UEMS / Ammunition Depot event in Donetsk, Novobakhmutivka area, Ukraine on Wed 20th December 2023

In the Kherson direction, within the responsibility zone of Odesa Operational and Strategic Grouping of Troops, Ukraine’s Defense Forces continue carrying out measures to develop a bridgehead. The relevant statement was made by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine on Facebook, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. “Despite the failures, the enemy continues attempts to push our units out from the recaptured positions, and has made eight attempts to conduct assault actions. The enemy was met with a decent rebuff, suffered losses and retreated. Our defenders are carrying out counterbattery measures and inflicting fire damage on the enemy’s rear lines,” the report states. Eighty-seven combat engagements have occurred on the front over the past day. Russian troops launched one missile strike and 26 air strikes, and opened fire with multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) 87 times on Ukrainian positions and settlements. Following Russian terrorist attacks, casualties among civilians were reported, as well as the damage caused to residential houses and other civil infrastructure. Russian invaders launched air strikes on the Kharkiv region’s Synkivka; Luhansk region’s Novoliubivka and Mala Tokmachka; Zaporizhzhia region’s Robotyne. Russian artillery strikes affected over 110 settlements in the Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson and Mykolaiv regions. In the Volyn and Polissia directions, the operational situation remained rather unchanged. In the Siverskyi and Slobozhanskyi directions, Russians are maintaining military presence within the border areas and carrying out sabotage actions to prevent Ukrainian forces from being redeployed to other directions. In the Kupiansk direction, Ukrainian forces repelled three enemy attacks near the Kharkiv region’s Synkivka. In the Lyman direction, Ukrainian defenders repelled six Russian attacks near the Luhansk region’s Serebrianske forestry and to the east of the Donetsk region’s Terny. In the Bakhmut direction, the Ukrainian military repelled 12 enemy attacks near the Donetsk region’s Bohdanivka, Klishchiivka and Andriivka. Ukraine’s Defense Forces continue inflicting personnel and military equipment losses on the enemy, and gaining a foothold within the recaptured frontiers. In the Avdiivka direction, within the responsibility zone of Tavria Operational and Strategic Grouping of Troops, Ukrainian forces are holding back Russian invaders who continue attempts to encircle the Donetsk region’s Avdiivka. The Ukrainian military are firmly holding defense, inflicting significant losses on the enemy. In particular, 26 Russian attacks were repelled to the east of Novobakhmutivka, Stepove, Avdiivka, and nine more attacks to the south of Sieverne, Nevelske and Pervomaiske. In the Marinka direction, Ukrainian defenders are holding the enemy back near the Donetsk region’s Krasnohorivka, Marinka and Novomykhailivka. Thirteen Russian attacks were repelled there. In the Shakhtarske direction, Russian troops did not conduct offensive (assault) actions. In the Zaporizhzhia direction, Ukrainian warriors repelled 12 enemy attacks to the west of the Zaporizhzhia region’s Novopokrovka and Robotyne. In the Melitopol direction, Ukraine’s Defense Forces continue inflicting personnel and military equipment losses on Russian occupiers, exhausting the enemy all over the front line. Over the past day, Ukraine’s Air Force has launched strikes on six Russian personnel, ammunition and military equipment clusters. Ukrainian missile units hit three enemy personnel, ammunition and military equipment clusters, one command post, three artillery systems, and four ammunition depots.