the Krasny Liman area, eliminating roughly 60 enemy troops over the past day, the ministry reported.

"In the Krasny Liman direction, units of the battlegroup Center, army aircraft strikes and artillery fire inflicted damage on amassed manpower and equipment of the Ukrainian army’s 67th mechanized brigade and 125th territorial defense brigade near the settlements of Yampolovka and Serebryanka in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the ministry said.

The enemy’s losses in the Krasny Liman direction over the past 24 hours amounted to "60 personnel, two armored combat vehicles and two pickup trucks," the ministry specified.

Russian forces destroy 235 Ukrainian troops in Donetsk area over past day

Russian forces destroyed roughly 235 Ukrainian troops in the Donetsk area over the past day, the ministry reported.

"In the Donetsk direction, units of the southern battlegroup capitalizing on air strikes, artillery and heavy flamethrower fires inflicted damage on the personnel and equipment of the Ukrainian army’s 22nd, 54th and 93rd mechanized and 79th air assault brigades near the settlements of Maryinka, Kleshcheyevka, Andreyevka and Spornoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic," the ministry said.

The enemy’s losses in the Donetsk direction over the past 24 hours amounted to 235 Ukrainian personnel, three armored combat vehicles and four motor vehicles. In addition, Russian forces destroyed a Ukrainian Msta-B howitzer, a Gvozdika motorized artillery system and a D-30 artillery gun, the ministry specified.

Russian forces eliminate 145 Ukrainian troops in south Donetsk area over past day

Russian forces struck four Ukrainian army brigades in the south Donetsk area, eliminating roughly 145 enemy troops over the past day, the ministry reported.

"In the south Donetsk direction, units of the battlegroup East in interaction with army aircraft and artillery inflicted damage by firepower on the personnel and equipment of the Ukrainian army’s 79th air assault, 58th motorized infantry, 105th and 128th territorial defense brigades near the settlements of Novomikhailovka, Staromayorskoye and Urozhainoye in the Donetsk People’s Republic and Priyutnoye in the Zaporozhye Region. The enemy’s losses totaled as many as 145 personnel, two armored combat vehicles and seven motor vehicles," the ministry said.

In counter-battery fire, Russian forces destroyed a Polish-manufactured Krab self-propelled artillery gun, a UK-made FH70 howitzer and a D-20 howitzer. In addition, they obliterated an ammunition depot of the Ukrainian army’s 127th territorial defense brigade near the settlement of Bogatyr in the Donetsk People’s Republic, the ministry reported.

WESTERN PERSPECTIVE

Ukrainian forces hold line in shattered eastern town of Avdiivka -military

Russian forces, their numbers swelled by reserves, tightened their vise around the shattered eastern city of Avdiivka on Wednesday, but Ukrainian forces are holding defensive lines, Ukrainian military officials said.

The Russian military has focused on eastern Ukraine after failing to advance on Kyiv in the early days of Russia's February 2022 invasion and their troops have been pounding Avdiivka since mid-October.

Online videos show apartment buildings reduced to shells, with 1,500 of its 32,000 pre-war residents remaining.

Anton Kotsukon, spokesperson for the 110th separate mechanised brigade, said Russian forces were massed on three sides of the town.

"They are building up reserves. They've brought in about 40,000 men here along with ammunition of all calibres," Kotsukon told national television. "We see no sign of the Russians abandoning plans to encircle Avdiivka."

Russian forces, he said, were "playing cat and mouse", sending up "huge numbers" of drones while deploying artillery forces to secure a better picture of the town's defences.

General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, head of Ukraine's southern group of forces, said troops around Avdiivka were "stoutly holding their defences".

Avdiivka has become a symbol of Ukrainian resistance. It was seized briefly in 2014 when Russian-backed separatists captured chunks of eastern Ukraine, but Ukrainian troops retook it and built up fortifications.

Local officials said the Russians were holding back on a "third wave" of assaults after a week of heavy rain.

"The third wave hasn't started yet, but they are preparing for it," Vitaliy Barabash, head of the town's military administration, told the national TV. "Today is already the second day when the weather is favourable for this."

Ukrainian forces regard Avdiivka as a gateway for future advances to recapture territory in the east - the large Russian-held town of Donetsk is 20 km away.

But Ukrainian analysts suggest Russia has little to gain in a protracted drive that has already sustained high losses.

"This task now has a more political nature, given the losses the Russian army has already suffered here," military analyst Denys Popovych told NV Radio. "Unfortunately, this task will continue. There will be a third wave of attacks. And a fourth."

Ukraine's military launched a counteroffensive in June in the south and east, but the advances have been much slower than a campaign last year that recaptured stretches of the northeast.

Russian accounts of the fighting noted strikes against Ukrainian positions near Bakhmut, a town captured by Moscow's forces in May after months of battles.

Reuters could not verify battlefield accounts from either side.