UKRAINE, KHARKIV OBLAST, Dec 19 — Over the past day, December 18, Russian troops tried to attack Ukrainian positions near Petropavlivka, Kolisnykivka, and Lozova 26 times in the Kupiansk direction, reported the General Staff.

One of the main goals of the Russian full-scale war is to capture the remainder of occupied Luhansk and Donetsk Oblast; their operations on the Kupiansk-Svatove-Kreminna line are dedicated to that. From this section of the frontline, they also aim to push into Kharkiv Oblast and re-occupy Kupiansk and Kupiansk-Vuzlovyi, important logistics hubs for the region.

Also, there was one combat clash in the Kharkiv direction near Vovchansk yesterday. In particular, the Russians launched airstrikes on Vovchanski Khutory and Udy in the Kharkiv region.

Russia launched three missile attacks, 35 airstrikes, dropping 36 glide bombs (KABs) on positions of Ukrainian troops and on cities and villages in the Kharkiv region over the past day. Russians fired over 4,250 times at Ukrainian forces, including 178 times with multiple launch rocket systems.

Read more

  • In the Kharkiv direction, the Russians have built up enough manpower and equipment to launch a second offensive from the north, said Oleksandr Danylenko, head of the communication for the “Gart” border guard brigade, to Ukrainian outlet Suspilne.