Active positional battles are being fought in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, during which neither side has yet been able to achieve a convincing success.
On December 8, the Russian Army sent reinforcements to its positions the city of Svatovo in the Luhansk region, which the Armed Forces of Ukraine are trying to capture. The Russians tried to fight back there. However, citing the Ukrainian military, ISW noted that the counteroffensive was repulsed.
In relation to the situation in the area, the Institute for the Study of War recalls its predictions that the Russian army intends to increase its activity near Svatovo to impede the expected advance of the Ukrainian army.
Thursday, the Russian army they also push close to the city of Kremenna which they occupy, which is closer to Lisichansk and Severodonetsk. Ukrainian military says several attacks repulsed here, while Russian Defense Ministry reports offensive towards Liman. ISW quoted a Russian military blogger who said that the Russian military was making small gains near Kremena and could not penetrate deep into Ukrainian positions.
It remains the site of the fiercest fighting Bakhmut, Donetsk region, where the Russian army is actively attacking. However, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said that the Ukrainian military managed to repel the Russian advance around seven settlements. At the same time, Russian sources say that the Ukrainian armed forces, in turn, counterattacked about five settlements near Bakhmut, but these attempts were repulsed.
