Kreminna remains one of most contested areas - British intelligence

The fiercest fighting is now ongoing around the city of Kreminna in Luhansk region as the Russians attempt to secure the right flank of their Bakhmut sector.

This is stated in the intelligence summary published by British Defense Ministry on Twitter, as seen by Ukrinform.

As noted in the summary, for the past three weeks the fighting around Kreminna has been focused on the heavily forested terrain area west of the city, where the coniferous woodland provides some cover from air observation even in winter and prevents both sides from accurately adjusting artillery fire.

Because of this, combat operations are mostly conducted by infantry units and often at short range.

“Russian commanders will highly likely view pressure around Kreminna as a threat to the right flank of their Bakhmut sector, which they see as key for enabling any future advances to occupy the remainder of Donetsk Oblast," the summary notes.