“On some days, the number of clashes reaches 300 – the most since the beginning of the war. However, the Ukrainian army is holding back the pressure, destroying the Kremlin’s plans, does not abandon active defense tactics and effectively applies them,” wrote the commander-in-chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces.
According to Syrsky, the size of the Russian group has been around 710 thousand people for a long time.
At the same time, the Russians are unable to increase this figure, despite active recruitment in the Russian Federation, since the defense forces daily “minus” a thousand invaders killed and wounded, the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine added.
“Yes, at the cost of huge losses, the enemy was able to take control of some of our territories in November. However, Russian propaganda statements about the pace of advance of Russian troops do not correspond to reality. Moreover, in some important areas we are conducting our own active operations and clearing populated areas from the enemy,” Syrsky emphasized.
In particular, the defense forces continue active operations in the Pokrovsko-Mirnograd agglomeration area.
“In Pokrovsk itself, over the past few weeks we have been able to regain control of about 16 km² in the northern part of the city. Logistics in Mirnograd are complex, but they continue,” said the commander-in-chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
At the same time, there were no losses of territory in the Kupyansky, Konstantinovsky and Dnieper directions, Syrsky pointed out.
Context
On October 22, Russian media wrote that the command of the Russian army had already promised the illegitimate Russian President Vladimir Putin the capture of Pokrovsk, as well as Kupyansk, Kharkov region, therefore, in order to improve the positions of the occupying forces, Moscow is delaying the peace negotiation process.
On October 26, the Chief of the General Staff of the aggressor country of the Russian Federation, Valery Gerasimov, reported to Putin about the alleged encirclement of Ukrainian troops near Kupyansk and Pokrovsk. The head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs Igor Klimenko, Syrsky, and subsequently the President of Ukraine Vladimir Zelensky denied this information.
On December 2, Putin, according to the Kremlin, allegedly visited one of the command posts of the joint group of Russian troops, where he was informed about the completed “capture” of Pokrovsk and Volchansk, Kharkov region, as well as the “start of an operation” to occupy Gulyai-Polye, Zaporozhye region. On the same day, the General Staff of the Ukrainian Armed Forces denied these “bravura statements.”
On December 12, Zelensky recorded a video message against the backdrop of a stele in the city of Kupyansk. The NSU “Charter” corps reported that the defense forces successfully repulsed the Russian offensive near Kupyansk.
