Situation is escalating in Orikhiv sector, enemy is preparing for assaults in Huliaipole sector

This was reported by Vladyslav Voloshyn, spokesman for the Southern Defense Forces, in a comment to Ukrinform.

“In the area of responsibility of the Southern Defense Forces, the number of enemy attacks has increased. In the Vremivsk direction - 25. The enemy is pushing forward with all its might, the assaults continue. The enemy has replenished its losses and is continuing its assault operations with new forces, trying to gain a foothold in the positions it has taken. Therefore, the situation is quite difficult,” Voloshyn said, adding that the Russian army is using armored vehicles in small numbers.

According to the spokesperson, the situation is also escalating in the Orikhiv sector, where the occupants have increased the number of artillery attacks.

“The situation is escalating in the Orikhiv sector, where the enemy conducted one assault action over the past day, continues to attack with air strikes and unguided missiles, intensified counter-battery combat, and increased the number of artillery attacks. At the same time, our servicemen destroyed at least a dozen different enemy artillery systems in this area and are successfully conducting counter-battery combat,” said the spokesman.

According to Voloshyn, the enemy is trying to capture one of the dominant heights near Nesterianka, but is failing. In addition, in the Huliaipole sector, the Russian army rotated personnel at the frontline, continues to deploy aviation and engineering reconnaissance, which indicates preparations for assault operations by small groups of infantry.

Voloshyn also said that the Russians used about 15 Shahed drones over the past day, most of which were destroyed, and some were lost locally.

“Southern defense forces are steadily repelling all enemy attacks and reliably holding our borders,” Voloshyn emphasized.

As Ukrinform reported earlier, 250 combat engagements between Ukrainian Defense Forces units and Russian troops were recorded at the frontline over the past day, December 18, with the most intense fighting taking place in the Pokrovsk sector.