On the 280th day of the war, Russia concentrated its forces in the Bakhmut direction in the Donetsk region and continues to conduct offensive operations, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (APU) reports. To recruit units that have suffered losses, the Russian Federation continues to move personnel and military equipment there. At the same time, over the past week, more than 720 wounded Russian servicemen were delivered to hospitals in Donetsk, and one of the hospitals in Horlivka was converted into a military hospital, according to the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.
The Russian Ministry of Defense states that the Russian Armed Forces have occupied Andreevka (south of Bakhmut) and continue offensive operations in the area of the village of Vodiane. According to the updated maps of the War Mapper project, by November 30, no noticeable changes had occurred on the front.
According to the former commander of the US Navy unit, analyst Chuck Pfarrer, the Russian group is trying to gain a foothold on the banks of the Bakhmutka River. The Russian Federation supports the offensive with aviation. Fighting continues near the village of Spornoye near Soledar, according to DeepState UA analysts. The official page of the 108th Separate Mountain Assault Battalion, a mountain infantry unit within the 10th Separate Mountain Assault Brigade, posted a video of drone attacks on Russian positions. According to DeepState UA, it was filmed south of Disputed.
A video has been posted online showing Chechen fighters posing at the Bakhmut-1 railway station. This means that the front line can go further than the eastern outskirts of Bakhmut.
Importance of Bakhmut and Avdiivka
Now there are two key points for the Russian group in the Donbas – these are Bakhmut and Avdiivka, a military expert, a retired colonel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Roman Svitan, confirmed to The Insider. According to him, Avdiivka is important for the Russians, because it is located near Donetsk, and there is a line of defense equipped back in 2014, which is difficult to overcome. The troops of the Armed Forces of Ukraine can work from Avdiivka at military facilities throughout Donetsk, including from high-precision artillery. That is why it is now important for the Russians to move the front line about 30 kilometers from the agglomeration, Svitan notes. The Russian Federation was able to advance in the area of the village of Peski, and after it was practically wiped off the face of the Earth, it became difficult to hold the area.
“Avdiivka is a big city with a large industrial area, there are several enterprises there. Taking Avdiivka, which is now used by Ukrainian troops, is almost impossible, so the Russians are throwing all their forces there. They can’t take it head-on, they are trying to get around from the north and south – from the side of the village of Peski. But any advance from the north and south is met with blows from the flanks of our troops. They have run into Avdiivka and are constantly trying to take it somehow.”
The second important point for the Russian Federation is Bakhmut, which is two or three times larger than Avdiivka and is a powerful fortified area, Svitan continues. According to him, if Russia cannot take Avdiivka, then Bakhmut will not be able to take it all the more so.
“They are unable to encircle the city, because the Seversk grouping is covering Bakhmut from the north, any movement to the north causes lateral strikes from Seversk and Bakhmut. If they start moving from the south, then the same blows come from Bakhmut and Druzhkovka. They are trying to take Bakhmut, because he is followed by a conduit that provides water to Donetsk from the Seversky Donets, and then feeds the entire Donbass, where there is no water now. The water conduit follows Bakhmut in the area of the city of Chasov Yar, earlier it took water near Slavyansk and raised it further to Gorlovka, and then to Donetsk.
It is impossible to be in Donetsk without water, it is a million-plus city. And now they give water once a week for three hours. That is why the Russian Federation is beating precisely at these two points. And precisely because of this, the Ukrainian troops will never surrender them. This is an advantageous area for defense.
If Russia does not decide anything with Avdiivka and Bakhmut, then it will have nothing to do in the Donbass, the expert believes. Svitan added that Russian troops cannot take Seversk and Vgledar for the same reason as Avdiivka – the garrisons of the Armed Forces of Ukraine cover themselves from the sides, so any breakthrough of Russian troops between them causes a strike from two sides, cutting off any movement, forming a boiler and destroying .
The movement of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, according to the expert, has also intensified in the Luhansk and Zaporozhye directions, in particular, in Orekhovo, Gulyaipole and Vugledar.
