Russian army tanks fighting in Ukraine (Illustration: Skynews).
Russia attacks Avdiivka, advancing in all directions
According to Rybar, Moscow forces continue to encircle the fortified area of Avdiivka, fierce fighting is taking place near Ocheretino and Novokalinovo, where their units have advanced several hundred meters in both directions on a wide front.
Russian forces are now moving closer to the resort of Zarya , which Ukraine has also turned into a fortified area. At coal and chemicals, Russia has expanded its control in the area of weekend resorts. The situation remains difficult in Stepovoe, where Kiev is conducting an active defense, including the use of Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, and is sending in additional personnel and armored vehicles.
Geroman Channel reported that "north of Stepovoy, Russian troops have occupied part of the forest belt west of the railway. The advance in the area is 850 meters wide and up to 380 meters deep," Ukrainian military analysts admitted.
Fierce fighting is taking place in the Novobakhmutovka - Ocheretino direction, Russia has made little progress. In the urban center of Avdiivka, Russian soldiers have advanced with battles in private areas in the south of the city.
"North of Avdiivka, Russia continues to attack the Ivushka-2 settlement in the southern direction. Attacking an area up to 370m wide and up to 250m deep," Ukrainian sources confirmed.
Northwest of Opytnye, small groups of Russian infantry continued to attack in the direction of the fortified area. West of Kamenka there were frequent attacks in the direction of the quarry.
In the Nevelskoye and Pervomaiskoye areas, the Russian army is intensifying its offensive, there are successes, and fighting continues.
The Ukrainian General Staff reported in the evening of December 29 that the Russian military carried out three attacks near Stepovoy and Avdiivka and 10 more near Severny, Pervomaisky and Nevelsky, in an attempt to improve the tactical situation. Russian aircraft carried out airstrikes in the vicinity of Alexandropol and Novobakhmutovka.
Map of the Ukrainian war in the Avdiivka region as of December 29. Russia controls the brown area and the arrows indicate the direction of their attack. The light yellow box is where Russia has recently gained control (Photo: RVvoenkory).
Ukraine realizes Russia's "trap" in Zaporizhia
Rybar reports that in the direction of Zaporizhia, Russian troops are pushing back Kiev's formations west of Rabotino, where UAV operators have detected enemy activity and then directed rocket artillery to launch a fierce attack. In the north of Verbovoe, the sides are exchanging artillery fire. At the same time, Ukraine has tried to attack but has not succeeded.
According to analyst Yury Podolyaki, Ukraine finally realized that this was a "trap" for them in Rabotino - Verbovoe when he commented: "The situation west of Rabotino is very serious. The same situation occurs between Novoprokopovka and Verbovoe. Maintaining the territory between these two villages is very difficult because it is empty and difficult to supply ammunition".
The “successes” of Ukraine’s summer counteroffensive were in fact a mousetrap, and holding these lines through the winter would have cost them enormous and pointless losses. Therefore, it is not impossible that Kiev’s forces could retreat to their original positions as they were before June 4.
Ukraine admitted that Russia had recaptured 6.5 square kilometers in Rabotino, where Kiev forces had tried to counterattack for months with huge losses in soldiers and modern weapons but were now lost in just a few days.
Map of the Ukrainian war in Rabotino as of December 28. In which, the red area is where Russia has just regained control and the red arrows show the direction of Russia's attack (Photo: Pouletvolant3).
Other fronts continue to see fierce fighting.
Rybar channel reported that there were no significant changes on the front line in the direction of Starobel. In the Liman region, the sides are fighting in the area of Torskoe promontory and Serebryansky forest, and near Kupyansk, Russian units using armored vehicles broke through to Ukrainian positions.
In the direction of Soledar, fierce fighting is taking place near Khromovo, Ivanovskoe and Bogdanovka, where Russia has gained a foothold after capturing a number of Ukrainian positions. In addition, south of Bakhmut, there are reports of Russian troops advancing near Andriivka in the area of the railway and on the northern flank towards Chasov Yar.
In the direction of southern Donetsk, fierce fighting continues in the Ugledar area and the southern suburb of Novomikhailovka, where the Russian military is attacking with Izdeliye-305 guided missiles at temporary Ukrainian deployment points in the area, while using Lancet UAVs to destroy enemy equipment and manpower.
In the Kherson direction, the situation has not changed significantly: battles for positions are still going on in Krynki. While the Ukrainians continue to conduct landings on the left bank of the region, on the right bank of the Dnieper River, a German TRML-4D multifunctional radar was hit.
ISW: Russia will continue large-scale attacks on Ukraine
Experts at the US-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) noted that Russia will not stop and will continue to conduct large-scale attacks on Ukraine, as happened on December 29, Ukrainska Pravda reported.
On the morning of December 29, the Russian military carried out the largest series of missile and drone attacks on Ukraine since the conflict began.
The report noted that the series of attacks carried out by Russian forces on December 29 appeared to be the culmination of months of Russian testing with different combinations of drones and missiles, as well as efforts to test Ukraine’s air defense systems.
Over the past few months, Russian forces have carried out a series of missile and drone strikes of varying scale, using various combinations of drones, cruise missiles and ballistic missiles.
