According to experts, the Russian military commander said on December 3 that the ground along the Svatovo-Kremennaya line was frozen, so Ukrainian forces are likely to step up the pace of their counter-offensive operations in the area.
The head of the Luhansk OVA, Serhiy Gaidai, also expects Ukrainian forces to improve their counter-offensive maneuver soon as the mud in the area freezes completely.
The overall pace of operations is likely to pick up in the coming weeks as persistent cold temperatures allow the ground to freeze throughout the theatre, especially in eastern Ukraine where operations on both sides are mired in heavy mud.
Key findings from ISW analysts
- Ukrainian forces reached the left bank of the Dnieper River opposite the city of Kherson.
- French President Emmanuel Macron has stepped up Russian intelligence operations on the need for NATO to consider “security guarantees” for Russia.
- The meeting of defense ministers of Russia and Belarus in Minsk can further strengthen the bilateral security ties between the two countries.
- Ukrainian forces are likely to continue advancing northwest of Kremennaya.
- Russian forces continued ground attacks in the Bakhmut region, Avdiivka and Donetsk regions, as well as the western part of Donetsk and Zaporozhye regions.
- Russian authorities have evacuated Russian collaborators from Oleshki.
- The Organizational and Personnel Department of the Russian Guard has confirmed that the mobilization is continuing, despite Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statement on the official end of the partial mobilization on October 31.
- The Russian authorities continue to apply judicial measures to consolidate administrative control over the occupied territories.
Recall that earlier RBC-Ukraine reported this The Russians are trying to curb the counteroffensive of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in the west of the Luhansk region, as well as putting up artillery and rockets closer to Kherson, most likely planning to intensify shelling of the region. Despite this, the Armed Forces of Ukraine continue to achieve successes on the Svatovo-Kremennaya line.
Moreover, in the Lugansk region, the Ukrainian army has unoccupied 13 settlements.
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