Military: Russia 'dramatically' increasing assaults, airstrikes on southern front
Russian forces operating on the southern front have significantly increased the number of assaults and airstrikes, but Ukrainian troops have prevented Russian gains and inflicted heavy losses, General Oleksandr Tarnavskyi, the commander of the Tavria Group, said on Nov. 22.
In the southern front where the Tavria Group operates, Russian forces have carried out 29 airstrikes and almost 1,000 artillery barrages since Nov. 21.
Ukrainian troops by the embattled city of Avdiivka were holding strong, Tarnavskyi said.
Russian attackers suffered heavy losses, he added, totaling up to 500 casualties, as well as three tanks, several other pieces of military hardware, and three ammunition depots.
Ukrainian offensive operations in the direction of the Russian-occupied city of Melitopol were ongoing, Tarnavskyi said.
The attacks on Avdiivka, which began in earnest in early October, have been very costly for Moscow.
Commander-in-chief of Ukraine's Armed Forces, Valerii Zaluzhnyi, said on Nov. 10 that Russia had lost around 10,000 soldiers, more than 100 tanks, over 250 other armored vehicles, and seven Su-25 aircraft in the month of fighting near the front-line town.
Assessments such as the Nov. 22 report from Tarnavskyi indicate that Russian losses have continued to mount since then.
Russia has been trying to capture the small town just north of the occupied city of Donetsk since 2014.
Francis Farrell
