UKRAINE, KHARKIV OBLAST, Dec. 23 — Ukrainian forces killed over 50 and injured over 100 Russian soldiers near the Sotnytskyi Kozachok settlement in Zolochiv community, said Oleh Syniehubov, the governor of the Kharkiv oblast, during the press conference on Dec. 23.

On Dec. 21, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said in its assessment that Russian forces recently conducted cross-border operations in northern Sotnytskyi Kozachok (northwest of Kharkiv, about 15 kilometers east of Grayvoron, Belgorod oblast, and less than half a kilometer from the international border).

Syniehubov said that Russian assaults near Sotnytskyi Kozachok were their attempt to extend the frontline, and now it is still unstable there.

The governor believes that Russians would continue to search for locations in northern Kharkiv Oblast where they could break through Ukraine’s defence and increase their zone of offense.

“However, currently, the most critical areas are the Kupiansk and Izium axes. They are quite difficult for us. But thanks to our Armed Forces, the positions in those areas are stable,” Synihubov said.

The ISW analysts also indicate that Ukrainian forces recently advanced across the international border into a forest area near the Mukhin settlement, Belgorod Oblast.

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