Russian forces attempt to encircle Avdiivka but are running out of steam

The Avdiivka front is one of the hottest spots in Ukraine, but the Russian occupation forces there are running out of steam, just as they are on the Bakhmut front.

"It is not extremely hot on the Avdiivka front, but enemy forces are continuing to attack [the city of] Avdiivka itself and are trying to encircle it. Fighting continues on the Marinka front, where enemy forces are also trying to attack our positions.

Over the past day, enemy forces attacked the Donetsk front 31 times, including 15 attacks on the Avdiivka front. The enemy forces attempted seven assault operations overnight, including on the Avdiivka front…

A week or two ago, we had days when the Russian forces would attack 95 times a day on each front. So we can say that the enemy forces are running out of steam. Last week they’d already had to deploy reserve forces: a unit of the 98th Airborne Brigade and two tank companies participated in hostilities.

We can decisively say that the enemy has exhausted their main forces and suffered quite substantial losses in personnel and equipment. In the past 24 hours alone, enemy forces lost over three companies of personnel killed and wounded," -Oleksii Dmytrashkivskyi, a spokesman for Ukraine’s defense forces, reported.

Russians attack Kherson again

The Russian occupiers hit the floodplains. Two men managed to cross the river. Medics were already waiting for them on the shore, but unfortunately, the 55-year-old man died from a shrapnel wound to the chest.

Another victim is a 77-year-old resident of Kherson who sustained injuries to his limbs and chest. An ambulance team hospitalized him in a medical facility in moderate condition. Doctors are currently providing him with the necessary assistance.

The US will support Ukraine to guarantee the strategic failure of Putin – Blinken

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has said that the United States will continue to support Ukraine next year "to ensure that President Putin's war remains a strategic failure."

"I think there's going to be territory in Ukraine that the Ukrainians are determined to fight for on the ground; there may be territory that they decide that they'll have to try to get back in other ways."

"What we don't want … is to have this settle in a place and in a way that simply invites the Russians to reset, rearm and then re-attack," - said Antony Blinken.