Russia continues to build up forces in attempt to seize eastern Ukraine - General Staff

The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said this in a Facebook post.

"The occupiers continue to prepare for an offensive in the east of our country in order to establish full control over the territories of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions," the statement said.

The enemy was not active in the Polissia direction. At the same time, some units that were withdrawn from Ukrainian territory remain in Belarus.

According to the General Staff, the enemy is redeploying units from the 35th Combined Arms Army of the Eastern Military District and the 76th Guards Air Assault Division of the Russian Airborne Troops to the Belgorod and Voronezh regions.

In the Sivershchyna direction, the enemy completes the regrouping of forces and the restoration of combat capability of units from the Central Military District in the Bryansk and Kursk regions, redeploying individual units from the 41st Combined Arms Army and 90th Guards Tank Division to the Donetsk and Luhansk regions.

In the Slobozhanshchyna direction, Russia continues intense shelling and partial blockade of Kharkiv. Electronic reconnaissance is intensifying. In the Belgorod region, the occupiers set up field camps for units relocated from other operational areas.

In the Izium direction, the enemy advanced towards the settlements of Brazhkivka and Sulyhivka, but had no success.

The enemy continues its offensive operations in the Donetsk direction. The main efforts are focused on taking control of the settlements of Rubizhne, Nyzhnie, Popasna and Novobakhmutivka and establishing full control over the city of Mariupol.

In the Southern Buh direction, the enemy intensified reconnaissance and carried out artillery shelling of the settlements of Marianske, Novovorontsovka, Novohryhorivka and Shevchenkove. The enemy continues to launch missile strikes from the Crimean peninsula on settlements in the Odesa region.

In the Donetsk and Luhansk regions, defenders of Ukraine repulsed seven enemy attacks, destroying nine tanks, seven armored vehicles and five vehicles.

The Ukrainian Air Force hit four air targets of the enemy in the past day, including two helicopters, a UAV and a cruise missile.