The DefMon analyst claims that, judging by satellite images, the Russian military on the Svatovo-Kremennaya direction has managed to increase the length of the fortifications by almost 10 kilometers over the past few days. It was also reported about the shelling in the area of the village of Peschanoe, which may indicate the approach of the advanced units of the Armed Forces of Ukraine to the city.
Svitan said that in the Zaporozhye region, Ukrainian troops are also starting to move south from Gulyaipol towards the Sea of Azov and are approaching the area of the village of Pologi, from where Russian troops are already taking the occupation administration to Mariupol with medical units and hospitals. The Armed Forces of Ukraine are preparing to cross the Dnieper in the area of Nova Kakhovka, and operational-tactical groups are working in the area of Kinburn Spit and Alyoshek, and a guerrilla war is being waged. Now it is impossible to transfer heavy equipment to the spit area, and it is impossible to launch an offensive, because it will get stuck and will be a good target for Russian aviation.
“Helicopters and planes will not chase after groups of 3-4 people, and if tanks are thrown there, then aviation will block them. There will be a demilitarized zone and there should be such a situation that the Russians would not be able to bring up artillery there, so that Ochakovo and Nikolaev would not be shelled.”
Russia continues shelling of Ukrainian territories
On the night of November 30, the Russian Federation again shelled the Kharkiv region, Oleg Sinegubov, head of the OVA, said . According to him, Russia launched rocket and artillery strikes on the Kupyansky district, in the Kurilovsky community, outbuildings caught fire as a result of shelling, the roofs of two houses were destroyed, and there was also a “hit” on the territory of an educational institution. In Kazachya Lopan, Kharkiv region, four apartments in an apartment building were destroyed, there were no victims or injured.
Also at night, the Russian Federation hit a settlement in the Zaporozhye region, as a result of a missile hit (probably S-300), a gas distribution point was damaged, and a fire broke out. According to the head of the Zaporizhzhya Regional Military Administration Oleksandr Starukh , the fire was extinguished, but three streets remained without gas. None of the civilians were hurt. Starukh posted a video of the aftermath of the strike on his Telegram channel:
As a result of Russian shelling of the city of Belopolye in the Sumy region, a 15-year-old teenager was killed, who at that time was on the street, said the head of the OVA Dmitry Zhivitsky. According to him, the shells also hit the territory of the local hospital when they were receiving patients.
“The destruction is massive. Direct hit on the second floor. The wall is completely destroyed. The dental and surgical rooms were damaged. Almost all the windows on all four floors were shattered. Operations block destroyed.
Also, Russian troops launched two missile strikes on civilian targets in the village of Kovsharovka, Kharkiv region, and the city of Slavyansk, Donetsk region, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said in a morning report. In total, the Russian Federation fired at the positions of Ukrainian troops from the MLRS 35 times and delivered 47 air strikes, the General Staff stressed.
In addition, over the past day, units of the Ukrainian Defense Forces repelled attacks by Russian troops in the areas of the settlements of Stelmakhovka, Luhansk region; Belogorovka, Bakhmutskoye, Pervomayskoye, Nevelskoye and Maryinka in the Donetsk region. Social networks publish photos from Soledar, Bakhmut district. Now there is no water and electricity in the city because of the shelling.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine notes that in the Novopavlovsk and Zaporozhye directions, Russian troops are conducting defensive operations, in Kherson they continue to fire artillery from units of Ukrainian troops and settlements on the right bank of the Dnieper, including Kherson.
“During the day, the occupiers launched two rocket attacks on civilian targets in the Kamyshevakh settlement of the Zaporozhye region. We carried out 20 airstrikes on the positions of our troops, as well as on the settlement of Belogorye, Zaporozhye region. In addition, the city of Kherson was fired from multiple launch rocket systems. The threat of enemy missile strikes on energy system facilities and critical infrastructure throughout Ukraine remains.”
Russia is trying to disable the air defense of Ukraine
Russia is launching cruise missiles designed to deliver nuclear warheads to cripple Ukraine's air defenses, Reuters reported , citing a senior US official.
