Around 100,000 military personnel are concentrated on the Lyman–Kupiansk operational direction, according to Ukrainian Land Forces spokesperson Volodymyr Fito, as he spoke to journalists during an interview at the United News telethon.
The military official said there has been no strategic success achieved by russian invasion forces on this axis of the front. The russians commenced active assaults along the Lyman–Kupiansk segment a few days after the beginning of the offensive operation in the Avdiivka direction. The objective is to recapture the city of Kupiansk, an important logistical hub.
Read more: New Tactics by russian Forces Near Avdiivka: Dig Tunnels and Deploy Remote-Controlled Vehicles
Over the past 24 hours, the russians shelled Ukrainian positions 613 times, launched 9 airstrikes and engaged in close combat a total of 17 times in this direction alone. At the same time, the Ukrainian Defense Forces destroyed 194 invaders in the Lyman-Kupiansk direction. Despite that, the russians keep replenishing the losses from reserves.
Essentially, a quarter of all the manpower the russian federation keeps deployed in Ukraine has been concentrated in this particular direction. Earlier this week, Andrii Yusov, a representative of the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine, stated that the overall number of russian troops in Ukraine exceeds 400,000 military personnel.
This many is enough to execute individual operations, Yusov noted, and generally "quite a lot," and russians are working to provide this force with a sufficient amount of equipment, including by the means of taking weapons from long-term storage bases.
As for the situation in the Avdiivka direction, where the russian offensive intensified on October 10, the invaders are not stopping the attempts to advance, notwithstanding the numerous losses in both manpower and equipment.
Meanwhile, the city itself is under shelling all day long. Head of the Avdiivka city military administration Vitalii Barabash previously warned that if this intense barrage continues, the entire town will be completely ruined.
Read more: The russians "Hunt" for Abrams Tanks near Avdiivka, Security Service of Ukraine Exposed FSB Agents
