Ukrainian soldiers surrender en masse in Kursk; Kiev receives huge aid shipment,... are notable news in the Russia-Ukraine war bulletin on the morning of December 25.
Russian troops tighten siege, series of foreign mercenaries in Ukraine killed
Russian troops have almost reached the Velikaya Novoselka area, a key position in the defense system of all enemy forces in Donbass and Zaporozhye, located at the intersection of their defensive flanks.
Russian troops have completed the encirclement of the Makarovka area, creating the first official “fire zone” around Velikaya Novoselka. There may be up to 80 soldiers of the Ukrainian Armed Forces within the encirclement.
According to Ukrainian sources, they “waited for reinforcements from the Presidential Office and the General Staff, but the authorities abandoned them.”
After that, Russian troops liberated the Storozhevoe area and advanced up the hills towards the Neskuchnoye and Vremevka areas, which border Velikaya Novoselka. According to military expert Yuri Podolyaka, to gain complete control over the area, the Russian troops only need to capture one more final position, from which both villages will be within reach.
After the liberation of Neskuchnoye, the fate of Velikaya Novoselka and its Ukrainian garrison will be virtually sealed, because the Russians had already advanced through the area from the north and begun to encircle the area in the Novo Komar region.
Deep State open source intelligence analysts have admitted that the last Ukrainian Armed Forces supply line at Velikaya Novoselka is no longer under Ukrainian control. In addition, Deep State has noted the absence of Ukrainian forces at Storozhevoe and the encirclement of Makarovka.
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| Russian soldiers fire at Ukrainian base. Photo: Sputnik |
In another development, Russian security services told TASS news agency that a group of foreign mercenaries in Velikaya Novoselka was attacked by Russian drones. The mercenaries reportedly tried to flee the village by car, but on their way out, they were caught up by Russian drones.
In addition, TASS news agency also reported that information about the presence of foreign mercenaries in this area was known through radio interception, after which the group was visually monitored.
Ukraine counterattacks weakly on Pokrovsk front
In recent days, the Ukrainian army has had to send many strong units to reinforce the city of Pokrovsk, in the west of Donetsk province, when Russian units captured the village of Shevchenko, approaching the south of the city. At the same time, they are expanding the Shevchenko bridgehead to the west.
The Russians chose to attack Pokrovsk in early December, when the weather was not very good and visibility was limited, greatly reducing the effectiveness of reconnaissance equipment on both sides. However, the ground was dry, allowing widespread use of motorized assault vehicles.
Ukraine also took advantage of this opportunity to launch counterattacks from multiple directions at the same time on Russia's newly established positions, south of Pokrovsk, especially the area of Shevchenko and Pishchane villages, but immediately encountered fierce Russian counterattacks, with air force fire, artillery and FPV UAVs.
Realizing that the Pokrovsk defense line was in danger, the Ukrainian General Staff quickly sent reinforcements from the Kharkov front to the 3rd Azov Assault Brigade. Speaking of this unit, it is a famous elite force of Ukraine and is often the main force in fierce battles.
However, the situation on the battlefield was changing rapidly and even elite units were not omnipotent. The 3rd Azov Assault Brigade, despite being reinforced in Pokrovsk, was unable to completely turn the tide.
Worst of all, the 155th Mechanized Infantry Brigade lost half its men to desertion and suffered heavy losses in the counterattack and was almost wiped out, causing the Brigade commander to be dismissed.
Also related to the safety of Pokrovsk is the fate of the city of Kurakhove, whose days are numbered, with Russia having captured almost 80% of the city. The 5th Russian Motorized Infantry Brigade raised its flag at the Council House in the city center, announcing that the city had fallen into Russian hands.
However, Ukraine was not completely defeated in Kurakhove, as the remaining forces had retreated to the west of the city to the industrial zone and the thermal power plant. The terrain of these two places was complex, easy to defend but difficult to attack. Therefore, the Ukrainian army could still hold out for a while.
In addition, there are also some Ukrainian soldiers hiding in the basements of the city, fighting with guerrilla tactics. But objectively, the number is very small and cannot create any large wave of attacks.
Russian units began clearing the battlefield in Kurakhove, a city marked by battle, with damaged buildings and shell craters everywhere. The situation has finally stabilized, but the city's infrastructure has suffered significant damage, and reconstruction is expected to take a long time.
Ukrainian soldiers surrender in Kursk
The Russian Defense Ministry recently reported on the progress of special military operations.
The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation continue the operation to neutralize the group of Ukrainian Armed Forces that broke into the territory of the Kursk region.
During the offensive operations, units from the Russian Sever Army inflicted losses on formations consisting of 1 heavy mechanized brigade, 5 mechanized brigades, 3 airborne assault brigades, 1 marine brigade, and 4 territorial defense brigades of Ukraine.
Two Ukrainian counterattacks were repelled.
In the past 24 hours, Ukraine's losses in the Kursk region were: 300 soldiers killed, 12 soldiers surrendered, 2 tanks, including 1 US-made Abrams tank, three infantry fighting vehicles, namely a US-made Bradley, 1 German-made Marder and 1 Swedish-made CV-90.
In addition, 3 armored fighting vehicles, including 1 US-made Stryker and 2 M113 vehicles, 3 armored fighting vehicles, 1 artillery piece, 4 mortars, 1 US-made M88 armored rescue vehicle and 8 Ukrainian vehicles were also destroyed.
In the Kharkov region, units from the Russian Sever Army inflicted losses on armed formations of a Ukrainian mechanized brigade and a Ukrainian territorial defense brigade near Borshchevaya and Lebedevka (Kharkov region).
Ukrainian losses in the upper direction were: 50 troops, 2 vehicles and 3 D-30 122 mm guns.
In the Kupyansk direction, the Russian Zapad Army Group improved the tactical situation.
In the Donetsk direction, the Russian Yug Forces group has more favorable lines.
They inflicted losses on Ukrainian formations of two mechanized brigades, one assault brigade and one airborne brigade near Druzkovka, Konstantinovka, Chasov Yar, Artem and Kurakhovo (DPR). A Ukrainian counterattack was repulsed.
Ukraine's losses in the upper direction were: 400 troops, 1 M113 armored personnel carrier, 1 US-made Paladin 155 mm self-propelled artillery system, 2 pickup trucks, 1 D-20 152 mm gun, 1 D-30 122 mm howitzer and 2 British-made L119 105 mm guns.
Kiev receives more weapons from the West
RT news agency cited data released by the Russian Ministry of Defense showing that, in addition to the 300 soldiers, Ukraine also lost 2 tanks, "one of which was an American-made Abrams tank" and a number of other heavy military equipment.
“According to our estimates, since the start of the invasion operation in Kursk province, the Ukrainian side has lost more than 43,310 soldiers, 253 tanks, 194 infantry fighting vehicles, 135 armored personnel carriers, and 1,315 armored combat vehicles. In addition, Russian forces also destroyed 324 artillery pieces of various types, 42 multiple launch rocket systems, and 13 anti-aircraft vehicles of the enemy,” the statement said.
So far, the Ukrainian military has not commented on the information given by Russia.
Source: https://congthuong.vn/chien-su-nga-ukraine-sang-2512-linh-ukraine-dau-hang-o-at-o-kursk-kiev-nhan-lo-vien-tro-khung-366024.html
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