Russian Forces Advancing Rapidly on Combat Fronts in Ukraine

Following a swift assault and the capture of Avdiivka, one of the strategic Ukrainian strongholds in the Donetsk region, Russian forces have managed to expand their control over several towns and villages within a week, in a significant blow to Ukrainian troops. Among the notable towns and villages that Russian forces successfully seized last week are Krynki on the eastern bank of the Dnipro River, which had served as a spearhead for Ukrainian forces in Kherson south of the Dnipro River. In Zaporizhzhia, Russian forces regained control of Robotyne, which they had lost during the Ukrainian counteroffensive in the summer, as well as most of the territory they had lost during that attack. In the Donetsk region, Russian forces established control over strategic villages, namely Pobieda, Severn, Lastuchkino, and Severno, advancing further westward. Following these results for Russian forces, Moscow announced yesterday that its troops had taken better positions near Avdiivka and Donetsk after President Vladimir Putin ordered the military to push deeper into Ukraine as the second year of the full-scale war approaches.