There are reports that the Russians have lost some positions south of Bakhmut, but according to the geolocation detected by ISW they are already in position in the city, on its outskirts.
In a summary this morning, the Ukrainian General Staff of Ukraine reports in particular that in the last 24 hours the Russians have continued to make attempts to attack near Bakhmut, near Donetsk and in the northernmost part of the front, near of Svateve and Kremena.
So stated the general staff in the last 24 hours Ukrainian units have repulsed attacks near Stelmakhovka (north-west of Svatov), Chervonopivka (on the Svatovo-Kremina road) and Serebryanka (south-west of Kremina).
In addition, according to the General Staff, the Ukrainians have shot down two Russian helicopters in the last 24 hours. Russian sources report a downed Ukrainian helicopter.
ISW also reports that Russian forces have lost ground south of Bakhmut, even as ground attacks continue. A Russian war correspondent reportedly embedded in a unit fighting south of Bakhmut admits on 18 December that Ukrainian forces had managed to dislodge Russian troops from unspecified positions they had been fighting for “all autumn”.
Russian militia bloggers say Wagner Group fighters are fighting south of Bakhmut and in Bakhmut’s industrial zone itself, including the southeastern suburbs of Bakhmut. Geolocated footage released on Dec. 19 shows Ukrainian coordinated drone reconnaissance directing artillery strikes on Russian positions on Fedora Maksimenko Street on the eastern outskirts of Bakhmut.
On December 18 and 19, Russian forces continued ground attacks on the western outskirts of Donetsk city. Russian military bloggers reported fighting in many of the same areas and highlighted the operations of the 11th Guards Regiment of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) and Somalia Battalion in the Pisky and Pervomaiske regions northwest of the city of Donetsk. Russian sources also widely state that Russian troops broke through Ukrainian defenses in central Marinka on 18 December and advanced further west on 19 December. According to them, the capture of Marinka would allow Russian troops to outflank Vuhledar in the southwest and advance northwest towards Kurakhovo, which is reportedly a major Ukrainian transport and railway hub. However, a Russian blogger claims that Ukrainian troops pushed Russian units out of positions at Pobeda and established control over strongholds south of Marinka.
The American Institute for the Study of War recalls it today during the war the Ukrainians liberated 74,250 square kilometers of territory, originally captured by the Russians. This is 12.3% of the territory of Ukraine.
The Russians still control about 87,000 sq km of Ukrainian land, or about 14.4% of the country’s land area. This is more than double what it was before the February 24 invasion, as the total area of Crimea and “DPR-LPR” is 42,000 sq km.
