Near Avdiivka, Russians lose 80% of armored vehicles in botched assault - Ukraine Army spox

That’s according to Oleksandr Shtupun, the spokesman for the Tavria Operational Grouping of Troops, who spoke on the air of the national telethon, Ukrinform reports.

"Today, the enemy tried to advance. So they threw forward several mechanized convoys consisting of armored vehicles. About one and a half dozen of them. But they lost almost 80% of their equipment as our forces destroyed them," Shtupun said.

He noted that the invaders do not stop trying to besiege Avdiivka. Unsuccessfully, they stormed east of Novobakhmutivka, in the Avdiivka, Severne, and Pervomaiske areas. Over the past day, 13 such assaults have been repelled," the spokesman added.

Shtupun also reported that due to the current weather conditions, "leaves have fallen off trees, there’s a snow layer, so the invaders have nowhere to hide. Our guys see and attack them. Often they play dead or take cover underneath actual bodies."

He also noted that desertion is becoming more widespread among the Russians who are being driven forward and have only one way out - either surrender or get killed. In the past day alone, seven Russian soldiers surrendered, the spokesperson said.

As reported earlier, 491 Russian soldiers were killed in action in the Tavria operational zone. Twenty-one units of their military equipment were destroyed, including three tanks, three IFVs, an ATGM, six unmanned aerial vehicles, four trucks, and four units of specialized equipment, including the UR-77 Meteorit self-propelled demining system. Three ammunition depots were also hit and another 11 units of equipment were damaged.