What Has Changed on the Main Front Lines – Fresh Maps of Combat Operations

In the Luhansk region, Russian troops have halted their attempts to advance and have transitioned to positional battles in the area of Dvukhrechye.

Meanwhile, the invaders continue limited counterattacks to regain lost positions along the Kreminna-Svatove line. This is evidenced by new maps of combat operations published by the Institute for the Study of War (ISW).

Russian forces also attempted to advance towards Stelmakhivka and Nadezhda. According to Russian sources, RF troops conducted assaults in the direction of Makiivka and Krasnopopivka. They also attempted to advance near the settlements of Yampolevka in the Donetsk region and in the area of Bilohorivka.

On December 24, Ukrainian forces continued to strike at Russian rear areas. Russian sources claim that Ukrainian troops targeted Polovynkyne in Luhansk region with HIMARS missiles.

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In the Donetsk region, Russian troops continued offensive operations around Bakhmut. According to the Ukrainian General Staff, the Armed Forces of Ukraine repelled attacks from Russian troops in the Bakhmut area.

Russian military correspondents claim that fierce battles are also taking place to the northeast of Bakhmut near Pidhorodnie. Russian troops allegedly captured strongholds in the southern outskirts of the settlement. Intense fighting continues on the eastern outskirts of Bakhmut between Ukrainian forces and Wagner mercenaries.

Russians continue attempts to advance in the Avdiivka area. The Ukrainian General Staff reported that Ukrainian forces repelled attacks from Russian troops 27 km southwest of Avdiivka near Krasnohorivka, Vodiane, and Marinka.

According to Russian sources, RF troops are advancing further into Marinka, but Ukrainian forces have fortified some positions in the center of the settlement. At the same time, the Armed Forces of Ukraine are concentrating their forces on the western outskirts of Marinka.

In southern Ukraine on December 24, Russian forces did not carry out any confirmed ground attacks. They may have been redeploying equipment from the Donetsk region to the south. The advisor to the mayor of Mariupol, Petro Andriushchenko, reported on December 24 that Russian troops are transferring a large number of armored personnel carriers and truck convoys through Mariupol towards Berdiansk in Zaporizhzhia region to reinforce the Melitopol front.

On December 24, Russian troops struck a residential area in Kherson with the Grad multiple launch rocket system (MLRS). At least 10 people were killed and 55 were injured. Most, if not all, of the victims were civilians.

Russian military correspondents stated that on December 23 an unidentified special unit of the RF allegedly landed on Big Potemkin Island southwest of Kherson.

Russian troops have not changed their tactics in southern Ukraine and continue to use reconnaissance-diversion groups to scout islands on the Dnipro River. According to Russian sources, RF troops repelled attempts by Ukrainians to land on Kinburn Spit. It was reported that Ukrainian forces regularly shell the spit with long-range artillery and destroyed an unspecified port facility there.

On December 24, Ukrainian forces likely struck drone targets in Crimea. A video published on the morning of December 24 reportedly shows an explosion from a Ukrainian drone attacking an oil refinery in the Nyzhnohirskyi district of Crimea. A well-known blogger associated with the Kremlin reported that on December 24 Ukrainian forces allegedly launched seven Chinese-made 'Mugin-5' drones from Odesa International Airport to strike targets in Crimea.

In the past 24 hours, Russian invaders have carried out five missile and air strikes on Ukrainian territory. The enemy also launched over 90 shelling attacks with MRLS, including targeting civilian facilities in Kherson, where peaceful people were killed. This was reported in the morning of December 25 by the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The pace of advance of Russian troops in the Bakhmut area of the Donetsk region has slowed in recent days. Military correspondents acknowledged that the Armed Forces of Ukraine pushed back parts of the Wagner Group to positions they occupied several days prior. This was reported by the American Institute for the Study of War (ISW) in a new report.