According to a report by the DeepState analytical project, Ukrainian Defense Forces have reclaimed control of Novyi Komar village in the Donetsk region. Russian advances there threatened to cut key logistical roads for the Ukrainian army. At the same time, Russian forces managed to occupy Blahodatne village and make small advances in nine settlements across the Donetsk region.
The developments highlight the continuation of the Russian offensive in Ukraine’s southeast that has never stopped since October 2023, having progressed by nearly 40 kilometers during 14 months.
According to earlier reports, fighters from the 48th Separate Assault Battalion, named after Noman Çelebicihan, pushed Russian occupying forces out of Novyi Komar, a strategically important village near Velyka Novosilka. Previously, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) had reported Russian forces advancing into the northern part of Novyi Komar, suggesting that Russian command might be attempting to encircle or bypass Velyka Novosilka to cut off the T0518 route and advance toward Ukrainian Dnipropetrovsk region.
The situation at the front remains tense, with combat operations concentrated in several key areas. After Russian advances were stopped eight kilometers east of Ukraine’s city of Pokrovsk in October 2024, they shifted their focus further south, capturing the town of Vuhledar and villages nearby.
On 3 December 2024, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy stated that the Kurakhove and Pokrovsk directions remain the most challenging areas along the front line. Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine, Oleksandr Syrskyi, visited Defense Forces units in these areas in late November.
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