Events on the front line
The most difficult situation remains on the Soledar-Bakhmut-Mayorsk section . The Armed Forces of Ukraine managed to hold positions around Avdiivka and prolong counter-offensive actions, the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine reports . Heavy fighting is taking place on the Svatovo-Kremennaya line, as well as in the direction of Lisichansk . War Gonzo reports that, south of Bakhmut , Wagner PMCs attacked again from Ozaryanovka. A little to the north – an attempt to advance to Kleshchievka and in the area of Experimental. The Armed Forces are on the defensive.
Street fighting in Marinka does not stop. Also, pro-Russian Telegram channels publish videos of shelling in the Donetsk direction .
Russian artillery is actively involved in the Kherson direction . According to War Gonzo, in addition to the regional center, strikes are being made on Stanislav, Daryevka, Sadovoye, Ponyatovka, Novotyaginka, Tyaginka and Berislav. According to the head of the Kherson Regional Military District, Yaroslav Yanushevich, over the past day, the RF Armed Forces have struck 79 times on the territory of the Kherson region.
Intensive shelling is also being carried out in the Zaporozhye direction. Russia is hitting Stepnoy, Shcherbak, Novoandreevka, Orekhovo, Zheleznodorozhny and Olgovka. The Ukrainian Armed Forces attacked Vasilievka. Explosions also thundered in Berdyansk.
British intelligence: Russia's success in Bakhmut is unlikely
British intelligence in a report for December 3 reported that, according to its data, the period of the most intensive attacks of Russian forces near Bakhmut is behind and further successes of the Russian Federation in this area, at least in the near future, are unlikely. Intelligence notes that around mid-December, regular Russian military and Wagner PMC mercenaries increased the frequency of infantry attacks on positions around the city, but very little support was provided to the infantry.
“Over the past 10 days, Ukraine has sent significant reinforcements to the defense of this sector and the frequency of attacks by Russian troops seems to have decreased compared to the peak in mid-December … Russian offensive operations in this area are now carried out at the maximum at the level of a platoon or platoon squad. In the coming weeks, it is unlikely that Russia will be able to achieve significant progress near Bakhmut, ”the report says.
Intelligence adds that both the Russian and Ukrainian sides suffered heavy losses in these battles.
Mattresses and Hymars
On the night of January 3, Russia launched a missile attack on Druzhkovka, Donetsk region, where the ice arena of the Donbass hockey club Altair was destroyed – there was a warehouse for humanitarian aid to the victims.
The Russian side stated that the strike was carried out "on a cluster of military equipment."
“As a result of missile and air strikes on the accumulation of military equipment in the area of the Druzhkovka railway station in the Donetsk People's Republic, the following were destroyed: two launchers of US-made HIMARS multiple launch rocket systems; four Czech-made RM-70 "Vampire" multiple launch rocket launchers; more than 800 rockets for multiple rocket launchers; six vehicles, as well as up to 120 Ukrainian servicemen," the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement.
The strike on Druzhkovka was captured on the recording of a report by a correspondent of the French TV channel TF1, it was shown on the air. Later, the correspondent appeared in the frame unscathed and communicated with the studio.
As a result of the shelling of Druzhkovka, one person died. This was announced by the Deputy Head of the Office of the President of Ukraine Kyrylo Tymoshenko. According to him, two strikes were made from the Iskander missile system on the ice arena, the residential sector and the industrial sector of Druzhkovka.
Pro-Russian Telegram channels began to disseminate information that the insulation that flew off the roof of the ice arena damaged during the missile attack and partially caught fire is actually “mattresses” on which the militants “sleep”.
At the same time, the footage taken in the ice arena shows that the “mattresses” lie only in the area of the damaged roof. These same "mattresses" hang from the ceiling.
The message of the Russian Ministry of Defense on December 3 once again spoke about the destruction of HIMARS. Thus, as noted by the Telegram channel “Moscow calling”, according to the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation, a total of 27 HIMARS have been destroyed since July. At the same time, only 20 installations were delivered to Ukraine.
Read also The Insider report of January 2: “The death of the Russian military in Makeevka, the explosion in Voronezh, the Armed Forces of Ukraine liberated the island near Kherson. What's going on at the front ."