UKRAINE, KHARKIV OBLAST, Dec 18 –  In the Kupiansk direction, the Russian army conducted five attacks over the past day. Ukrainian forces repelled attacks near Petropavlivka and Lozova, 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.

In the Kharkiv direction, Russian troops unsuccessfully stormed Ukrainian positions near Vovchansk four times and used attack aircraft.

Russia launched one missile attack, 51 airstrikes, dropping 75 glide bombs (KABs) on positions of Ukrainian troops and on cities and villages in the Kharkiv region over the past day. Russians fired over 4,300 times at Ukrainian forces, including 89 times with multiple launch rocket systems.

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  • 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.