The valiant Ukrainian people’s defense against a massive Russian military assault is still going strong on day 217.
The Russian army is still trying to completely occupy the Donetsk oblast, retain the temporarily taken Ukrainian territories, and conduct invasion operations along the seized borders. It is also attempting to stop the Ukrainian Defense Forces from taking active action in some places.
Russia bombards Ukrainian soldiers’ positions along the contact line and flies illegal reconnaissance missions. It attacks civilian infrastructure and residences, breaking the laws of war and international humanitarian law. The possibility of Russian airstrikes and missile attacks on the entire area of Ukraine still exists.
Russian soldiers launched two missiles, three airstrikes, and more than six MLRS assaults.
A total of eight Ukrainian communities were impacted by Russian attacks. Sivers’k, Bilohorivka, Mariyinka, Mykolayiv, Vyshchetarasivka, Ternovi Pody, Myrne, and Novohryhorivka in particular.
There have been no substantial changes to the situation in the Polissia and Volyn’ directions.
In other directions, Russian used tanks, mortars, barrel and rocket artillery to bombard Ukrainian residential areas:
- Spirne, Sivers’k, Serebrianka, New York (Donetsk region), Andriyivka, Soledar, Bakhmut, Bakhmutske, Odradivka, Zaytseve, Vesela Dolyna, Opytne, Yakovlivka, Maiorsk, Yuryivka, Bilohorivka, Vesele and Rozdolivka in the Bakhmut direction;
- Senkivka settlement of Chernihiv oblast in the Siverskyi direction;
- the territories of Strilecha, Sosnivka, Krasne, Hrushivka and Senkove in the Slobozhanskyi area;
- more than twenty Ukrainian towns and villages were attacked by Russia in the Zaporizhzhia direction. In particular Stepove, Pavlivka, Novopil, Orihiv, Temyrivka, Olhivske and Huliaipole;
- Staryi Karavan, Sloviansk, Zakytne, Dibrova and Ozerne near Kramatorsk;
- Avdiyivka, Opytne, Vodiane, Pervomayske, Tonen’ka, Krasnohorivka, Karlivka, Mariyinka, Elizavetivka, Novomykhaylivka, Paraskoviivka and Heorhiyivka in the Avdiyivka direction;
- Pavlivka, Mykilske, Vuhledar, Volodymyrivka, Yehorivka, Prechistivka, Zolota Nyva, Shevchenko, Novoukrayinka, Velyka Novosilka, Neskuchne and Vremivka in the Novopavlivsk area.
More than twenty-five Ukrainian communities along the contact line in the South Buh direction, including Nikopol, have been pounded by Russian tanks, mortars, and barrel artillery. Russian troops flew up to four dozen unmanned aerial vehicles in this direction to perform illegal reconnaissance, adjust fire, and target civilian infrastructure assets.
In Russia and some of the territories of Ukraine that Russia has temporarily seized, the so-called “partial” mobilization procedures are still in effect. Despite lacking prior military service or combat experience, the whole male population of a given age group is vulnerable to mobilization in outlying communities of the Russian Federation. Rarely are people with impairments, cancer sufferers, parents of large families, and those over sixty years old mobilized. The populace is attempting to thwart such forced mobilization in some areas.
At assembly locations in the Belgorod and Rostov areas in Russia, it was evident that there was no willingness to carry out mobilization steps. Therefore, newly hired staff are required to pay for their own winter clothing and safety gear.
People who are of conscription age continue to seek means of avoiding recruitment. Thus, males in the temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation Autonomous Republic of Crimea attempt to pay off with a bribe, run outside to the Russian Federation, obtain employment at a crucial infrastructure company, or commit a minor crime in order to escape mobilization.
In the region of the Ukrainian communities of Zaitseve, Maiorsk, Zalizne, Odradivka, Mykolayivka Druha, Ozerianivka, Pervomayske, Pobieda, Novomykhaylivka, Pavlivka, and Bezimenne, Ukrainian Defense Forces successfully repulsed Russian attacks today.
During the day, the Ukrainian Air Defense Forces attacked two Russian strongholds to aid the activities of the land groups.
Artillery and missile forces attacked the command post, four locations where Russia gathered soldiers and equipment, as well as one relay station.