Experts note that Russia will continue to conduct large-scale attacks in an attempt to undermine Ukraine's morale and Kiev's ability to sustain military efforts in response to Moscow.
Fierce fighting around Robotino
Ukrainska Pravda reports, the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) reports that battles for positions continue around Rabotino and between Novoprokopovka and Verbovoe.
The assessment noted that Russian troops continued to make efforts to regain previously lost positions in the western Zaporizhia region on December 29, but there were no confirmed changes to the front line in the area.
A Russian blogger claimed that Russian troops advanced 2km east of Novoprokopovka (south of Rabotino), although ISW had no visual evidence of this advance.
Ukrainian military observer Konstantin Mashovets noted that units of the Russian 7th and 76th Airborne Divisions have regained lost positions in the area over the past two to three days and pushed Kiev troops out of a number of positions north and west of Verbovoe (east of Robotino).
Russian and Ukrainian sources said that positional battles continued along the Kopani - Rabotino - Novoprokopovka - Verbovoe line, especially around Rabotino and between Novoprokopovka and Verbovoe.
Russia's biggest airstrike on Ukraine
The Guardian reported that Russia launched its largest airstrike on Ukraine on December 29, targeting multiple areas with 158 missiles and UAVs.
President Volodymyr Zelensky said it was the "largest attack". The Ukrainian Air Force confirmed it was the "largest air raid".
Kiev claims to have shot down 114 of Moscow’s 158 missiles and drones. Among the downed targets were 27 Russian Shahed-type attack drones and 87 cruise missiles.
Smoke rises in the Ukrainian capital Kiev after a Russian attack on Friday morning, December 29 (Photo: Kyiv Post).
In total, Russia launched 36 UAVs, at least 90 Kh-101/Kh-555/Kh-55 cruise missiles, 8 Kh-22/Kh-32 cruise missiles, 14 S-300/S-400/Iskander ballistic missiles, 5 Kinzhal ballistic missiles, 4 anti-radar missiles and 1 Kh-59 cruise missile.
“Russia fought with almost everything it had in its arsenal,” Mr Zelensky wrote on Telegram the morning after the attack.
Air Force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said on air that an attack of this scale "has not been witnessed for a long time".
In his speech on the evening of December 29, Mr. Zelensky said that Ukraine's air defense forces "did a lot today, because Russia deliberately bypassed our defense system... We will continue to strengthen our air defense capabilities and try to push the conflict back to where it started - on Russian territory."
Revealing the number of Russian naval casualties on the Novocherkassk ship
Ukrainska Pravda reported that online resistance activists had access to a letter confirming that 74 Russian sailors were killed and 27 others were injured on the Russian landing ship Novocherkassk, which Ukraine destroyed on December 26.
Russia has not commented on this information.
Mr. Zelensky suddenly went to the "hot spot" Avdiivka
Kyiv Independent reported that on December 29, President Zelensky visited the positions of the 110th Independent Mechanized Brigade in Avdiivka as Russia tried to tighten the siege on the eastern city just a few kilometers from the capital Donetsk.
The brigade commander briefed him on the situation on the battlefield and the status of defensive operations.
Ukrainian President Zelensky visits the frontline city of Avdiivka on December 29 (Photo: Reuters).
Mr Zelensky also presented state awards to the soldiers and thanked them for their service.
Biden calls on US Congress to help Kiev after series of Russian attacks
European Pravda reported that US President Joe Biden, commenting on Russia's fierce attack on Ukraine that occurred in the early morning of December 29, noted that Congress needs to approve additional support for Kiev as soon as possible.
The US president stressed that Russia's attack was "a stark reminder to the world that after nearly two years of conflict, Putin's goal remains unchanged: he seeks to bring Ukraine down and subdue its people."
“He must be stopped,” President Biden stressed, adding, “unless Congress takes urgent action in the new year, we will not be able to continue sending the critical weapons and air defense systems that Ukraine needs to protect its people. Congress must step up and act immediately.”
Russian missile likely flew into Polish airspace
Polish media outlet RMF24 reported that Wieslaw Kukula, Chief of the General Staff of the Polish Armed Forces, said that a Russian missile likely entered Polish airspace amid Russia's attack on Ukraine early on the morning of December 29.
"Everything indicates that a Russian missile entered Polish airspace," Mr Kukula told reporters. "We have confirmation of this from national and allied radars."
“We have sent teams to verify the flight path of the confirmed missile to see if there were any technical faults,” Mr Kukula added.
Earlier in the day, Polish President Andrzej Duda reportedly convened an emergency meeting of the National Security Council after the Polish military's Operations Command said an unidentified object had entered Polish airspace.
According to Polish media outlet RMF24, witnesses saw the object "moving at a very high speed" above the village of Dolhobyczow in Lublin Voivodeship, less than 5km from the Ukrainian border.
General Maciej Klisz, the Polish army's chief of operations, said the missile could fly in Polish airspace for less than three minutes and then return to Ukraine.
"The entire flight path over Polish territory is being monitored," Klisz said at a press conference, as quoted by Reuters . "At the moment, the scenario I recommend is that the missile left Polish airspace."
According to Reuters, Guardian, European Pravda, Kyiv Independent, Ukrainska Pravda, Rybar, Geroman
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