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Situation Summary
Heavy fighting continued in the Donetsk region, with Russian forces advancing in the areas of Bakhmut and Avdiivka. In the Zaporizhia region, clashes continued along the frontline and resulted in Russian forces gaining ground south of Orikhove. Armed clashes decreased on the occupied southern bank of the Dnipro river in the Kherson region, concentrating mainly in the area of Krynky. Along the Kharkiv-Luhansk administrative boundary, Russian forces reportedly made territorial gains southwest of Svatove in the Luhansk region and northeast of Kupiansk in the Kharkiv region.
Ukrainian forces targeted Russian positions and military equipment with missiles and drones in all occupied regions. In Crimea, Ukrainian forces sank the Russian navy ship ‘Novocherkassk’ near Feodosia, reportedly killing over 70 Russian soldiers, and inflicted further personnel losses on Russian forces near Saky and Sevastopol. Russian forces were also targeted by suspected partisan groups in the occupied areas. Local resistance fighters blew up a Russian commander’s car in Mariupol in the Donetsk region. Partisans also blew up a Russian freight train carrying ammunition and fuel around Melitopol in the Zaporizhia region, and destroyed a railway crossing connecting Melitopol with Tokmak.
Russian shelling, missiles, and drones killed over 130 civilians over the four-week period. On 29 December, Russian forces launched a coordinated attack with over 150 missiles and drones across Ukraine, killing 32 civilians in Kyiv city, eight in Zaporizhia city, seven in Dnipro, and five in Odesa, among other fatalities. Over 160 civilians were also wounded across Ukraine, including around 30 people in Kyiv, Lviv, Odesa, and Dnipro cities each, and around 20 in Kharkiv city. Russian missiles or debris from missiles also struck the capital city on 13 December, wounding 53 civilians, and on 2 January, killing three civilians and wounding around 50. Russian missile and drone strikes on Kharkiv city also wounded 29 civilians on 30 December and killed three civilians and wounded 63 others on 2 January.
