Russia – Ukraine war operational update of the General Staff of Ukraine for the last 24 hours for December 21, 2023.
666 day of the russian large-scale invasion and 3,591 day of the russia’s war against Ukraine begins.
the Russian Federation continues to ignore the laws and customs of waging war, uses terror tactics, launches missile and air strikes, fires multiple rocket launchers at not only military, but also civilian objects of our state.
During the past 24 hours, 99 combat clashes took place. In total, the enemy carried out 5 missile and 68 air strikes, carried out 88 attacks from rocket salvo systems on the positions of our troops and populated areas. As a result of Russian terrorist attacks, unfortunately, there are dead and wounded among the civilian population. Private residential buildings and other civilian infrastructure were destroyed and damaged.
At night, Russian terrorists once again attacked Ukraine, using 35 unmanned aerial vehicles of the “Shahed-136/131” type. 34 attack UAVs were destroyed by air defense forces and means.
The Russian occupiers hit the following settlements by airstrikes: Sinkivka in the Kharkiv region; Serebryan forestry in the Luhansk region; Ivanivske, Toretsk, Ocheretyne, Orlivka, Novobakhmutivka, Avdiivka, Novomykhailivka, Novoukrayinka in the Donetsk region; Orykhiv in the Zaporizhzhia region; Krynyk and Olhivka in the Kherson region.
About 100 settlements in the Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhya, Kherson, and Mykolaiv regions came under the artillery fire of the Russian invaders.
In the zone of responsibility of the operational-strategic group of troops “Pivnich” in the Volyn and Poliske directions, the operational situation remains without significant changes.
In the Siverskyi and Slobozhanskyi directions, the enemy maintains a military presence in the border areas, conducts active diversionary activities in order to prevent the transfer of our troops to threatening directions, and increases the density of mine and explosive barriers along the state border in the Belgorod region.
In the zone of responsibility of the operational-strategic group of troops “Khortytsia” in the Kupyansk direction, Ukrainian defenders repelled 16 enemy attacks in the areas of Synkivka, east of Petropavlivka and Ivanovka, where the enemy tried to break through the defense of our troops.
In the Lyman direction, Ukrainian soldiers repelled 13 attacks by the occupiers near Beilohorivka in the Luhansk region and east of Terni, Spirnyi in the Donetsk region.
In the Bakhmut direction, our soldiers repelled 7 enemy attacks near Bohdanivka, Klishchiivka, and Andriivka, Donetsk region.
In the zone of responsibility of the operational-strategic group of troops “Tavria” in the Avdiivka direction, Ukrainian defenders continue to restrain the enemy, who does not stop trying to surround Avdiivka. Our soldiers firmly hold the defense, inflicting significant losses on the invaders. The defense forces repelled 14 enemy attacks in the areas of Novokalynovoy, east of Novobakhmutivka, Avdiivka, and another 22 attacks near Severny, Pervomaisky, and Nevelsky, Donetsk region.
In the Mariinka direction, the Defense Forces continue to hold back the enemy in the areas of Mariinka, Pobyeda and Novomykhailivka of the Donetsk region, where our defenders repelled 10 attacks.
The enemy did not conduct offensive operations in the Shakhtarsky direction.
In the Zaporizhzhia area, the Defense Forces of Ukraine repelled 6 enemy attacks west of Verbovoy and south of Robotyne in the Zaporizhzhia region.
At the same time, in the Melitopol direction, the Defense Forces of Ukraine continue to actively inflict losses in manpower and equipment on the occupying troops, exhausting the enemy along the entire front line.
In the zone of responsibility of the operational-strategic group of troops “Odesa” in the Kherson direction, Ukrainian soldiers continue to carry out measures to expand the bridgehead on the left bank of the Dnieper in the Kherson region. Despite the failure, the enemy did not give up the intention to knock out our units from their positions and carried out more than 30 unsuccessful assault actions. The enemy received a decent repulse and retreated with losses. Our defenders are conducting a counter-battery fight, inflicting fire damage on the enemy’s rear.
In the temporarily occupied Donetsk region, the command of the Russian occupiers has stopped identifying its dead invaders and is trying to hide the real number of casualties in order to avoid the obligation to pay compensation to the families of the dead terrorists. For example, in Horlivka on December 18, about 30 bodies of Russian invaders, or rather what remained of them, were brought to the local morgue. These body fragments of the occupiers were brought by their command from the area of conducting assault operations north of Avdiivka. No one compiled or specified personnel lists of Russian assault units, and the bodies of these occupiers will be buried as unknown persons.
During the past day, the Air Force of the Defense Forces struck 16 areas of concentration of personnel, weapons and military equipment and the enemy’s anti-aircraft missile system. Also, the forces and means of air defense of Ukraine destroyed the Kh-59 guided missile.
Units of the missile forces hit 5 areas of concentration of personnel, weapons and military equipment, ammunition depots and 6 artillery units of the enemy.
Approximate losses of the enemy of the past In total, there were: 1,080 Russian invaders, 14 tanks, 31 armored combat vehicles, 20 artillery systems, 4 anti-aircraft missiles, 26 BpLA operational-tactical level, 1 cruise missile, 48 vehicles and 5 units of special equipment.
