On Thursday, the 8th of December, Russian forces shelled the entire eastern front line in the Donetsk region, and officials indicated that it looked like strengthening positions in a part of the occupied territory, Reuters writes.
The fiercest fighting is currently taking place near the towns of Bakhmut and Avdiivka, regional governor Pavlo Kyurylenko said. The frontline is under fire along its length, with the Russian army trying to advance near Liman, which was liberated by Ukrainian forces in November.
The Ukrainian army’s high command said Russian artillery had targeted civilian infrastructure. Oleksiy Arestovich, an adviser to Ukraine’s president, said the Russians were increasing their efforts in Donetsk and Luhansk:
«They are now in a very active phase of attempting to conduct offensive operations. We are advancing nowhere but, rather, defending, destroying the enemy’s infantry and equipment wherever it tries to advance.»
Meanwhile, Russia has released US basketball player Brittney Griner in exchange for arms dealer Viktor Bout. The White House has announced that this exchange of prisoners in no way reduces the help for Ukraine, and on the 8th of December, the US House of Representatives approved a bill that provides 800 million dollars in financial aid to Ukraine.
As the war continues, Russian President Vladimir Putin’s statements become more contradictory. It seems that Russia will try to maintain control over the territories it has declared as part of it but has abandoned the idea of moving further west and northeast. Russia has made it clear that it wants full control over Donetsk and Luhansk.
The President of Ukraine, Volodimir Zelensky, has announced that the Ukrainian army will eventually drive out the Russian forces from all the territories it seized, including Crimea, which was annexed in 2014.
In the Kherson region, residents are beginning to return to their homes, and the landscape is dominated by shattered rubble. In a video address, Zelensky paid tribute to four policemen killed in a landmine explosion and accused Russia of mining buildings and leaving landmines in populated areas that the Russians had been forced to leave.
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