Journalists clarified with him the information that appeared in British intelligence that the Russian Federation was removing nuclear warheads from cruise missiles and launching them at targets in Ukraine. According to the British Ministry of Defense, instead of warheads, there was probably ballast, such a missile is capable of causing damage due to kinetic energy and unused fuel.
The US military spokesman said that Russia is indeed trying to do this in order to eliminate the impact of the air defense systems that the Ukrainians use. The intensification of Russian missile strikes against Ukraine is designed to deplete air defense stocks, so the US and other countries have focused on air defense supplies for Ukraine, the Pentagon assured.
At the same time, on November 30, US Department of Defense spokesman Pat Ryder said that the United States does not yet plan to transfer Patriot anti-aircraft missile systems to Ukraine, capable of destroying aerodynamic and ballistic targets at a distance of 160 km and 50 km.
“We are discussing a wide range of options for helping Ukraine. We regularly consult with Ukrainian partners and other allies. Air defense assistance remains a priority for the US Department of Defense and the international community. As for the Patriot systems, at this stage we do not plan to supply them to Ukraine. But the discussions will continue."
He explained this by the fact that highly qualified personnel are needed to use the system: it is impossible to simply put the Patriot on the battlefield and start using the complex. The issue of transferring Patriot complexes to Ukraine has been discussed very actively in recent days, the BBC notes . Especially after the November incident in Poland, when rockets fell in the village of Przewoduv, 6 km from the border with Ukraine. The Insider previously wrote that one of the main problems with the Patriot complexes is that it is an expensive, technologically complex and capricious system in terms of operation and maintenance. One Patriot battery costs approximately $1 billion and requires 70 skilled personnel.
At the same time, a video of a salvo launch of missiles in Ukraine from several HIMARS installations, which the United States is actively supplying to Ukraine, was published online.
Russia is running out of Iranian drones and ammunition
The representative of the Main Intelligence Directorate of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine, Major General Vadym Skibitsky, said on the air of the telethon that the Russian Armed Forces use ammunition that was manufactured this year to carry out missile strikes. According to him, only about 30% of the missiles from the strategic reserve remained in storage.
“They are already using a strategic reserve, because 30% is exactly the threshold that should always remain armed. We can see from the fragments of rockets that are used that these rockets were produced this year. This suggests that missiles are immediately used from the conveyor.”
The number of reports about the use of Iranian Shahed-136 drones is also declining, OSINT journalists pay attention . In total, Russia planned to receive 1800-2400 air munitions from Iran, either directly or through licensed assembly.
Reports of shelling of Russian territories
Russian governors of the border regions continue to report shelling of territories. So, on November 30, the village of Tetkino in the Glushkovsky district of the Kursk region was shelled, Governor Roman Starovoit wrote about the “arrivals” in Telegram.
“Today, the Armed Forces of Ukraine again fired at the village of Tyotkino in the Glushkovsky district, at least six arrivals were recorded. Two direct hits fell on a residential building. Fortunately, no one was hurt. However, as a result of the shelling, the roof caught fire.”
He also posted a photo.
In the Surazhsky district of the Bryansk region, tanks with diesel fuel caught fire at night. According to preliminary data, one of the tanks was attacked from a drone. The video was published by the propaganda war correspondent Yuri Kotenok. The fire has already been contained.
The governor of the Bryansk region, Alexander Bogomaz, in turn , reported on the shelling of the village of Suzemka. According to him, the shelling was carried out from the territory of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, as a result, the electricity supply was disrupted in the village. He did not report on his recovery by the evening.
In the Belgorod region, the village of Krasnoye, Shebekinsky district, was shelled, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov writes .
“The village of Krasnoye came under the shelling of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. There were no casualties. Shell fragments smashed windows and cracked the roof of three private households. Operational services continue door-to-door bypass of the territory.
On the eve of the most intense battles were in the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine reported that Tabaevka and Berestovoe – the last settlements before the highway to Svatovo – were liberated by Ukrainian forces. Intense fighting also took place in the vicinity of Bakhmut.
See also The Insider's military report for November 29: “Fierce fighting near Bakhmut, missing mobilized from Serpukhov, recruited rebels from the Central African Republic. What's happening on the front line .