Over the past day, Ukrainian forces have recorded 774 Russian strikes on the Kupiansk-Lyman direction of the front line in Kharkiv and Luhansk oblasts, Eastern Force Grouping spokesperson Illia Yevlash said on air on Oct. 7.
The number of strikes is "one of record figures" Yevlash said, adding that Russian forces "used everything available" to attack Ukrainian positions, including attack drones, mortars, tank artillery, rockets, and small arms.
The day saw 14 combat engagements on this section of the front line, all of which were repelled due to powerful fortifications and the "fierce resistance" put up by Ukrainian forces, he said.
In particular, the Russian military is trying to break through Ukrainian defenses at Synkivka, a frontline village located eight kilometers northeast of Kupiansk in Kharkiv Oblast. According to Yevlash, this is a key target due to its logistically-important railway.
The Kupiansk-Lyman axis is currently one of the hottest areas of the front line.
Russia has been concentrating its forces around Kupiansk since mid-July, trying to regain positions lost during the Ukrainian surprise counteroffensive last autumn.
Soldiers fighting near Kreminna, a Russian-occupied town on the Lyman axis, told the Kyiv Independent in July that there was a brief period every now and then when Russia's offensive would slow down – before it picked up the pace again after its rotation of units.
On Oct. 5, Yevlash said that Russia is again intensifying attacks on this axis.
Alexander Khrebet
