Russia attacks Ukraine command post, fierce struggle in the "fire pan" of the East

Nga tấn công sở chỉ huy Ukraine, giằng co khốc liệt ở chảo lửa miền Đông - 1 — Ukrainian soldiers fighting in Donetsk (Photo: Reuters).

The Russian Defense Ministry announced on December 3 that Russian forces attacked a fortified command post of Ukraine's eastern air defense and warning center in the central city of Dnipro.

The Russian Defense Ministry said its military carried out combined strikes using air force, drones, missiles and artillery.

Earlier in the day, the Ukrainian air force confirmed that Russia had launched 12 drones and a cruise missile into Ukraine overnight.

Ukraine said its air defense systems shot down 10 drones before they reached their targets.

"10/12 is a perfect number. These are positive results that we see every day," Ukrainian air force spokesman Yury Ihnat said on state television.

The Ukrainian Air Force reported that Russian Shahed drones were flying towards northwestern Ukraine. Most were shot down in the Mykolaiv region in the south.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Moscow's forces had struck fuel depots in the Myrhorod region, Poltava region and the city of Khmelnytskyi, an ammunition depot in the Mykolaiv region, as well as personnel and equipment in 107 different districts in Ukraine.

Meanwhile, Ukraine said Russian forces had eased attacks on the eastern Ukrainian city of Avdiivka on December 2. Unofficial reports from the region suggested Russia had failed to take control of the devastated southwestern city of Marinka.

Nga tấn công sở chỉ huy Ukraine, giằng co khốc liệt ở chảo lửa miền Đông - 2 — Map of Ukraine (Photo: BBC).

Russia has focused its operations on eastern Ukraine since abandoning plans to invade Kiev in the first days of the conflict in February 2022.

Since mid-October, the Russian military has aimed to take control of the strategic city of Avdiivka and the vast coal and chemical plant in the area.

Russian reports on December 1 said Moscow’s military had taken control of Marinka, which has been engulfed in fighting for more than a year. Unofficial Ukrainian reports on December 2 also said Ukrainian forces were in control of several districts.

Ukrainian military spokesman Oleksandr Shtupun told state television that Russian attacks on Avdiivka had halved in the past 24 hours, largely due to heavy losses.

"The coal and chemical plant is controlled by the Ukrainian armed forces. The enemy is trying to enter, but is suffering losses in infantry and equipment," Shtupun added.

Fighting was still raging in the neighbourhood outside the city centre, known as the “industrial zone”, he said. The popular Russian war blog Rybar said the area was under Russian control.

Vitaliy Barabash, head of the city's military administration, told Channel 24 television that Avdiivka "is starting to look like Marinka, a settlement that basically no longer exists".

“This area was leveled to the ground,” Mr. Barabash said.

There has been no official Ukrainian report on Marinka, but military analyst Oleh Zhdanov said reports of Russian troops seizing the area were false.

"We admit that the Russian army has made advances there. But the southwestern and northwestern parts of the city are under the control of Ukrainian forces," Mr Zhdanov said.

Rybar referred to social media photos of Russian flags in the city, but added: "However, some buildings remain under the control of the Ukrainian military."

Another Ukrainian spokesman, Volodymyr Fitio, told state television that Kiev forces had repelled 21 Russian attacks in areas around the city of Bakhmut. Bakhmut, which has been devastated by months of fighting, has been under Russian control since mid-May, but Ukrainian troops have retaken nearby villages.

Ukrainian forces have focused on retaking Russian-controlled villages in the east and south in a counteroffensive launched in June, although President Volodymyr Zelensky has admitted progress has been slower than Kiev would like.

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